Transformative Student Voice for Sociopolitical Development: Developing Youth of Color as Political Actors

Promoting Positive Development Among Racially and Ethnically Marginalized Youth: Advancing a Novel Model of Natural Mentoring

Racism and other forms of oppression threaten the well-being of racially and ethnically marginalized youth. Models of risk and resilience for marginalized youth have stressed the importance of addressing contextual and structural risk while emphasizing promotive factors such as cultural capital within their communities. Increasingly, research has focused on collective antiracist action as a form of coping with structural oppression. Importantly, supportive intergenerational relationships that develop within youths' everyday contexts may play a key role in catalyzing and reinforcing youths' engagement in antiracist action. This review advances a novel model for understanding how supportive nonparental adults from youths' everyday lives (i.e., natural mentors) influence youths' positive developmental outcomes and participation in antiracist action and how collective antiracist action, in turn, fosters liberation and racial justice. The creation of a more just and equitable society contributes to positive development among racially and ethnically marginalized youth.

Youth advancing anti-racism in the 2020s

In this review, we highlight articles on youth anti-racist action undertaken alongside the COVID-19 pandemic. Three contexts for youth anti-racism development are reviewed: educational settings, out-of-school programs, and youth-led participatory action research. The burden and costs of these undertakings are substantial for youth (particularly racially and ethnically marginalized youth), and pandemic-related stressors have exacerbated the costs and toll of this work. Accordingly, the current review centers opportunities to better scaffold and support youth-led anti-racist action with a focus on systemic and programmatic supports including engaging youth in research as a vehicle for racial justice. We conclude with a call to action for adult activists, scholars, and allies committed to partnering with youth to envision and create a more equitable and just future as we collectively emerge from a global pandemic.

When WE See Us: Commentary on Black Adolescent Research by Black Male Youth Activists

Research viewed exclusively through the lenses of adults, even good-meaning adults, in some respects can strip young people of their agency to create knowledge about their world and their conditions. Given this reality, this commentary departs from traditional forms of research about adolescents to make spaces for Black male adolescents and young men to make sense of, and highlight their own connection to, research. It is our hope that scholars and practitioners who are interested in supporting Black youth will gather insights from our experiences, and hopefully use them to elevate the agency of Black youth in their schools and communities.