Youth Activism
Overview
Youth activism and youth led racial justice organizations have always been an important component of efforts to expand rights and change laws, policies and systemic responses to injustice. Youth are among the leaders now, in response to persistent injustice, made visible again to a wider audience after the killing of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, militarized police response in Ferguson, and high levels of deportation. Youth leadership is core yet an intergenerational approach is not always integrated in racial equity work. Resources in this section include links to key youth led organizations and information about youth designed and led activities. They also include information about to view youth development strategies through a structural racism lens – including capacity building for groups to engage with youth, and to support youth leadership.
Key sites
- Little Black Pearl
- South by Southwest Experiment
- Black Youth Project
- United We Dream
- Million Hoodies Movement for Justice
- Dream Defenders
Practices
- Changing The Rules Of The Game: Youth Development & Structural Racism
- Engaging Youth in Community Change
- A Way Out: Creating Partners for our Nation's Prosperity by Expanding Life Paths of Young Men of Color - Dellums Commission Final Report
- Collective Impact for Opportunity Youth
- Building A Pipeline for Justice: Understanding Youth Organizing and the Leadership Pipeline
Resources
- Structural Racism And Youth Development Issues, Challenges, And Implications
- Building Transformative Youth Leadership: Data on the Impacts of Youth Organizing
- Youth Organizing for Education Reform
- The Future of Youth Activism
- How Trayvon Martin’s Death Launched a New Generation of Black Activism
- Tool to Engage Youth in Discussions About Liberation
- #NoCopsNoGuns: Student Walkout Toolkit
- Indigenizing Love: A Toolkit for Native Youth to Build Inclusion
