Social Justice Youth Organizing develops youth by seeing them not only as assets but also as actors capable of transforming their own environments, especially repressive aspects of their environment, and not simply developing resiliency & resistance to it. It emphasizes the importance of fostering young peoples ability to understand and act upon the larger social forces that affect their lives and their communities. The results of this type of youth organizing are powerful
- Youth transform relationships in the community by sharing power with adults.
- Development of pride in self-identity/life-purpose; ability to identify with others with similar interests.
- Development of sense of belonging to something bigger than self.
- Refraining from behaviors that contribute to oppression of others (from use of slurs to buying sweatshop shoes).
- Capacity to change and involve oneself in transformation of self and community.
- Development of recruitment, strategic planning and communication skills.
- Enhanced awareness of and ability to cultivate personal safety.
- Increased access to the networks, ideas and experiences that build individual and collective capacity to pursue social justice
So what is happening in your community that is developing youth, and the community, in this way? What youth work activities might be transformed into more powerful social justice youth organizing work? What is in the way of that happening?
This conclusion come from summaries of research by Ginwright and Erbstein.
updated by @ron-dwyer-voss: 04/30/19 12:47:47AM