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Generation Z: Daisja Johnson, a Senior at Clark Atlanta University, Speaks About Our Times

Generation Z: Daisja Johnson a senior political science major at Clark Atlanta University speaks about our current challenges and the future
Rob Maynard
Generation Z: Daisja Johnson a senior political science major at Clark Atlanta University speaks about our current challenges and the future

This week we speak with members of Generation Z, who are part of our community. Generation Z is individuals born in the 1990s through the early 2010s. These young adults have come of age in a racially, sexually, and religiously diverse culture. They are social media activists having always known access to the internet with mobile devices. These young people have had options that many of us still find dizzying. Their race, sexuality, or gender have not limited them. Many of our social constructs, if not falling, have significant cracks.

Daisja Johnson is a senior political science major studying at Clark Atlanta University.

I asked Johnson how and why she chose to attend an HBCU. She speaks about growing up in Western, rural Pennsylvania. She shared that she longed to be around people who looked like her. She also felt compelled to call out the injustices in high school. She started her collegiate career at Morgan State University before transferring to Clark Atlanta University. Johnson speaks about not having a Black teacher until she began college.

When asked about the challenges of our times, Johnson speaks about Georgia SB202 and the age-old questions of how to get young Black people to the polls. There are so many distractions in the age of social media. She thinks that her generation will handle politics better. Johnson explains that her generation asks questions to find the “why.” She also believes they see through some of the “foolery” that is part of the political landscape.

I ask Johnson about the future. She speaks about finding her rhythm as a senior around her interest in social justice and civil rights. Her generation is looking for guidance, and she sees them as the “generation of progress.”