“I think it bodes really well that so many young people are excited since Kamala joined the race,” says 24-year-old Destiny Pearson, a program coordinator with the Coalition for Justice and Equality Across Movements, an NMAC initiative that just completed its HBCU Liberation Tour across the southeastern United States.
The tour’s goal was to educate students that by voting, they are actively challenging the status quo on public policy and working towards dismantling injustices like systemic racism and ensuring equitable access to affordable healthcare for all individuals and communities. High turnout and interest among students gives hope that the tour will make a difference in the ballot box. Historically Black Colleges and Universities visited were Howard University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Jackson State University, Clark Atlanta University (with students attending from Morehouse and Spelman Colleges), Fisk University, North Carolina A&T State University and Florida A&M University.
Despite the tour’s positive engagements Pearson is concerned about the disenfranchisement felt by her peers and wonders if they will be motivated sufficiently by concerns over hot topics like abortion, gun violence and climate change to make it to the polls.
“I worry that these voters are just going to stay home,” she says.
Destiny Pearson, photographed in September at USCHA 2024 in New Orleans
While attending Florida International University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, she interned under Donna Shalala, the former secretary of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration. The internship fueled Pearson’s interest in public health policy. After graduation she moved to Washington, D.C. and began working for a consulting firm specializing in government relations.
As a passionate thought leader, Pearson hopes to spark interest among young Black voters. The HBCU Liberation tour was part of NMAC’s Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaign aiming to raise awareness about increased voter suppression laws affecting people of color and to educate younger people about how voting will have an impact on funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative.
NMAC has long advocated for access to equitable health care for all people especially for Black and Brown communities. Founded in 1987 as the National Minority AIDS Council, NMAC redoubled its commitment a decade ago, pivoting to address barriers, particularly racism, and partnering with other movement-related organizations such as civil rights organizations, LGBTQ organizations, housing and anti-poverty advocates and progressive faith-based centers. A person’s race should not be a determining factor for their vulnerability to HIV, says NMAC.
Pearson recently spoke to a standing-room-only audience of health advocates from around the world at this year’s USCHA (U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS) in New Orleans which NMAC hosts annually. She informed about the coalition’s progress at-the-time alongside her colleagues; Toni Newman, acting director of NMAC’s Training Center to End the Epidemic, program manager Cora Trelles Cartagena and program coordinator Erin McNeil who informed on their respective areas as well.
Pearson spoke with POSITIVELY AWARE after her plenary session speech at the conference. “Young people are passionate about many of the same things that older people are passionate about,” she said. “We care about the economy. We care about how expensive housing is. We care about reproductive rights. Seeing how these issues are playing out in Congress and the Supreme Court has made young people think that they don't really have a voice. However, I definitely feel the most important change that any of us can make is by exercising our right to vote.”
Pearson believes in sourcing news beyond traditional mainstream media such as the New York Times, CNN or MSNBC and recommends to other 20-somethings that they investigate independent journalism and plug into alternative media outlets.
“There is a YouTube channel that I watch called Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar. For me, it’s super helpful,” she said. “I also like to watch The Young Turks.”
NMAC leadership welcomes Pearson’s Gen Z input and leans into her expertise when developing materials such as policy briefs that give her age peers information about important issues in this election, such as the current state of the economy, healthcare and democracy.
One key leader is NMAC’s deputy director of programs, Harold J. Phillips, who prior to joining NMAC served as director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP). Phillips saw firsthand how American life is impacted by the policy and budget priorities of the president, from health to housing to the environment.
“The outcome of this year’s election will have a lasting impact on the United States,” Phillips says. “It is so important that young people get familiar with the candidates’ stances and come out to vote. They are helping to shape the future of our nation and that of our world which, ultimately, they will be inheriting. Young people need to own their power and use it at the polls.”