Coloring Outside the Lines: Youth Insights on Race, Place, and Mobilities in South Central

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Race(ing) Space: Critical Spatial Analyses and Counter-Cartographies in Communities of Color

Abstract

This study examines often-overlooked youth perspectives on race, place, and mobilities in South Central Los Angeles. Drawing on Critical Race Spatial Analysis (CRSA) and Critical Geographies of Race (CGR), this qualitative study explores youth of color experiences with racialized political economic restructuring in South Central through education journey mapping, sit-down and walking interviews. This study found that youth of color derive great insights into the dialectical relationship between race and place through their movement across different geographic scales within and beyond their neighborhood. This study’s findings may be useful to schools or community organizations interested in learning how best to seek out and harness youth perspectives on issues of race and place in their communities.

Author

• Julio Ángel Alicea, Rutgers University - Camden