One of my favorite quotes was penned by George Bernard Shaw, and it goes, “Youth is wasted on the young.”
It’s ironic that you don’t come to appreciate the quote until you get old and realize that the things that were relatively simple to do are no longer the case. You know — like walking up the stairs, driving at night, staying up until midnight (I still do that).
This brings me to the main point of my message. With the killing of George Floyd, the spotlight on the injustices levied against Blacks is perhaps shining brighter than ever before and this, I would argue, is due in large part to our youth.
From the demonstrations that I have attended or seen on TV, it is our youth who are playing a larger role in calling out injustices. But they are not just calling it out, they are educating themselves on the history of the disenfranchisement of people of color, and they are youth of all colors, Black, brown, and white.
I was watching TV a few weeks ago and heard someone say, “I don’t see color.” It made me think that we should see color and appreciate the struggles that have come before us and still face today, and recognize that we had or have had the same hopes and dreams of everyone else.
One of the questions I often hear is, “what can I do to help?” My answer to you would be to remember the “see something, say something” decree. Whether you’re at work, at a function, or within your spheres of influence, when you hear or see something inappropriate, say something.
Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Just ask our youth, they will be more than happy to tell you.
Nate Bryant
Interim president of North Shore Community College
