The Kids Are Alright: Youth Empowered in the Struggle

While this course as a whole has been enriching and insightful, one of the points we’ve continually made that I’ve enjoyed the most is allowing students to be the experts—on their cultures, on their abilities, and in the classroom. So often, when we are discussing changes that need to be made within education—and society at large—we leave youth out of the equation.

One fantastic example of empowered and active youth in the Milwaukee community is Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES), the youth arm of Voces de la Frontera (which translates to “voices from the border”), a grassroots organization focused on standing up for the rights of low-wage workers and immigrants.
 
According to YES’ Facebook page, the group is “a multicultural social justice organization that fights for immigrant, student, and workers’ rights.” YES participates in Voces de la Frontera’s events and protests—like the May 1st Day Without Latinxs and Immigrants to protest 287g in Waukesha, WI. 287g is a program that gives local deputies the authority of immigration agents, likely leading to unethical racial profiling. YES also recently participated in Voces’ efforts to urge citizens to vote to further the interests and rights of oppressed communities.
 
Outside of organizing for various political causes, YES is an incredible example of students taking their educational rights and experiences into their own hands. In 2012, students in YES even composed a Student Bill of Rights, a document built from the input of thousands of students in the Milwaukee area that establishes their rights to a safe, encouraging, and fair educational experience.
 
YES also recently held the 2018 Education is Power Summit, a day-long summit hosted by counselors, teachers, and youth of color that offered workshops on college financial aid for DACA and undocumented students, panels from first generation and DACA college graduates on how they made it through college, and peer discussions on how to handle the stresses of college.
 
The efforts of YES perfectly embody the ideals in Chapter 5 of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies--“For Us, By Us”: A Vision for Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies Forwarded by Latinx Youth by Jason G. Irizarry. Irizarry’s chapter is rooted in the argument that student input is vital to effective and equitable education.
 
Irizarry writes, “…if schooling is ever going to speak to the academic and social needs of Latinx youth, educational opportunities must be grounded in students’ lived experiences, build on their systems of meaning-making, and provide students with the skills and confidence to advocate for themselves—indeed, to sustain themselves and their communities” (97).
 
The opportunities that YES offers to students is rooted in giving them the skills to reach their goals and overcome the injustices of a system designed to treat them unfairly—and those opportunities are made possible by the determination and organization of the students themselves.
 
When we are faced with the complexities of decolonizing classrooms and making the educational landscape in our country fairer for all students, it is easy as educators to become overwhelmed or even frustrated. I think that it is vital to observe and emulate organizations like YES to see that the answers to our questions often lie within the students. They know what they need, what they want, and how we can help them. All we have to do is listen.
-CS