By B. Maurice Ward, Judge Charles V. Johnson Youth and Law Forum Organizing Committee
Editor’s note: This commentary is part of The Seattle Medium’s special content produced in partnership with the Judge Charles V. Johnson Youth and Law Forum. The views expressed are those of the author.
In King County — and especially here in Seattle — our young people want to work, want to learn and want to build their futures.
What too many of them lack is access.
Access to mentorship.
Access to guidance.
Access to networks.
Access to internships.
Access to summer jobs.
For Black youth, those opportunities can make the difference between simply being told that a future is possible and actually seeing a path toward one.
Finding a first job can be difficult when no one has shown you where to begin.
Many young people need someone who can help them build a résumé, prepare for an interview or connect them to an opportunity.
That person might be a parent.
A teacher.
A coach.
A mentor.
A community leader.
What matters is having someone willing to help open that first door.
You cannot apply for an internship you never hear about.
You cannot pursue an opportunity you do not know exists.
Too often, information moves through networks that young people have not yet had an opportunity to build.
That is why adults and institutions need to do more than create opportunities. We need to make sure young people know about them and understand how to pursue them.
Seattle already has programs that demonstrate what this kind of access can look like. The Seattle Youth Employment Program provides career-development programming, job-readiness training and paid internship opportunities.
We need more pathways that connect young people with opportunity.
Transportation matters, too.
A job you cannot get to is not a job you can keep.
When we talk about employment opportunities for young people, we must consider how they will get to work, how long that trip will take and whether transportation creates another barrier between a young person and an opportunity.
Employment is not just about money.
It is about trajectory.
A first job can introduce a young person to new people, new expectations and new possibilities.
It can help build confidence.
It can create a professional network.
It can lead to another job, an internship, a mentor or a career.
When young people cannot access those opportunities, they lose more than a paycheck.
And our community loses potential.
The Judge Charles V. Johnson Youth and Law Forum is about helping young people understand the systems around them and giving them tools to build their futures.
That means we must teach young people how to find internships, apply for jobs, build résumés and advocate for themselves.
But we cannot put all of the responsibility on them.
Employers, institutions and community leaders must also look at the barriers standing between young people and opportunity.
Our job is not simply to tell young people to succeed.
Our job is to help make sure they have a fair opportunity to do so.
To our young people:
You are talented.
You are capable.
You are worthy of opportunity.
You deserve mentors who believe in you.
You deserve employers who see your potential.
And we are here to help you build a path forward.
