A Sacred, Communal Pause: How Marginalized Youth’s Commitment to Healing Expands Our Understandings of Activism

• In Event: Reclaiming Radical Healing: Exploring the Promise and Tensions of Youth Healing Through Activism and Youth Participatory Action Research

Abstract

The ongoing pandemic, continued state-sanctioned violence of marginalized people, and reactionary political landscape have exacerbated the need for young activists to prioritize holistic wellness. Healing is necessary because although our engagement in advocacy work addresses the root causes of harm, it also takes an immense toll on the mind/body/spirit (Conner et al, 2023). This toll, and possible strategies to address it, have not been sufficiently addressed in the emerging research literature looking at the intersection of activism and healing. This paper explores how our Participatory Action Research (PAR) project engaged in a sacred, communal pause as we reflected on our commitments to healing and justice and lovingly invited our communities to take up healing alongside us.

Authors

• Alexis E. Hunter, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Chanelle Jones, Young Aspiring Americans for Social and Political Activism (YAASPA)