Why Won't the Old Guard Pass the Torch?

We love to talk about gentrification and how it hurts communities of color/low-income populations, but it’s all crickets and tumbleweeds when it comes to career politicians who choose status over change and progress. 

For thirty years, the same handful of politicians have been cycling in and out of city and state positions, and we’ve (collective we) been voting for them without giving any thought to what will happen once they reach their term limits. 

Why doesn’t the old guard think that young folks like L. Joy Williams, Robert Cornegy, Kevin Powell, Mark Winston Griffith, and Saquan Jones should be groomed and mentored for elected office? I’m not suggesting that they’d be any different, but it would be nice to have some fresh new faces – faces that would appeal to the young adults and community activists in this neighborhood – making change and progress on the policy level. 

What does it say to the aspiring changemakers who might consider a career in politics to be told they're too young or too green or "it's not your time" because the old guard doesn't want to let go of their status? 

And then we wonder why our young people are so disconnected and apathetic. What are the OGs doing to keep them engaged on issues that are relevant to their experience of being young, black, and brown in this city? 

We’re so worried about gentrification displacing folks, but guess what? 

Gentrification is here, and pretty soon, the gentry are going to start running for office. And they will win, because there won’t be anyone left to oppose them.