This is adapted from a Monday social media post by Emerge USA, a nonprofit group focusing on educating voters and training emerging civic leaders. The 19-year-old writer, a member of its Michigan chapter, is a pre-law student at Wayne State who's earning a degree in sociology and Africana studies.
By Nabintou Doumbia
When I started hearing stories of Islamophobic incidents happening here and there, it was a turning point for me.
A lot of us hadn’t really encountered Islamophobia directly. It was just this thing we knew happens. Because of what has been said this election cycle, though, things have become very scary. Islamophobia has become very real for a lot of us.
Nabintou Doumbia: "Voting is a way to start affecting change." (Emerge USA photo)
Allah, or God, has instilled within every individual a yearning for justice. As we grow up and we’re socialized, that yearning gets hidden in many different ways -- sometimes even taken out of us. What we’re trying to do is help youth regain that yearning.
Through the programming that Muslim American Society Youth Detroit does, we are reactivating God-conscious activism amongst Muslim youth.
I want to say to my peers that every single frustration you’re having with this election is valid. I understand why you might not want to vote. But we have to broaden our scope a bit.
Policy can be more important than politicians. We need to weigh in on the people and local initiatives on the ballot below the presidential candidates.
School board members, for example, are also very important. When we talk about issues like the school-to-prison pipeline, voting is a way to start affecting change. My push is that we care as much who is elected at the local level as who gets into Congress.
