Poetic Justice: Engaging in Participatory Narrative Analysis to Find Solace in the “Killer Corridor”

• In Event: Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Are We in This Together? The Relational Nature of Community Organizing and Participatory Action Research

Abstract

The author engaged with youth at a community-based, youth-serving organization as “co-researchers” in order to delve deeper into the lived experiences of youth of color residing in an urban neighborhood which has undergone and is undergoing neighborhood change. During the data analysis phase, the use of the emerging method of participatory narrative analysis, empowered participants to produce poetic texts to make sense of their lives and their home, school, and neighborhood contexts. As co-researchers in the collective, the youth are acknowledged as “experts” of issues pertaining to their neighborhood, and the author fosters a community-academic partnership. Such research is critical in informing the recent surge of interdisciplinary place-based initiatives focused on neighborhood revitalization, violence prevention, and positive youth development.

Author

• LeConte Dill, Morehouse School of Medicine