BROUGHT
TO YOU BY
In 2020, 13 young adults from around the country came together to document their lives during a historic moment. These are our stories.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
In 2020, 13 young adults from around the country came together to document their lives during a historic moment. These are our stories.
Stories
How My Dad's Prison Release Changed My Views This Election
Kharon Benson | video
After 27 years, Kharon Benson's father was released from prison after a frustrating and complicated parole process. Now, ahead of the election, Kharon investigates some of the flaws in the criminal justice system and what the candidates will do about it if they win.
Latinx Voices: The Politics of Language in Borderland, America
Antonio Villaseñor-Baca | interactive
As a writing student in El Paso, Texas, Antonio Villaseñor-Baca is especially attuned to the politics of language at the U.S.-Mexico border and the way it shapes the so-called Latinx vote. But for anyone growing up on the border, words open windows onto whole ways of life.
A Democratic Socialist on Election 2020: ‘I’ll vote for Biden but I want more for the country’
Sher Delva | audio
Bernie Sanders' run for president may be over but the young people at the center of it are still politically engaged. Sher Delva reflects on her political awakening and wonders what comes next.
Is College Even Worth It? First-Gen College Student Talks Being Broke and the 2020 Ballot
Erianna Jiles | video
For this first-generation college student, making ends meet and paying for tuition hasn’t been easy. Balancing school with working at a gas station and living with 4 other people has Erianna Jiles questioning: Is college really worth it? And will things change for people like her after the 2020 election?
“I’m not looking to change anyone's mind, but if our voices can help people empathize just a little bit more with other communities, and get them to think more about where we are as a country, that's good.”
Madison HallBaltimore, MD
Contributors
About
We are 18- to 29-year-olds. We spent 2020 chronicling our lives during a historic election year because we had so much at stake. There was a lot of speculation in mainstream media about which candidate we would vote for and how many of us would actually go to the polls, but very little attention paid to our actual experiences and perspectives when it comes to the issues being debated on the national stage. These issues are more than talking points for us. They are the struggles that define our communities and our futures. They are our stories, they need to be told and we want to be the ones to tell them. Our perspectives are featured here and on partner outlets as we made sense of ourselves, our communities, our country.
This project was a collaboration between YR Media and WNYC’s Radio Rookies. We were part of a national contributor search, which attracted more than one hundred applications across the country and all of us — 13 talented young media makers — were chosen. We are racially and ethnically diverse, identify across the political spectrum, and represent every region in the country. With support from YR Media and Radio Rookies editorial staff, we produced content in audio, video, and print formats on issues including criminal justice, #BlackLivesMatter, education, LGBTQ rights, college affordability, addiction and immigration. Check out an OpEd from YR Media's CEO on where this project fits in history. Also, don’t miss our collaboration with POPSUGAR.
The 18-to-29 Now: Young America Speaks Up project is made possible in part by the following supporters of YR Media and WNYC: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Margaret Neubart Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation.