The Millennial Generation is a generation of doers.
Millennials’ faces have been the fronts of the Occupy Movement, the Kony 2012 campaign, and for justice for Trayvon Martin. We pitched tents, we watched YouTube, we wore hoodies. We combatted capitalism, we “saved” Africa, we eliminated racism?
Not quite, nor can the millennial generation, perhaps, even reach the point of a perfectly socially just society. But that’s not what activism is about; rather, it’s about the continuous striving for that point, both as millennial individuals and as millennial participants in our wider communities.
As an always-learning organizer interested in the ethics of activism, I wonder how the millennial generation
does activism. Where is the link between
studying and
doing? I find the answer is the engaged voice. We, ourselves the millennials we hope to empower, exemplify the writers, scholars, artists, and organizers— activists— working in service to the inequalities we most care to see erased. And,
as Daniel noted, if we’re to position ourselves within informed and responsible (and therefore, effective) activism, we’re to spring up from our armchairs and project louder and longer the engaged millennial voice.
That voice is simultaneously individual and collective. The generation is, in large part, defined by its uncompromising emphasis on individualism in free choice, in identity, and in outlook. Our generation represents perhaps the most rich and diverse mix of unique personal narratives thus far. Our own stories have become our politics, and our politics have become our stories, and effectively so. We speak up, and when our college and university campuses implement more LGBT-friendly policies, welcome applications from undocumented immigrants, and address tuition hikes and declining low-income access, we know they’ve listened.
In the contemporary climates of political gridlock and partisan gawking, and with the virally sprawling help of social and digital technology, the millennial generation is making transformational steps to spark dialogue within and across its own boundaries. To dialogue, and especially in a collaborative, long-term discussion, is to activate the power of the millennial voice. And it’s that voice that celebrates in the personal victories of our own activism at the same time it inspires and empowers that of others to push further towards a more progressive, inclusive, and equitable world.
