Maya Valentine

Photo Editor

The Washington Post

On National Geographic: With their future at a crossroads, young Americans are shattering voting records

Location: Washington, DC

Nationality: African American

Biography: Maya Nicole Valentine is an Afro-Latina, Chicago born, female photo editor and visual storyteller. She is currently a Photo assignment editor at The Washington Post. Prior to this, she completed the first Visura Mentorship program, a photo... MORE

Mariah Campbell sits outside a ... J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Mariah Campbell sits outside a polling place in a Third Ward neighborhood in Houston, Texas on October 29. Campbell, a junior at Texas Southern University, mentors students on the importance of voting. “I think with the recent happenings with, of course, racial injustice and the pandemic, it's kind of driving people to be more passionate about the things that are happening in our world, as well as passionate about electing leaders that have the same ideas and values that they do," Campbell said.

PHOTOS BY GRAHAM J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Left: A woman holds v...J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Left: A woman holds voting stickers at a polling location in Austin, Texas. More than double the percentage of young people who voted in the 2016 presidential election in Texas voted during the early vote period.
Right: Alex Monreal, 26, cast her vote in Austin, Texas on October 28. "I feel extremely strong this year," Monreal said. "I think the options of who we're faced with as candidates are so drastically different."

PHOTOS BY GRAHAM J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

On National Geographic: With their future at a crossroads, young Americans are shattering voting records

Twins Laura and Rachel Spencer ...J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Twins Laura and Rachel Spencer cast their votes on their 18th birthday on October 28 in Austin, Texas. The sisters, accompanied by their mother, talked about the influence of young social media stars and their impact on things like President Donald Trump's June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when TikTok stars had their followers reserve thousands of tickets and then did not attend the event.

PHOTOS BY GRAHAM J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Jewel Watts, 22, cast her ballo...J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Jewel Watts, 22, cast her ballot on October 28 in Austin. "All the young people will be living in the future that everyone else is [voting for]," Watts said. "We're really stepping up and trying to decide our future and not let what's happening now continue. Everything has been thrown out in the open, which is good, but then it's time to say, 'We need to make a change about this.'"

PHOTOS BY GRAHAM J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Blake Melton and D'Ang...J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Blake Melton and D'Angelo Colter, students at Texas Southern University in Houston, cast votes on October 29. “I truly saw that the 2018 election was kind of a turning point, especially with youth voter engagement," Colter said. "I know with the [2018 Senate election] with Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke, I think Beto truly captivated a lot of young people.”

PHOTOS BY GRAHAM J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Left: Flags fly at th...J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Left: Flags fly at the designated mail ballot drop-off point in Travis County, Texas. Many local voters—among them, Willie Nelson—hand delivered their ballot envelopes to volunteers in tents.
Right: Chelsea Lewallen, after voting in-person in Austin, Texas, took a quick pause before driving off to Colorado. Early voting in Texas surpassed the total number of votes in 2016.

PHOTOS BY GRAHAM J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Charlie Bonner of MOVE Texas w...J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Charlie Bonner of MOVE Texas works at a drive-in "get out the vote" concert in Houston, Texas on October 29, headlined by rapper Bun B. The concert at NRG Stadium was next to a 24-hour polling place, the first of its kind in Texas. “This is a generation very in touch with our values," Bonner said. "Now we are at a point where we are taking action on our values at the ballot box. And so whether it be racial justice and police violence or acting on climate change, acting to prevent campus sexual assault, all these sorts of things [our generation] has really led on."

PHOTOS BY GRAHAM J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Sean Carrigan, 23 and Avery Ba...J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Sean Carrigan, 23 and Avery Baldwin, 21, after casting their ballots in Austin, Texas, said young people want elected leaders who represent them. "Young people want younger people in office," Baldwin said. "That's who best represents us. We're not represented in government at all. We've literally got these geriatric, on-the-verge-of-dying people in office, and that shouldn't be a thing. They have the mentality of how people were thinking in the early '80s. It's just like, 'No, we don't need that any more.' They represent rich, old white people, and we're not rich old white people."

PHOTOS BY GRAHAM J. DICKIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

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Public Story

On National Geographic: With their future at a crossroads, young Americans are shattering voting records

Copyright Maya Valentine 2024

Date of Work Oct 2020 - Oct 2020

Updated Nov 2020

Location United States

Topics Action, Activism, Affluence, Discrimination, Education, Elections, Energy, Fear, Freedom, Media, Multimedia, Photography, Photojournalism, Politics, Portraiture, Revolution, Voting, Youth

I had the opportunity to work as a photo editor for an article about young people driven to vote in this year's election by racial inequality, gun violence, and climate change.

Maya Valentine

Jun 26, 2020

Story

Publication Design for the Columbia Missourian

Maya Valentine

Jun 26, 2020

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