It Is Our Duty to Win: Youth Organizing and the Struggle for Police-Free, Life-Affirming Schools in LA

Session Type: Off-Site Visit

Abstract

Los Angeles has been home to some significant youth-led abolitionist movements, including movements to close juvenile halls, invest in the highest need schools, divest from (school) policing, and invest directly into Black students. Amidst attacks on racial justice initiatives, immigrant and queer communities, and public education, community organizers have built coalitions in Los Angeles that have enabled them to push their school district to invest more deeply in equity-driven initiatives, rather than divest. How were communities successful in building the kind of power necessary to make this happen? Come learn directly from young people, teachers, and organizers who led these campaigns in an abolitionist space that was transformed from a juvenile court to a school and robust community center.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Grassroots Community and Youth Organizing for Educational Justice

Visit Leader

• David C. Turner III, University of California, Los Angeles

Chair

• Uriel Serrano, University of Southern California

Session Organizer

• David C. Turner, University of California - Los Angeles

Discussant

• Anibal Serrano, University of California - Irvine