Dreamers and Doers: Writing to Advocate With Immigrant Youth in Community-Based Organizations

• In Event: Literacy Lives Across Spaces, Genres, and Action

Abstract

Student authors of Juntos NC Writing Project participated in the Literary and Community Initiative (LCI) to write, publish, and share their lived experiences and identities as Latinx immigrants and first-generation high school students. Throughout the publication process of their collaborative bilingual book titled The Voices of Our People: Nuestras Verdades, student authors actively engaged in pursuing advocacy and activism in three ways: a) community space as an intentional space for advocacy, b) writing as a vehicle for collective advocacy, and c) publishing and sharing as an opportunity for youth activism. Our findings show that in utilizing literacy practices, youth are able to collectively advocate for their community and become activists that write about and vocalize immigrant youths’ strengths and needs.

Authors

• Crystal Chen Lee, North Carolina State University

• Kelsey Dufresne, North Carolina State University

• Jackie Eunjung Relyea, North Carolina State University