Why do we do what we do?

Why do we do what we do? 

To my surprise, social justice youth development was NOT my dominant ideology. However, because civic youth development was not available under our options, I chose my second most dominant, being social justice youth development. I checked out the three websites given and selected the first mission, summary etc. that stood out to me.
First was http://www.ariseducation.org/, ARISE, the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education. I was especially curious for this program because I have a couple of student who are members. One of the first quotes that struck me was, "ARISE combines leadership training with community organizing to mobilize Southeast Asian and other Rhode Island youth of color for education justice." This resonated with me because, I also believe in youth leadership and serving BIPOC youth. "Education justice" also lingers because it is something that I wrote about recently when thinking about my values and identity in the spaces I show up in for youth.

Next, I checked out Youth In Action, another organization that I know of, being in similar circles. "We create opportunities for youth to become agents of change through transformative youth leadership programming. We create brave spaces for youth to bring their cultures, values, identities, and truths and then build the skills and tools to name and address equity issues in their communities. Through their leadership, Youth In Action works to create more caring and fair public institutions and systems." I chose this quote because, not only did I share the same beliefs, values and ideals, but it also has a lot of similarities to ARISE. While I also believe in creating opportunities, I admire the concept of "brave spaces". I also see youth leadership as a reoccurring theme through which justice and equity are strived for.

Lastly, I reviewed PrYSM, Providence Youth Student Movement. I found their mission which states, "PrYSM mobilizes queer Southeast Asian youth, families, and allies to build grassroots power and organize collectively for social justice." While I see again, similarities amongst all three around the importance of organizing for justice, there were a few things that shocked me. First is that their website is not updated and has information from June 2022 when they were being evicted from their office, not sure if they have one now. Second, their website has a lot around mobilizing and empowering but not around youth leadership like myself and the first two programs implement. Third, what really resonated for me was their messages of care and love, which were also expressed on Youth in Action's website, while not mentioned in either programs mission.

All in all, youth leadership = justice in systems change!



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