IN 1966, Newsweek published a landmark cover story, “The Teen-Agers: A Newsweek Survey of What They’re Really Like.” The 18-page article examined the teen world in fine detail: their heroes, politics, sexual proclivities and shopping habits, as well as what they thought about education, the world and their future. The article was based on an extensive survey of nearly 800 girls and boys across the country, conducted by famous pollster Louis Harris and Associates, and it also profiled six teens in depth, including a black teen growing up in Chicago, a California girl and an Iowa farm boy.
ILLUSTRATION BY SACHIN TENG
Fifty years later, Newsweek set out to discover what’s changed for American teenagers and what’s stayed the same. For a generation that’s growing up online, coming of age with the first black U.S. president and witnessing the rise of Donald Trump’s divisive politics, the teenagers of today are optimistic about yet wary of their futures. Newsweek also tracked down all six teens profiled in 1966 to find out how their lives have unfolded over the past 50 years. This is the story of teens and race in America today.