American Heritage-ICYMI: Engaging young voters

Amber Morris, President and Founder of American Heritage with Board member Bill Hammack and Royal Examiner publisher Mike McCool. Photo and video by Mark Williams.

American Heritage-ICYMI was born of the recognition that participation in our democratic republic is sadly lacking. By informal sampling the Founder, Amber Poe Morris, determined that the 18-35 age group registers to vote in twice the numbers of others but is only 10 percent of the voter turnout. Theoretically, voter apathy is partially a function of not understanding civic responsibilities and the value of individual participation in preserving our republic.

The Center for American Progress reported in Feb of 2018 that “public trust in government is only 18 percent and voter participation has reached its lowest point since 1996. Without the understanding of the structure of government, rights and responsibilities, and methods of public engagement, voter apathy could continue to plague American democracy.” The National Education Association reported in 2017 that only 25 percent of U.S. students reach the “proficient” standard on the NEAP civics assessment.

There is no lack of evidence that we are in a patriotic crisis. While the Founder(s) of American Heritage-ICYMI initially identified voter apathy they also recognized the need to engage, teach, and motivate young voters and new and aspiring citizens.

On September 13, 2018, the American Heritage-ICYMI was granted their Corporate license as a Virginia nonprofit. On September 28 the 501(c)(3) status was approved by the Internal Revenue Service.

Amber Morris, founder and President and Board member Bill Hammack stopped by the Royal Examiner’s studio to share their vision.

Mission and Execution

They view their mission in four phases. Phase one is to complete our Board of Directors’ membership by adding a representative from each of the eight regional counties we are initially targeting (Rockingham, Page, Shenandoah, Frederick, Clarke, Loudoun, Fauquier and Warren). Phase one also identifies resources such as teachers, re-enactors and more precisely locates our target audience. Phase one never ends.

Phase two is engagement of the target audience through multimedia especially social media. Their goal is to bring our younger generation into a setting which piques their interest. They also envision American Heritage as an extra curriculum activity for high school students.

Phase three is the teaching phase. They will use re-enactors to depict historical events which will provide a departure from the formality of the classroom. They envision interplay between the audience and the actors in real time dialogue.

Phase four relies heavily on Phase three for its success. They will present the history of voting to include woman’s suffrage, the voting rights act as well as several of the applicable Constitutional Amendments. Current voting laws and procedures will be reviewed.

Their goal is to confirm that which is factually known of our Heritage and to fill the gaps of that which has been missed. They will address the great, the not so great, and that which is regrettable in our history.