In an election cycle and year that is sure to go down as the most tumultuous we’ve ever experienced, Asante Blackk is making sure he stands on the right side of said history.
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In a conversation with People magazine, the 19-year old opened up about being a first-time voter, how the death of George Floyd drove him to more civic engagement and the importance of using his voice.
“It’s definitely the most important election of my lifetime, considering I haven’t been alive that long,” the This Is Us actor joked to People. “I got out, I cast my ballot and I voted early on. I feel like Gen Z, my generation, is a very capable generation, you know? We see a lot more than people realize and we are working to change a lot more than people realize. It’s very important to us.”
And perhaps a part of that change comes through having some hard conversations to try to make sense of it all. After the death of George Floyd, Blackk, along with his two friends, actor Ethan Herisse and music artist Reed Shannon, decided to explore their thoughts and emotions via YouTube in a series aptly entitled Speak Up Series. Exploring the broader concept of racism and the impact it has on young adults, the When They See Us star admitted to initially feeling understandably overcome. “We were all feeling very heartbroken, very sad, very angry, and we kind of just hopped on the cause that just started with the three of us,” the Emmy nominee explained. “We were just talking about our feelings.”
He continued, “We see these things, we feel these things, we hear these things and that’s why we try to push back and fight as much as we can. I feel like it would almost be stupid of us to sit on the sidelines and act like we don’t see it when we do.”
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