Youth Organizing & Critical Hope in San Bernardino

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Three
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT051 (Friday)

Abstract

Youth organizing efforts often face challenges in their pursuit of systemic change. Despite this, many young people continue to persist in their activism or organizing efforts after experiencing a setback. However, little research has been conducted to explore this persistence, or critical hopefulness (Christens et al., 2013), in youth organizing efforts. This study aims to explore youth organizers’ experiences in San Bernardino through semi-structured interviews, with a focus on understanding their persistence in an organizing initiative after experiencing a setback. Qualitative interview data is analyzed through a flexible coding approach and findings highlight important motivations that underlie the persistence of young people involved in systemic change efforts, making a meaningful contribution to the literature about the critical hope of youth organizers.

Authors

• Ellen Parks, Vanderbilt University

• Megan McCormick, Vanderbilt University