Old School Orgs Seek Rejuvenation Through Youth

Two news stories this week point to "old school" political organizations with storied, successful histories, struggling to reconnect with young voters in an attempt to rejuvenate their membership and their political relevance.

Ralph Reed Will Start "Hipper" Christian Coalition

After years of scandal and political defeats, Ralph Reed wants a new start and is creating a new advocacy group called the Faith and Freedom Coalition, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Said Reed: "This is not going to be your daddy's Christian Coalition. It has to be younger, hipper, less strident, more inclusive and it has to harness the 21st century that will enable us to win in the future... It's the political analog to the iPod and the iPhone. It would be cool. It would be transformative. It would transform our politics and bring younger people to our ranks. All of those are critical imperatives."

100 Years Old, NAACP Sees Resurgence of Youth Activism

First founded a century ago as the National Negro Committee, today's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is sometimes regarded as an organization with graying members and obsolete ideas, out of step with new challenges facing the Black community. The average age of a member is between 50 and 55.

But as the nation's oldest civil rights organization celebrates its centennial, NAACP officials are reporting a resurgence of youth activism, even as it continues to field questions about its relevancy in the post-civil rights era.

Advanced registration numbers for the convention are a record 2,400, and the number of attendees under the age of 25 is "significantly higher" than it was last year, according to Stefanie Brown, who oversees the organization's Youth and College Division.

It's going to be interesting watching to see how both of these organizations (well, in the case of Reed I guess he means to start a new organization) fare in reaching out to Millennials to become relevant political players once more. Personally, I have my doubts that either can be successful.

With regard to Reed and his "Christian Coalition 2.0," I just dont' think he's going to be willing to bend far enough on culture war issues to really make headway among more than a tiny fraction of Millennials who are really just low-hanging fruit for his movement.

As for the NAACP, this excellent post from Jack and Jill Politics does a better job than I ever could outlining why the organization is going to have a hard time revitalizing itself in a new media environment: The NAACP Doesn't Care About Black People.