Don’t let Lightfoot’s political improprieties poison the well of action civics
Don’t let Lightfoot’s political improprieties poison the well of action civics
We can't let Mayor Lightfoot's missteps get in the way of student involvement in political activism. The future of our democracy depends on civic engagement.
You may have seen in the news that Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s reelection campaign sent emails to Chicago Public School teachers requesting that they encourage CPS students to get involved with her effort to win a second term as the city’s chief executive. It has also come to light that Lightfoot has been putting similar pressure on faculty and staff at Chicago City Colleges since August of last year.
Students engage in action civics, a hands-on way of teaching civics that inspires lifelong engagement in democracy. Photo credit: Mikva Challenge
Of course, the mayor and her team are trying everything they can to downplay this obviously inappropriate behavior, calling it a “well-intentioned mistake”. But, the mayor is the de facto boss of every employee of the City of Chicago and her sister agencies. With the city’s long history of patronage, the emails represent an unacceptable overreach.
But just because the mayor’s campaign should not solicit volunteers from among the ranks of Chicago’s schoolchildren, it does not mean that our students should not be involved with the ongoing mayoral election. They should be. Somebody should be reaching out to school teachers and encouraging them to get their students volunteering on mayoral campaigns. That message should not be coming from a mayor seeking reelection. That message should not direct students to one specific campaign. Teachers need to be encouraged to get students involved, supported in the process, and celebrated when they do.
There is a movement called “Action Civics” that was a big part of my life for more than a decade when as a student, an active supporter, and then as a board member, I was involved with the Mikva Challenge in Chicago. At the core of Mikva’s mission to develop youth to be empowered, informed, and active citizens is the practice of action civics, a kind of applied civics in which students learn by doing. The process begins with students examining their own lives and communities to identify the issues that matter most to them. Then they look at all of the candidates in the mayoral race based on their issues, proposals, and backgrounds.
Most civic lessons end there. But action civics goes further to connect students with those campaigns of candidates which they have determined represent their values and priorities. action civics walks with students through the volunteering process and provides spaces for reflection and deeper learning. Mikva is not the only organization promoting action civics in the United States, though they are the leader in the space here in Chicago. And they certainly should not be the only backer of the model.
The church should be entering into the space of action civics, not only with youth, but with people of all ages. We should be proactively urging our membership and friends to analyze the issues, examine the candidates, and then engage in campaigns. The church has the resources of people, spaces, and in many cases, the meager funds required to support this kind of robust civic engagement. In so doing, we would be discipling our congregations to be good stewards of the tremendous power granted to each of us citizens and voters.
The kind of corruption evident in the “well-intentioned mistake” LIghtfoot campaign made can only be run out of our politics if we shine the light of a well-informed, fully-engaged citizenry. One of the best ways to do this is by getting young people involved in civics and politics early. Research suggests that if they get involved early, then they’ll stay involved for the rest of their lives.
The Lightfoot campaign’s ill advised emails are not an argument for keeping politics away from our youth. On the contrary, it demonstrates why we must get our youth thoughtfully and meaningfully engaged.