It’s an election year, and there’s a lot of voices claiming to be experts on all things politics. During this special election season, politics can be overwhelming. Whether liberal, conservative, or somewhere in the middle, young Black voters can stay informed with the help of a few educated voices. Activist, organizer and author Brea Baker is one example of an informed voice speaking to young voters.

Her political prowess and expertise in writing is worth your attention. In the last few months alone, she’s chronicled the history and ongoing movement of Black feminist support for Palestine and rounded up a list of necessary pre-election reads. She recently debuted her book “Rooted,” which breaks down the intersections that have shaped the history of Black land ownership.

Baker spoke with 21Ninety about her activist journey, her new book and more.

21NINETY: What sparked your journey to become an activist and organizer?

BREA BAKER: I was 17 years old when Trayvon Martin was killed. I was 19 years old when George Zimmerman was acquitted. Those two moments changed everything for me. Before that I was a pre-med, physics major at Yale. By the end of my sophomore year, I was a political science major leading my campus’ NAACP chapter and regularly attending protests.

Reading was always my anchor. It allowed me to understand the revolving door we’ve been sucked into and how to get out.

21N: In “Rooted,” you talk a lot about the history of slavery, emancipation and Black land acquisition, specifically your family’s history with land in the South. Why is it critical for younger generations to connect with their familial history?

BB: Most Black Americans today still live in the South even after the Great Migration. Those not living in the South are likely to have ancestral ties there. The wealth of this nation was built predominantly in the South and on our ancestors’ backs. So, what happens in the South is very much our business.

During Black history lessons in American schools, we skip decades and centuries to focus on the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement and mass incarceration. But, our relationship to land in the South tells a fuller story of forced labor, but also of deep love for nature and mastery of agriculture.

Many of us have great grandparents and great great grandparents who sharecropped until they could purchase land for themselves. It became a vehicle for self-determination and autonomy. We owe it to ourselves to excavate those stories and connect with those who came before us. There’s a lot to unpack and admire about the lineages we’re part of.

21N: We have seen a political agenda aimed at erasing Black history from classrooms. How could the removal of Black history from classrooms affect younger generations?

BB: Black history inspires Black futures. Banning us and our peers from learning about our resilience and creativity and analyses across times, keeps us from building upon that legacy and creating a more liberated world. We have to resist that by reading independently and talking about what we’re reading in our group chats and at the dinner table. We can also organize book clubs and discussions at churches, mosques and other community centers.

This political education includes asking our elders questions. They’ve lived through these times. Pick their brains about what they saw, experienced and survived.

21N: From all your work as a historian and genealogist, what would you say is the power in knowing one’s history? How does education about Black history directly connect with younger generations voting at the polls?

BB: I believe in the idea of “sankofa,” which means knowing where we come from allows us to move forward boldly knowing that the past is a roadmap to the future. Our ancestors’ wisdom is a form of intergenerational wealth. We should cherish the gems that our ancestors pass down to us.

For example, knowing that my great, great, great grandfather purchased 350 acres of land not even 10 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation is motivating. Also, knowing that my great grandfather lost nearly 300 acres in one sitting due to predatory debt and other tactics teaches me to be vigilant and to eliminate barriers to cross generational land ownership for Black families.

Young Black voters must understand the connection between land ownership and electoral politics. When they do, it’s easier to understand the attacks on Black land ownership. Historically, only landowners could vote and serve on juries. Even now in the 21st century, landowners have unique access to weigh in on zoning and development legislation in addition to monopolizing various industries by hoarding land.

Pay equity alone can’t help outwork these dynamics and bridge racial wealth divides. We need a real political voice to change the tides and create new opportunities for wealth building.

21N: What issues should young Black voters learn more about this election season?

BB: This country owes us so much. We are carrying a load that shouldn’t be ours to bear. Meanwhile, other people benefit from privilege they didn’t earn. Black voters should be making sweeping policy demands on all fronts.

We deserve paid parental leave, affordable housing and pipelines to work. We deserve protection that doesn’t surveil and kill us in the process, and so much more. More than anything, I’d love to see Black voters championing reparations as not only possible, but inevitable. It is one of the only ways to address racial wealth gaps and the compounding legacy of slavery.

21N: There are a lot of voices in the political zeitgeist claiming to be accurate. Where would you recommend that Black Gen Z and millennials begin to get more educated pre-election?

BB: I have a weekly column on [Refinery29] Unbothered, [where] I dig into the real issues and dispelling misinformation ahead of the 2024 election from a young and progressive standpoint. I don’t subscribe to pessimism or delusion, [and] I try to keep it real about the limitations and possibilities of electoral politics. I also always look to people, like Marc Lamont Hill, Camonghne Felix, Natasha Alford at The Grio, and Karen Attiah at the Washington Post, who are all Black and brilliant and honest.

21N: What final advice would you give young voters about how the past connects to the present and today’s contentious political climate?

BB: White supremacism, and its resulting violence, is invested in saving itself. They want to hold onto power. Always watch what both hands are doing. Don’t fall for slogans and promises without accountability or follow through. Incrementalism is killing us. Some of us slowly, [and] some of us not. We deserve to live and to do it with dignity. Living in the richest country in the world, this should be more than possible. Keep your foot on the gas always. Don’t let anyone tell you that you have no choices.

This article has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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