Most members of the Congressional Black Caucus are twice as old as the median Black person living in the US. It's the Black Lives Matter generation - partly fueled by anger at the killings of young Black people like Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, and many more - taking on the John Lewis generation, whose work in the 1960s and 1970s laid the foundation for today's civil-rights activism.Ĭritics of these older incumbents contend that they're out of step with the younger communities they represent. Louis, which held power for five decades until 2021, after Cori Bush, now a US representative, toppled it on her second try. Or a powerful political dynasty like the Clay family in St. The new generation of civil-rights activists must defy decorum to challenge incumbents whom many looked up to but who they now argue should step aside because of their age, questions about their competence - and, sometimes, their scandals.įor youthful firebrands, it's especially daunting to battle elders who participated in the 1960s civil-rights movement. "So I think that's just a cultural norm within the Black family that shapes the Black experience and other aspects of life as well, including politics." "It's a community where you defer to your elders without question," said Nicholas Gaffney, the director of the Center for African American Studies at the University of South Carolina Upstate. But the unwavering reverence for elders typical of them makes it hard - nearly impossible sometimes - for a younger generation to win representation. ![]() The power of political incumbency isn't unique to Black communities. ![]() It's the David-and-Goliath scenario that young Black activists eyeing public office face. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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