This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Parker Short, an incoming graduate student at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and president of the Young Democrats of Georgia, a youth organization that’s part of the Democratic Party of Georgia and the Young Democrats of America. Short, who is 22 and lives in Dunwoody, Georgia — a northern suburb of Atlanta — went viral on July 30 when he was filmed dancing to a Kendrick Lamar song at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When “Not Like Us” came on, one of my best friends, Royce — he’s right next to me in the viral video — looked at me because he knew how much I loved this song and how well I knew every word.
I just started to do what I would have done in the car alone. I sang every word, and I got real excited. I had so much energy that day.
We all went out to a bar after, and my friends said, “Parker, you’re all over the internet.” I went home and slept, and when I woke up, I had 10,000 more Instagram followers.
I’ve been organizing for the Young Democrats of Georgia since I was 15. And when I went viral, I said, “Okay, I need to do the most with this. I need to tell people to vote and keep doing the work that I’ve been doing for years.”
Your vote is the most powerful non-violent tool you have, as the late Rep. John Lewis said.
Courtesy of Parker Short
We live with that responsibility of being in Georgia, the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, the birthplace of Jimmy Carter — and we need to continue to live those values.
I got involved in politics at 15 years old. Right after Trump got elected, I went to the Women’s March with my mom. Growing up with a single mom, it really matters how you’re raised, and my mama raised me right.
‘I will always invest in America’
I lost my dad when I was a little kid. I was four years old, and he died of lung cancer. The doctors told him he had three months to live — he lived for 18 months.
It was really tough on my family. I didn’t really get to know my dad too well because I was just a little kid. My dad was an artist. He was the art director for “Remember the Titans,” and a set consultant for “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” which is my favorite movie of all time.
When my family lost him, it was me, my mom, and my little brother. I had to grow up, and I had to get tough real quick. Paying bills is tough. I understood the stress that my mom was under.
Social Security is what made a huge impact on my life. There’s something called survivor Social Security, and when you lose a parent, you’re able to receive that benefit. That kept my family afloat.
Social Security allowed me to have a roof over my head, allowed me to go to school, allowed me to invest in myself, and give back to my community. I view this as America investing in me, and I will always invest in America.
When Jon Ossoff ran for Congress in my congressional district in 2017, I was 15 years old. And that was my first job as an intern.
Courtesy of Parker Short
Since then, I’ve been working in politics and public policy. I’ve worked for the state, local, and federal government, and a variety of different elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and lobbying organizations.
I’m lucky to be a Pell Grant recipient and graduate from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, debt-free. I’ve felt and seen the benefits of positive, progressive public policy.
‘We are stronger when we help each other’
After I went viral, my congressman, Rep. Hank Johnson, came to my town. My state senator also came over to my house and affirmed her support for the Young Democrats of Georgia. It’s been great to talk about these issues and the work I’ve been doing for years and to have a larger platform.
Looking to the future, I’m going to spend my life in Georgia policy-making, trying to fix this state. The truth is, there’s so much work to be done.
I don’t have any immediate plans to run for office. Honestly, I just want to be an asset to progress in Georgia, and I know my impact could be more profound if I continue to educate myself.
Growing up in red Dunwoody, Georgia, people would be like, ‘Oh, you’re the Democrat kid, aren’t you?’
And I would tell them why, and tell them my story and how Social Security impacted me, and what Medicaid was, what Medicare was, and why we needed to elect Democrats.
I think we have a country that, in many ways, has forgotten the working class. I think work is so valuable. There’s so much dignity in going to work, whatever your job is, because it’s hard, and everyone who works deserves the ability to make a living.
Sometimes things don’t always go right. Sometimes, your dad dies when you’re a four-year-old kid, and your mom is left with two toddlers that she’s got to deal with. And that’s when those social safety net programs, like Social Security, that neighborliness of our country, that joy, that communal care, comes in because we should help each other. We are stronger when we help each other, not when we tear each other down.
Let me level with you because I like to say the quiet part out loud. I’m not a bullshitter. Everybody who knows me knows one thing about me: I am blunt, I try to be real, and I don’t have time to mess around.
We have work to do. And I have a platform, so I’m going to use it. I’m not going to be quiet.
