When was the last time young Americans were hopeful?

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]People might be surprised at this, that a majority were hopeful in 2021. We had COVID, obviously. We had a presidential election, but we also had the George Floyd murder and protest, you know, less than a year before that. And what made younger people hopeful during that era, during that period, was that they saw their entire community organized, you know, for a singular goal or mission, you know, which was justice, essentially, right? And that unlike previous demonstrations or protests, it wasn't just the black community, or it wasn't, you know, one state or one demographic group. Younger people saw the fabric of the entire country kind of come together. That gave them a lot of hope. That is one of the few moments when I asked younger people when they were felt most proud to be an American, and that is one of the few moments that they can remember over the course of the last, you know, 15 years or so.