-What kind of activism is happing around the country?
- For what reason are they doing youth activism?
When people think about the term activism they usually think of political issues in fact the term activist is often described as deliberate actions taken to create political or social change; but it addresses more than just political issues. Activism happening around the country today includes a wide variety of topics such as civil disobedience which is the act of rebelling against unfair laws or treatment using non violent confrontational action. Protesting for the affirmative or negative meaning taking a stand for something you are for or against. two other kinds of activism taking place in this country and is spreading rapidly is youth activism and student activism .Take for example Jasmine an 18 year old high schools student living in Oakland California who was basically being denied her high school diploma for having a child. Her situation was simple; she needed the school to provide childcare in order for her to attend summer classes to gain her high school diploma but the school would not offer childcare for mandatory summer sessions. When Jasmine saw that the school continued to ignore the issue at hand she organized a campaign informing “the school board, district officials, and Oakland superintendent Denis Chaconas” (no.03). After contacting these people and arguing her opinion a childcare center at Jackson high jasmine school was in the making later on that year.
Jasmine situation is a perfect example of youth activism and student activism all in one.
There are plenty of reasons for doing youth activism; in Jasmine case it was to reject the stigmatization of being labeled at risk and prove to her school and others who doubted her that has a right to participate to the maximum of her capacity. Young people are often viewed by society as a liability which is one of the reason for why so much organization is supporting youth activism; it is to show others that we can be counter productive in society as any other adults and that are opinion and voices are worthy of being heard though they may need a little guidance at times. Though there are tons of reasons for Youth activism it is mainly to “build individual youth interpersonal capacity” (no.03). This means to help support and guide young people not using your own assets but there own assets. it means figuring out what they are lacking and what they are in need of to reach their full capacity and figuring out all that they can achieve.
-Youth Activism and Organizing
For the past years youth organizing has developed, with young people mostly leading with the support of paid staff and adults. But it was not always like this. There were many obstacles and milestones to overcome. During the 1960’s youth participated in organizations towards larger issues such as against segregation and integration. For example four years before Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 March, civil rights leader Baynard Rustin led a youth march for integrated schools in the Washington. After this had happen, teenage college students started the first successful challenges towards lunch segregation. And also in 1963,one thousand children as six years old emptied the sixteenth street Baptist church in Birmingham Alabama, singing freedom songs as they were blasted with fire hoses and attacked by police dogs. Hundreds of them spent the night in Bull Connor’s jail. These organizations were both good and bad because it was great that teens and youth could participate in such important issues. Even little kids were able to participate and express them selves, and take risks, but the downside to this was that along with being able to participate in grown activities came grown consequences such as being hosed down, attacked by dogs, and being put in jail. There were organizations such as the Black Panthers, Young Lords, and Brown Berets that represented the faces of the youth. A very important event happened in which youth protested and that led Congress to extend the franchise to 18-to-20 year olds in 1971, so that they would acknowledge that if youth were young enough to be drafted they could be able to vote. The government responded to the youth negatively because they viewed the youth in a negative perspective. From this perspective youth became low, as I having a belittling effect or force and having no power. They were looked down upon and seen as a problem. This is because the government thought and projected the image of the youth not being able to take care of themselves and not have control over personal matters then how could they possibly lead organizations and make change. But it was not their faults; it was simply the “culture of poverty” that they had no control of. Instead of recreation centers helping the youth and assisting in making them better they shut them out. But moms and youth found ways to project this injustice into political speeches and evening news sound bytes. It was not until now that youth began to have an identity, and a political identity at that. Youth organizing has arisen in multiple ways in response to the eras of Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, because of the federal government itself did not encourage young people to become politically engaged in their communities. Today the shift in the political environment did not get rid of the voices of youth who disagreed or opposed their decision of not having youth involved. This is where organizations were developed by youth. By the mid-1990’s, urban areas witnessed the birth of non-profit organizations or programs dedicated to expanding organizing and activism among youth. Youth deal with multiple issues. Three main issues are public education, criminal justice, and environmental justice. These issues also have sub-issues that fall under them. These issues that the youth deal with revolve around communities and not just individuals. Some of the most popular issues that organizations are focused on are: analyzing issues such as police conduct and juvenile justice, addressed homophobia and the rights of queer youth taking up issues within public education and criminal justice and other areas. Immigrant rights and racial justice organizations work in almost every issue area, which makes it one of the most popular issues since it, ties into all of the main issues. In public education youth and adults were involved together. One of the things that they dealt with was getting illegal students to be able to pay for school. In criminal justice organizations such as Young Women’s Development created an organizing project to provide organizing and leadership training and cultural programs for young women in San Francisco’s juvenile detention centers. Instead of punishing youth they came up with rehabilitation programs that would actually help them. But youth-led organizing around criminal justice is not limited to incarceration issues alone. They are doing organizing that addresses violence against young women of color, including harassment. And a recently established organizing project for gay and lesbian youth has focused on police harassment of queer youth. The objectives that organizations need for future success and to keep growing are sustainability, and long-term goals. In the long run although trying they may try to empower the youth, it doesn’t change the problems that youth face in their everyday personal lives.