Diversity in the 2020 Election and the Power of Tiktok Activism

This election brought a lot of new beginnings to the United State’s government. 

The number of LGBT+, Black, and indigenous elected officials has reached a new high, with history being made not only with Kamala Harris being the first Black female vice president, but Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones being the first openly Black gay men elected into congress.

And Sarah McBride, the first transgender woman to be elected into congress in history.

And Mauree Turner, our first Nonbinary state legislator.

And Michelle Rayner, our first queer Black woman to be a state legislator. 

And Taylor Small, the first openly transgender state legislator of Vermont.

And Stephanie Byers, the first Indigenous trans woman to be elected for the state legislature, with the number of Indigenous peoples running and winning being at an all-time high.

But why is this so important? 

These numbers mean a lot to America’s growth and rightfully so; across the board, the LGBT+ community, the Black community, and the Indigenous community have had little to no representation in everything, specifically congressional elections. The voices of these groups should be amplified to match the importance of white voices seeing as they make up the other half of America. 

Young minorities are finally being listened to because they are given the opportunity to be, and are given a platform for free. Tiktok, while sometimes is not the greatest app, is a very good app for being able to learn about… really, anything. In a society that consumes information quickly and forgets it just as fast, it’s crucial for the right people to deliver information that sticks forever. Through Tiktok, minorities are able to talk and come together about the same struggles they face in America. Many uneducated people are educating themselves at their own time because of this app, which is seriously shaping this country. 

This election has let Gen Z get a glimpse of what can happen if they consistently vote and participate in future elections. 2020’s election proved that minorities can be an option for who can be elected into the national government because of this genuine representation that hasn’t been present for hundreds of years. These new triumphs that are happening will definitely change as the younger generation run for these positions and win, and I honestly couldn’t be more excited.