The Buzz: The Myth of the Millennial Saviors

Mainstream dialogue around generations often alludes to the major role Millennials will play in ushering our society into a new era void of racism, sexism, xenophobia, and other societal ills.

In 2013, Time predicted Millennials would “save us all,” because they’re “more accepting of differences.” The Atlantic stated the it is a common held belief among next-generation leaders that “there are no inherently male or female roles in society.’” And of course, MTV found that 91 percent of Millennials do in fact “believe in equality” and believe “everyone should be treated equally.”

Given some of the expectations around Millennials, their exposure to, and assumed acceptance of difference, many believe that the pervasive biases against women, people of color, and other historically marginalized groups will diminish significantly once Millennials assume positions of power. In sum, the millennials are going to “save us.”

However, if you’ve been following much of what’s happening on college campuses across the country over the past few weeks, you may be inclined to think otherwise:

  • American University: Protests erupted on campus, following racist incidents at a school dorm, one of which involved a white student throwing a banana at a black student.
  • University of North Dakota: The University is investigating a post made by students that show white students wearing blackface, with a caption “Black Lives Matter.”
  • Ohio University: The university’s “free speech” graffiti wall was center of debate after students painted a figure hanging from a tree and the phrase “Build the Wall.”
  • among others.

Now, these incidents are perhaps the extreme. One could argue that they’re representative of the “one-off,” overt forms of “isms” that exist within any generation. One could also argue that despite these incidents, millennials are still in a position to move us, and our country forward…

But are we?  

New studies suggest Millennials hold just as many, if not more, biases against different minority groups than the generations before them. For example, a 2016 study by the National Institutes of Health found that male college students systematically overestimated the knowledge of men in their classes in comparison with women, despite clear evidence of the women’s superior class performance. Similar studies have also found that millennials are more likely to be against systemic measures meant to curve historic racial inequalities, like affirmative action, because they believe “never considering race would improve society.”

This post is in no way meant to shame or “diss,” the generation of which I proudly belong. It is more so, an opportunity to re-evaluate the standard to which we and society have held us when it comes to addressing pervasive barriers and isms that exist within our country. It’s also meant to address the flaw in viewing the group through a monolithic lens. Myths that perpetuate the stereotypical colorblind millennial, and studies that center the experiences of one group of millennials over others, do more harm than good, While they may give a comfortable sense of hope, they silence the experiences of some and turn a blind eye to real issues that still need to be addressed. Issues that cannot be addressed by one generation, alone.

The work needed to dismantle many of the systems and barriers that continue to exist within our society is a much greater charge than one generation can bear. And if we don’t work together to do something about it, I’m inclined to believe that history (and generational curses) will continue to repeat itself.