Asante Blackk on Gen Z and voting: ‘They want us to feel that we are powerless’

The 19-year-old 'When They See Us' actor voted for the first time this year

Nov 3, 2020

At 19, Asante Blackk has already taken on several powerful roles and he’s poised to lead the next generation of Black Hollywood.

The actor opened up about his experience as a first-time voter this week, sharing his thoughts on the future and what role he believes his generation will play in shaping it.

”I feel like Gen Z, my generation, is a very capable generation, you know? We see a lot more than people realize and we are working to change a lot more than people realize,” he told PEOPLE. “It’s very important to us.”

The When They See Us star who is also featured on the new Netflix series Social Distance knows the importance of using his voice for change.

Asante Blackk in ‘Social Distance’ (Netflix)

“The country is the most divided [it has been in a really long time. We haven’t seen this at all, where people are so divided on these issues,” he said.

“A lot of times we feel like we don’t have the power to change anything in this country, but that feeling is what really stops us….They want us to feel that we are powerless so that we don’t use the power we have.”

The young star also shared his thoughts on celebrities involving themselves in politics.

”Politics isn’t this fancy thing, it’s really just your livelihood. It’s really how you live your life from day to day, what your experiences are, what you want to change in your own life and what you don’t like that the current government is doing. That’s really what it is,” he said.

“We see these things, we feel these things, we hear these things and that’s why we try to push back and fight as much as we can. I feel like it would almost be stupid of us to sit on the sidelines and act like we don’t see it when we do.”

Check out the full interview here.

Social Distance is available now on Netflix.