MADISON (WKOW) — Students from Madison East High School gathered inside of the State Capitol’s Assembly chamber Friday for African American Youth Legislative Day.
The event, organized by Rep. Samba Baldeh (D-Madison), celebrated Black History Month and Black success, but also educated students on the importance of getting involved in politics.
“These are the future leaders of this country, the future of this community, but the future leaders of the world. So having a good perspective of what our communities would look like, what community service would look like, what civil leaderships would look like, I think is important,” Baldeh said.
His goal of the event was to inspire students to get involved to make change, whether it be in their own community, school or place of worship. He also wanted to celebrate the progress already made.
“Four years ago, there had never been an African immigrant elected to this Capitol. Four years ago, there was never a Muslim elected to this Capitol,” Baldeh said.
Baldeh was joined by Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) and Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) to reinforce how important diversity in politics is. Rep. Stubbs told a personal story of the time she was racially profiled while out canvassing in 2018, using this example to motivate students by showing them how much work still needs to be done.
“I definitely didn’t think it could happen to me because I was well connected, people knew me, I was a local elected official for 16 years, but it’s real,” Rep. Stubbs said. “It can happen to any of us.”
Students from Madison East High School are already inspired, and are looking for ways to get involved. Interests of students range from criminal justice to housing equality.
“The biggest thing I learned today was that it doesn’t really matter where you come from or your background or your experiences, you can still make it to where you want to be,” said Lina Arach, a student at Madison East.