“Our Folks Were Badass!”: Learning, Dreaming, and Organizing in a Youth-Led Asian American History Collective

• In Event: Youth Participatory Action Research with Asian American Communities: Methodological Innovations and Transformative Possibilities

Abstract

Objectives
In this presentation, I explore the methodological issues, challenges, and possibilities I encountered in conducting a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project with four Asian American middle school students in suburban Georgia. The project began informally as a virtual book club during the pandemic, initiated by the students themselves and later transformed into a dynamic space for racial inquiry, historical learning, and youth organizing. My purpose is to share how youth-driven, community-based inquiry, though nontraditional in format, can catalyze critical consciousness, civic action, and new possibilities for YPAR with Asian American youth.

Perspectives
My work is informed by critical race theory (Bell, 1995), AsianCrit (Chang, 1993), and fugitive pedagogy (Givens, 2021) that resists dominant curricular violence and occurs in spaces outside formal schooling. I draw from YPAR frameworks (Caraballo et al., 2017) that center youth agency, counternarratives, and transformative praxis, while also questioning rigid methodological expectations that may not fit the lived realities of marginalized youth. I see the student-created space for inquiry and care, as a third space of learning where racialized youth can reclaim history and imagine justice (Bhabha, 1994; Gutiérrez, 2018).

Modes of Inquiry
Although I did not set out to “conduct” YPAR in a conventional sense, the work organically became participatory, youth-led, and action-oriented. The four students, Annie, Adithi, Sunny, and Toni, chose books, formulated questions, conducted research, and led discussions. My role was that of facilitator, invited guest, and content expert. I responded to their inquiries, recommended resources, and supported them in connecting historical learning to contemporary issues, including the Atlanta spa shootings and the passage of the AAPI education mandate in Illinois. Our inquiry took shape through book discussions, online research, and social media advocacy.

Data
The students generated their own data: dialogue transcripts, research findings, reading reflections, and planning documents for presentations and advocacy efforts. We used a curated list of over a dozen Asian American children’s and young adult books as core texts. I also drew from text threads, meeting notes, and documentation of their engagement with community organizations such as Asian American Voices for Education. These artifacts offer a rich window into youth-led knowledge-making and racial learning.

Results and Conclusion
This work shows that Asian American youth, when supported, can construct their own powerful spaces for learning and activism, even in racially isolating and politically hostile contexts. The students developed a deep sense of historical understanding and a desire to intervene in educational inequities. At the same time, I witnessed the structural barriers they faced: the pressures of the model minority myth, lack of curricular inclusion, and limited time due to school demands. I argue that YPAR with Asian American youth must remain flexible, relational, and community-grounded. Most importantly, we must recognize and support learning that occurs in unexpected, fugitive places, like a basement during a pandemic, where young people begin to dream and build toward justice.

Author

• Sohyun An, Kennesaw State University