This article examines African American, Latina/o, and White high school students' assertions of cultural and ethnic identities as they struggle for their educational rights in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. In doing so, this study illustrates the ways in which alternative spaces outside the formal context of schools facilitate expressions, understandings, and negotiation of identities among young people. In some instances, the young people attempt to bridge their differences and work towards attaining a common goal whereas at other times they may assert their ethnic and cultural identities.