Privileges and Freedoms Black Young Folks Will Never Experience
For many Black Gen Xers, success was sold as a simple formula passed down by parents and grandparents: enroll in college—or secure a stable federal gig at the post office with those good benefits and pension—and build a family. The instructions weren’t foolproof, but they were at least attainable enough to chase. Until now.
As Black Gen Z and Gen Alpha come of age, a regressive political and cultural climate is picking at the edges of that same walkway, shrinking what used to be a highway into a tightrope.
From affirmative action being struck down by the Supreme Court to fractured access to reproductive healthcare, the safety nets Gen Xers once enjoyed are now vanishing—even culturally. The classic Black coming-of-age stories that dominated living room TVs, where Black youth saw themselves in fictional characters living out real-life scenarios is nearly nonexistent. It’s not just a culture shift, but evidence of fundamental privileges the younger generation will be forced to live without.
Related: The Real Reason Black Baby Boomers Are Winning Financially While Their Children Struggle
Gen X: The Right to Learn Our History
While far from perfect, when Black Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1980) walked into their classrooms, they learned about the poetic genius of Maya Angelou, the Civil Rights Movement and the Harlem Renaissance.
In English class, students were exposed to African American literature and in history class, they learned about their Black history in depth—beyond the month of February. The curricula was standard, verified history.
Today: Banned Books
Now, Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) and Gen Alpha (born between 2013 and 2024) are sitting in classrooms where their history is treated like an option thanks to conservative anti-critical race theory legislation and federal executive actions targeting DEI.
History books are actively being whitewashed and books by Black authors are being purged right before our eyes, The Root previously told you. In states like Florida and South Carolina, even high-level AP African American Studies courses have faced funding cuts, censorship, or outright bans.
Gen X: Black Representation on TV
When Gen Xers (and even older Millennials) turned on their TV, they didn’t have to scroll far or read the TV Guide (remember those?) for too long to see Black representation. During this golden era of Black media, major networks built entire prime-time lineups around the Black experience, creating dedicated audiences of all races.
From “Good Times,” “Sanford and Son” and “What’s Happening!!,” these beloved TV shows made us laugh and cry, and didn’t shy away from the realities of Black working-class life. Even series from the late ’80s, such as “The Cosby Show” and its spinoff “A Different World,” gave Black youth the opportunity to see themselves in multidimensional characters.
Today: Doomscrolling
The latest data from the UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report reveals a stark decline in on-screen representation. The data backs up the damage: when studios cut down on streaming films, Black and minority creators are the very first to get squeezed out—triggering an immediate, collapse of POC directors, writers, and lead actors.
Instead of a dedicated universe of Black coming-of-age media, Gen Z and Alpha are left scrolling through their curated social media timelines instead.
Gen X: The Affirmative Action Pipeline
For Black Gen Xers, higher education was deemed as the ultimate equalizer. Armed with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, colleges and universities explicitly used affirmative action to diversify their campuses.
Admissions offices could factor in a student’s racial background as part of the review process, opening the gates to Ivy Leagues, top-tier state universities, and elite predominantly white institutions (PWIs) that had historically excluded Black students.
Today: Colorblind Admissions
Following the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority ruling, affirmative action in college admissions was completely struck down in 2023, NPR reported. Black Gen Z and Alpha students are now forced to navigate an admissions process that demands colorblindness in a world that is anything but.
Gen X: Fed-Protected Reproductive Healthcare
When Black Gen Xers entered adulthood, they were federally guaranteed the right to bodily autonomy. Because Roe v. Wade was the law of the land, basic reproductive healthcare—including abortion access, emergency contraception, and prenatal planning—was protected under a constitutional umbrella.
Today: Abortion Bans
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe in 2022, a wave of restrictive Republican lawmaking slammed regions in the South and Midwest—conveniently where more than half of the country’s Black population lives.
Today’s young Black women are navigating total abortion bans and six-week restrictions, often outlawing care before a person even knows they are pregnant. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black women face a maternal mortality crisis that makes them three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white peers.
Gen X: Building Wealth
For Black Gen Xers entering the workforce in the late ’80s and ’90s, corporate and government jobs still offered reliable pathways to the middle class—complete with employer-sponsored health insurance, overtime pay and traditional retirement pensions. Their hard-earned money was protected.
Today: Labor Protection Rolled back
For Black youth, conservative lawmakers have systematically rolled back crucial consumer and labor protections. A massive blow came when Senate Republicans blocked critical banking protections and the Department of Labor formally rescinded independent contractor rules from the Biden-era.
This means Gen Z and Alpha—who heavily rely on gigs for income—are being classified as independent contractors across the board, stripping them of overtime, sick leave, and unemployment insurance. Add hidden bank fees, skyrocketing interest rates and predatory lending practices, wealth from minority households are draining, leaving little to nothing left for the next generation.
Gen X: Access to the Ballot Box
For Black Gen Xers, their votes were fully protected under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Under Section 5 of the act, the federal government held a strict veto over any state attempting to alter voting laws in historically discriminatory regions.
When Gen X voted, they benefited from a steady expansion of ballot access, including the passage of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed them to register easily at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Today: Voter Suppression
In a devastating 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was gutted, we previously told you. The conservative supermajority green lit racial gerrymandering under the guise of partisanship, giving state legislatures a free pass to dilute the power of Black voters without an ounce of legal consequence.
Gen X: The Privilege of Community
For Black Gen Xers, community wasn’t something you logged into; it was the physical anchor of daily life. It was tangible. It was accessible. Face-to-face interactions fueled your day, neighbors looked out for one another—without asking—and everyone knew to protect the block’s resident grandmother like their own.
Black youth found their tribes outside of their rooms at roller rinks, the parks, community centers, mall food courts, church youth groups, and the front porches of neighborhood blocks.
Today: Living in a Virtual World
Now, that community has largely reduced itself to the confines of a digital device. Black Gen Z and Alpha are coming of age in the wake of a global pandemic that physically fractured their formative social years, forcing crucial developmental milestones behind a screen and a thumb swipe.
Instead of organic spaces Gen X enjoyed (many of which have closed down or priced them out), Black youth’s social lives are mediated through algorithms on TikTok and Instagram, bombarded by a non-stop feed of performative lifestyles while chasing the dopamine hit of likes and followers. Worst of all? They live with the terrifying reality that a single misstep can be recorded, weaponized and broadcasted globally with one click.
