Youth Leadership in the Boston Public School Walkout Movement

• In Event: Youth Organizing During Uncertain Times

Abstract

This paper explores the nature of youth leadership in the historic 2016 Boston Public School (BPS) student walkout movement in which several thousand students walked out of their schools to protest the mayor's proposed budget cuts. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews and focus groups with young people, we found that youth enacted leadership collectively, understood their roles as supportive, and valued their leadership for its ability to give voice to marginalized communities. By exercising their collective leadership and voice, young people challenged the city’s political status quo, exerted public pressure on the mayor and school committee, and created a shift in power dynamics so that BPS students have more voice and influence in education policy.

Authors

• Andrew King, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Mark R. Warren, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Mariette Bien-Aime

• Sheetal Gowda, University of Massachusetts - Boston

• Katelyn Kelly

• Jeffrey Moyer, University of Massachusetts - Boston