Statement from Generational Alliance:
The following is a joint statement of the thirteen organizations of the Generational Alliance. The Generational Alliance is a collaboration of leading youth groups working to improve the lives and future of young people in underrepresented communities: youth of color, low-income youth and LGBTQ youth.
“We applaud the President’s focus tonight on creating jobs and making college more affordable. As young Americans, we are on track to be the first generation since the Great Depression to inherit a worse economic situation than our parents. Youth unemployment is over 27%, with some of our communities faring even worse--joblessness for 16-to-24-year-old black men is over 34 percent. And the average college student graduates with over $23,000 in debt. But we need action on more than just jobs and debt. Young people face increasingly difficult challenges: violence in our communities, lack of access to health care coverage, and the negative effects of climate change, among many others. In 2008, our communities surged to the polls in record numbers to vote for change. The steps the President and Congress take on these challenges will help determine if our communities “Resurge” in 2010 and beyond.”
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