Infiltrating and Changing the Juvenile Justice System Through Youth Activism

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Division G Roundtable Session 2

Abstract

One model for engaging young people to be more civically minded and to help them develop a critically conscious sociopolitical identity is through youth organizing and participatory action research. Over the last three years, I have worked with Leaders Organizing 2 Unite & Decriminalize (LOUD) members—a majority of who are system-involved—who have worked towards creating a more socially just and humanizing juvenile justice system through youth activism and youth participatory action research (YPAR). Through this process, youth have developed their sociopolitical identity by finding their voice, speaking out against injustices, and raising awareness on critical issues that are needed to reform the juvenile justice system, where minoritized youth are overrepresented, sentenced longer, and face more severe punishments.

Author

• Shiv Raj Desai, University of New Mexico