Photo by Junho Lee/The Choate News
“Is voting an effective vehicle for change?” That was the question posed before Noah McBride ’23, who participated in the MLK Holiday DC Essay Competition this January. His award-winning essay pointed out issues within the country’s voting system and emphasized starting at the root of societal concerns in order to come to a solution. McBride won 3rd place in the competition.
McBride learned about the contest through the Marion Barry Youth Leadership Institute, a program dedicated to helping youth in DC learn to become active leaders in their community. “The goal of the competition is to get youth in DC engaged within politics, to understand the legacy of MLK Jr., but moreover, to build upon his legacy and approach reform issues — in this case, voting,” said McBride.
When asked about the message of his essay, McBride said, “I want to help people understand that there’s more to just voting and amending problems on the exterior — it’s deeper than surface level issues.” He continued on explaining that identifying the root of the issues and dismantling the corrupted system would be the only effective step toward change. “When you vote in a system that doesn’t necessarily support or prioritize your interests, you’re doing a disservice to yourself, the country, and the world,” he said.
McBride believes that simply having conversations can play an integral role in creating more equitable systems. In his essay, he hones in on the idea that effective societal change starts by evaluating the power structures in play. “A lot of times, we can get caught up operating within the system while trying to make change, but voting would never dismantle the system because it was created to support the whims and ideals of the wealthy elite. Only when we’re able to reshape the system from the core will we truly create effective change,” he said.
For McBride, the best part about the process was doing extensive research. “Learning facts, gathering information, drawing parallels between ideas that I’ve never even considered, and ultimately coming to a conclusion really is an enjoyable task,” he said.
In addition to the MLK essay competition, McBride won first place in the “East of the River Youth Voices for Statehood” competition for an essay supporting DC statehood last year. He plans to continue writing about similar topics in the future. In addition to his essays, McBride hopes to write poetry to share with the rest of the Choate community about what he believes, aspires, and hopes for in the future: a more equitable, progressive, and loving society.
