Young Black voters are becoming more conservative than their parents. Here’s why

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August 14, 2024

By Bria Suggs, NPR

Participants speak during an event Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in Atlanta, at Rocky’s Barber Shop. From left are lobbyist Rufus Montgomery, radio host Shelley Wynter, Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, Marc KD Boyd, founder of Helping Empower Youth, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Rocky Jones, barber shop owner, Ben Carson, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Latron Price, manager of Westside Community Market LLC. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Jen Iro, a 34-year-old from Texas, has been having a hard time with the current state of American politics. The last time she cast a ballot was for former President Barack Obama, and she doesn’t think she’ll vote this year either.

“[Politics are] not really important to me because as of right now, it seems to get worse and worse and worse, which really makes me more disinterested,” Iro explained.

Iro is one of a growing number of young eligible voters who are feeling disconnected from politics and unable to identify with a political party. With a lack of affordable housing, climate change and rising costs, some millennials and Gen Zers are feeling hopeless about a political system that they don’t believe has been catering to their needs.

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