Coming off a historic revival at Lincoln Memorial in August, democratic resistance is alive with renewed purpose for youth leaders building their trek in modern-day freedom fighting.
From campuswide campaigns to emulating civil rights leadership, young activists are approaching the midterm elections poised to shape the country in the tradition in which it’s always been done: Black, bold, and boundless.
“I want [historians] to remember that our generation accomplished that action of fighting and the action of confidence…to see not only did our ancestors stand up, but the [next] generation also did more. They also advocated more,” Ya’Kyjah Maddox, rechartering president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) section at Hampton University, told The Informer. “I feel like a lot of younger generations, especially my generation, feel like the older people got it, they’re going to handle it; but at the end of the day, it’s not up to just them anymore. We have to continue fighting — at the polls, voting, and just everything.”
As the nation tackles ballot issues from voter eligibility to health care, this fall is all about building action-forward strategies to resist what Tylik McMillan calls a “modern-day lynching of our rights.”
With the second Trump administration came a slew of regressive tactics all but determined to erode decades of civil rights gains, including stripping voter protections in congressional maps, eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, funding cuts to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and efforts to diminish the livelihood of LGBTQ+ communities.
Amid the new norm of executive orders and legislative setbacks, youth advocates like Maddox and McMillan, national director of Youth and College of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), are among those renewing scholars in the strength of revitalizing ancestral traditions.
“We may have Black CEOs, we may have Black elected officials, but liberation was never tied to how many seats we can obtain. Liberation is measured by whether we, the people, have those sacred words of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” McMillan declared during last month’s 2026 March on Washington. “I believe the power belongs to the people. … We are not waiting for history to save us, but we are the storytellers — a new democracy.”
The March on Washington: Defend the Vote on Aug. 28 proved one example of how young people plan to show up in the fight.
Youth delegates stressed to voters the importance of building a government that reflects the future of innovation and leadership.
Chloe Irene McIntyre of Spelman College in Atlanta demanded an education system that “doesn’t drown students in debt.”
Yolanda Renee King — daughter of Martin Luther King III and granddaughter of the fallen civil rights leader — spoke with conviction as she implored the next generation to carry the call that the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivered on those same steps 63 years before.
“I have three [orders]: Get ready, get set. Let’s go,” she said to youth in the audience, reminding the crowd that her grandfather was only 34 years old when he topped the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. “A dream without work is only a wish…This is our leg in the race.”
Here in the DMV, aligning with the revival’s theme to “Defend the Vote” includes building up the next generation to carry on a lasting impact, Maddox said, be it empowering civic engagement or helping them build an appetite for justice that can’t be conquered by fear.
“That’s where I want our youth to find their voice,” she told The Informer. “We’re having problems where our generation [is graduating without even knowing] if they’re going to be able to land a job, maintain housing, maintain fellowships. What does it take for everybody to stand up? What does it take for everybody to realize that we are the continuation?”
‘This is What Democracy Looks Like’
While policy shapers and lawmakers work to drive change nationally, Maddox emphasizes the work that ensues on the campuses of HBCUs.
In Virginia, Hampton University’s NCNW section is setting up shop to promote free education and accessibility throughout October.
Held during the institution’s homecoming week (Oct. 18-25), the local organization will honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month with its usual raffle table to raise funds for free mammograms for women in need, while also providing resources on all things voter information weeks shy of midterm elections.
“It’s a difference when you have people reaching out in the community, reaching out to the campuses, local community centers, local businesses,” said the NCNW section president, “not to harass or pressure people, but to actually educate the youth.”
More than voter turnout, Maddox touted boosting youth engagement as an opportunity to build a democracy that future leaders can not only shape but participate in daily.
“That looks like teens going to programs and initiatives where they could [benefit from] LinkedIn and resume workshops, learn [professional etiquette],” she continued, also zeroing in on the fight for fair wages and support for educators nationwide. “It looks like our youth and our generation fighting to have an education, to be able to be in the positions to have a say in this country.”
Howard University’s National Action Network (NAN) chapter is driving student advocacy with a pulse on the value of civic traditions.
After rallying in arms at the 2026 March on Washington, the D.C.-based platform is challenging communities to invest in strategy-forward activism, such as conferences mobilizing activists across generations and year-round efforts to build voter participation––from classrooms to campuses.
“We’re all stuck on the social media aspect, but it’s more than just social media,” chapter founder and president emeritus Tabia Lee told The Informer. “We actually need to branch out to different avenues … reactivating different forms [of resistance] that we’ve seen throughout history.”
With all eyes on what’s to come in November, the biggest charge for advocates is ensuring intergenerational collaboration is not a method of the past, but the standard of the future — and it starts with creating spaces for youth to remember that they have a voice after all.
“When they ask about what this generation did when democracy was under attack, let the record show that we showed up … let the record show that we spoke up. When they told us that freedom was impossible, let the record show that we fought anyway and showed them what democracy looks like,” McMillan said. “This is what democracy looks like.”
