Critical Reflection and Cognitive Empowerment among Youth Involved in Community Organizing

Through youth organizing initiatives, young people conduct research into social issues and build power to address these issues. This study examines the developmental interplay between the cognitive components of two of the most influential civic developmental constructs—critical consciousness and psychological empowerment—through analysis of interviews with 19 current and former participants in a youth organizing initiative in San Bernardino, CA, all of whom identify as Latinx. Most participants clearly articulated viewpoints consonant with the cognitive components of critical consciousness and psychological empowerment, but these were much more pronounced among those who had been involved for longer periods of time. Findings provide insights into distinctions and crosscurrents between critical reflection and cognitive empowerment, and into the settings and processes leading to their development. Cycles of action and reflection can support the simultaneous development of critical reflection and cognitive empowerment.

Immigrant and Refugee Youth Organizing in Solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives

In recent years, politically active Latinx and Asian American Pacific Islander youth have addressed anti-Black racism within their own immigrant and refugee communities, engaged in protests against police violence, and expressed support for #SAYHERNAME. Reflecting the broader patterns of a new political generation and of progressive social movement leadership, women and nonbinary youth have disproportionately committed to inclusive fights for racial justice. In this essay, through two biographical examples, we highlight the role of grassroots youth organizing groups in training their diverse young members to become effective allies, introducing them to intersectional frameworks that motivate solidarity across racial and ethnic boundaries.

Political Subjectivation and the In/Visible Politics of Migrant Youth Organizing in Germany and the United States

In countries of the Global North, migrant youth with a precarious legal status are not commonly seen as political subjects, but as subjects of politics. Against this background, this paper reflects on how migrant youth nevertheless manage to organize themselves and intervene in the dominant society, thereby emerging as unforeseen political subjects. Discussing acts of citizenship and autonomy of migration approaches, I argue for the use of a multifaceted concept of collective political subjectivation. Doing so sheds light on how migrant struggles exceed categorization as protest, moments of rupture, or imperceptible subversion. While drawing on Jacques Rancière's concept of “political subjectivation,” I go beyond his rather narrow focus by highlighting aspects of democracy, transgression, and in/visibility, as well as creative modes of identity-making, which could be further developed in the literature on political subjectivities and migrant struggles. This theoretical reflection builds on two qualitative case studies on migrant youth organizing in Germany and the United States that show the relevance of visible as well as relatively invisible politics. In both cases, I analyze two events that provide insight into this complex notion of political subjectivation: “Coming Out of the Shadows” in the United States and the counter-conferences in Germany.

We Are More Than Paperless People: Reflections on Creating Spaces, Narratives and Change with Undocumented Communities

In this piece, we share some insights gleaned from oral histories of immigrant organizers involved in New Jersey state campaigns for access to higher education, weaving them with scholarly personal narratives (Nash & Viray, 2013) from the authors on their own youth organizing and/or experience working in an undocumented student support center. We are guided by the following questions: (1) How do New Jersey immigrant organizers make meaning of and create spaces of hope and home through their organizing? (2) What propels this work and sustains it across cohorts of organizers? We discuss five general areas in response: the experience of invisibility and organizing efforts that aim to counter it, the co-construction of homespaces within higher education institutions, the importance of (re)setting narratives, celebrating wins while pressing for more, and the intergenerational work that inspires and sustains change. We close the article with reflections on the ways in which formal and everyday organizing are acts of love and care, from which home is collectively built.

In Millennial Footsteps: California Social Movement Organizations for Generation Z

This article highlights main themes that emerged from our panel featuring youth organizers and scholars of youth social movements in California. We focus on how organizations uplift youth leadership, foster queer inclusivity, build across racial difference, and cultivate “beloved community,” a concept popularized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Our organizations address the root causes of inequities that threaten low-income communities of color, while adapting to contemporary challenges by proposing new modes of social change. For example, youth-centered leadership has long been at the crux of youth organizing; meanwhile, “healing” has increasingly emerged as a prominent aspect of youth organizations devoted to social change. This article thus summarizes our panel’s insights about youth organizing across California.

Queer and Trans Youth Organizing

Youth organizing is a form of civic engagement and activism. It offers a way for young people to identify and address social inequalities impacting their local and global communities. Youth are provided opportunities to learn about power structures and pathways to create meaningful change to support their communities. In formal institutional approaches, youth organizing is understood as part of positive youth development and a strategy to train young people about civic society and democracy. Youth organizing is also seen as a way for young people to seek support, empowerment, and resources and to develop their leadership capacity. Central to the field of youth organizing are questions on the role of youth within youth organizing. Researchers examine the leadership structure within youth organizations, the acquisition of resources for the organization, the process for identifying issues that the organization will address, and how youth experience their involvement. Youth organizing has been especially important for young marginalized people who may feel isolated and face harassment and discrimination. Researchers have extensively documented how youth organizing by people of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer and questioning (LGBTQ) young people in North America have played a large role in fights for social justice. However, it was not until the mid-20th century that queer and trans youth started organizing in groups connected by their shared experiences and identities related to their sexuality and gender. The development of Gay–Straight Alliances (GSAs) in schools and debates about sexuality education in schools provide examples for exploring LGTBQ youth organizing in the 21st century.