A new activist group is trying to restore American pride in Gen-Z and millennials, blaming the leftward shift of culture and politics for zapping patriotism out of today’s youth.
The organization, called Our America, aims to promote national pride while calling attention to public officials and political groups that disparage the U.S.
“[There’s] a tiny minority of people who have really big megaphones who try and set the tone for the rest of the nation and that’s unacceptable Our basis is to become the anti-American watchdog and call out anti-Americanism and say it’s wrong,” said Gabriel Nadales, national director for the Western region.
Our America lists its values as freedom of expression, respect, dignity, equal opportunity and patriotism.
The group launched with a $500,000 national TV ad campaign in July with ads out on Univision, BET, TNT, TBS and MTV. It currently has more than 160,000 email subscribers with almost half of its base comprised of Black and Hispanic supporters.
Mr. Nadales said the organization is hoping to get out into minority communities and spread their message on a grassroots level, as well as reach younger demographics of Gen-Z and millennials.
“We don’t want to go to Washington and talk to them and go to their [political] aisles. When you talk to everyday Americans, there is a lot of agreement and what we need to do is give them a voice,” Mr. Nadales said.
Barrington Deon Martin II, the national director for the eastern region, said the group is meant to crack down on movements such as defund the police and critical race theory, which he calls “un-American.”
Mr. Martin argued the vast majority of Americans reject anti-American sentiment, which is reflected in public opinion surveys.
“There’s a silent majority, and we basically want to convert them from being the silent majority to being loud and proud,” Mr. Martin said.
Polling by the organization found that 86% of respondents agreed with the statement that America is a great country. Among that number, 80% of Hispanics agreed, along with 76% of Black voters. Just over 70% of parents and people under 40 years old also agreed.
To the question asking if there are politicians who despise or hate America and whether the sentiment should be stopped, 78% of people said they agreed with that statement.
In that group, 77% of Hispanics agreed, with 74% Blacks and 86% of parents under 40.
The group questioned 1,600 voters and the poll had a margin of error of +/-2.5%.