Talking with a first-time voter in Wisconsin
“It's hard to have faith in a system that is built with institutions that are designed to keep certain people down,” says Jackson Wolfe.
Jackson is an 18-year-old from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, who worked on a get-out-to-vote campaign with a nonprofit called Leaders Igniting Transformation. He also voted for the first time this year, casting a ballot in the election that has had the highest voter turnout in U.S. history. On this week’s episode, Jackson talked with Al Letson about his personal perspective on the divisions that feel like they define American life these days. Jackson grew up in a predominantly White, conservative small city – but as a Black gay Republican, he said he never really felt like he fit in anywhere during his teens. “I learned to assimilate to my White peers,” he tells Al.
As the election moves into a new stage, it’s interesting to think about how it has been seen by young people like Jackson. For him, it’s the first election of his lifetime in which he can actually participate. His political identity was deeply shaped this year by the murder of George Floyd and massive Black Lives Matter protests. When Al checked in with Jackson a few days after the election, he poignantly said: “I really feel like right now, as a country, we're all very tense, and I think everyone is collectively ready for this to move forward. But moving forward is the scary part.”
Listen to the episode: The American divide
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Rachel de Leon works as a producer and reporter at Reveal. She puts together challenging video projects such as 
