If you’re concerned about the future of the country and are worried about where its next conservative leaders, influencers, and activists will come from, Young Americas Foundation’s (YAF) 45th Annual National Conservative Student Conference in Washington, DC, is proof that the country and its future are in capable hands.
The five-day conference — dubbed #YAFCon — which wrapped up Friday, had a real rock concert vibe you could feel right away. By the time my Breitbart colleague, Jerome Hudson (a YAF alum himself), and I arrived on day two, there were throngs of animated student activists filing into the main conference room, where the 45th Governor of Wisconsin and YAF President Scott Walker was about to take the main stage.
Photo courtesy Young Americas Foundation
In his speech, Governor Walker focused heavily on President Ronald Reagan and the mettle of America to face adversity, leaving the attendees with inspiring words: “All throughout the history of this great nation, through good times and bad, through world wars, the Great Depression, the attacks at Pearl Harbor, the attacks at 9/11, all throughout the history of this beloved republic, there have been men and women of courage willing to stand up and make sacrifices, some even to the point of sacrificing their lives for the freedoms we hold dear today. I believe all of you are here this week because you understand what’s at risk. I believe all of you are here this week because you not only understand what’s at risk, but you’re willing to fight for it.”
And based on the kids’ response, it seemed pretty clear they did understand and they are willing to fight.
“Man, there’s an electricity here,” Jerome commented, as the ruckus crowd of conservative college warriors cheered Governor Walker, before welcoming the next speaker: Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, who was blacklisted after wearing shoes emblazoned with “Free Tibet” during a basketball game in 2021.
Shortly after, Jerome Hudson got a chance to sit down with the Governor, who said in an exclusive interview: “We are there to help make sure that our young people are trained to fight back on campus.”
WATCH the full interview with Governor Walker below.
If you only had the bright smiles, the big laughs, and the hands waving during Q&A as evidence of who these young people are outside of #YAFCon, you wouldn’t know that many of them come from campuses where they are routinely ridiculed, harassed, and persecuted, often by their progressive peers — and in some cases even their professors and faculty. The charge: daring to unapologetically dissent from mainstream orthodoxy, and defend and promote the conservative values that helped make this country the envy of the world.
“I’ve joked about this in the last year, but it’s true, if we closed our campuses down again, it would do more to stop the spread of communism, than it would stop the spread of Covid. And that’s just how radical things have gotten,” Walker told Breitbart.
“Both of my kids are graduates, one went to a private Jesuit Catholic institution, the other went to the University Wisconsin, obviously a public institution. Both came out solid conservatives, but it wasn’t because of the campus. It was because of groups like YAF, like College Republicans, and others, where they befriended people who then together locked arms, and they stayed tough,” Walker continued.
Photo courtesy Young Americas Foundation
Attendees shared some of their most pressing concerns with Breitbart, including tech, social pressure to be progressive, how to navigate the work-force in liberal-dominated industries, and how to maintain American culture in a changing society.
“I worry about, especially young people, not valuing our constitution because that’s what secures our basic rights as Americans, that’s a big part of our identity, and if we lose that — I worry about that,” one student told Breitbart.
“One of the most pressing issues I currently see in our country is the fact that we have one main social media source that millions and millions of our citizens use, obviously, TikTok. I think one of the problems with this is that when the algorithm that’s Chinese-made gets too specific for the person who’s using the app, I think that’s way too dangerous for our citizens to have something pinpointed directly toward them that’s not controlled by our citizens or a US company, instead of a foreign adversary,” said another.
Hudson and I had dozens of conversations with students, where the theme was that this organization creates a community where they are able to be real and honest about who they are and what their values are, without fearing judgment or backlash.
Photo courtesy Young Americas Foundation
The event provided opportunity for the young upstarts to meet (hundreds of) like-minded friends, swap ideas, network, hang out, and learn from leaders in the politics and media industries with real-world experience to share — the environment felt less like a political conference but something more resembling a festival. There were a number of attendees who weren’t even looking to be involved in politics professionally — some in sciences, medicine, and other non-political fields — but were just there to connect with friends who would let them be themselves.
Photo courtesy Young Americas Foundation
Speakers included former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, culture warriors like James Lindsey and Riley Gaines, and the setting had opportunities for attendants to meet the speakers and take photos.
Looking at the political climate in America, and the image of Gen Z that is projected by the media, can sometimes be cause for concern about where the country is going and what the future holds. But after a week at YAF one fact remains clear — the next generation is not just going to be tossing the keys to this country to the left.