In this article, we explore the dynamic interplay of youth agency, spatial justice, and literacy practices across community spaces through micro-analysis of photographs and interviews of children and youth. Through a lens of spatial reclamation, the study investigates how children and youth disrupt adult-designed spaces to restory and reclaim…

Although antiracism activism has contributed to substantive progress under certain circumstances and in certain contexts, little research attempts to theorize how antiracism activism is manifest across contexts. In this article, we explore individual and collective antiracist actions within and outside schools. We introduce a theoretical framework…

This article examines the terms "avant-garde" and "vanguard" as keywords for teaching English through the concept of political agency. For example, political theorist Lea Ypi has conceptualised an 'avant-garde political agency' as an experimental process that is meant to be both rhetorically effective and grounded in historical…

Critical communication pedagogies in universities are important because they teach students how communication processes produce social difference and social justice activism. To keep these pedagogical aims relevant to younger generations and promote open instructional practices, the pedagogies can benefit from an injection of culturally responsive…

In this article, we offer an analysis of how institutions of higher education have responded to occurrences related to racism in educational contexts and the larger society. Since the initial drafting of this manuscript, continued police brutality and racially motivated tragedies have prompted protests and uprising across the US and the world,…

The commitment to the construction of a diverse and equitable democracy is even more imperative than ever given our changing demographics, growing inequality, and the eroding of gains of the civil rights movement. For instance, the criminalization of communities of color, with Blacks imprisoned five times more than Whites, and Hispanics nearly…

This study examined university students' motivations for engaging in activism for justice. Of interest is what moved a sample of university youth at a historically Black university to get involved in the Jena Six protest of September 2007 given that cases of injustice have remained fairly commonplace in recent decades for persons of color. To…

This article presents an exploration of diverse adults' motivations for action to promote social and environmental change at a California public university. Semi-structured interviews with current or graduated university students reveal how they navigate their own identities and intersectionalities in developing an activist orientation and their…

In a time of political turmoil in which both women (#MeToo) and black people (#BlackLivesMatter) are fighting to be heard and recognized, it is worthwhile to look at the past to perhaps uncover new narratives that can give direction. Citizenship Schools provided a way for civil rights activists to civically engage individuals who were previously…

This article traces how Mexican American Studies (MAS) scholar activists led and supported a statewide movement for MAS in Texas. As a Xicana feminist scholar activist, Saldan~a draws from her retrospective memory and personal archive of organizational notes, movement documents, personal testimonies before the State Board of Education, and photos,…

Youth social movements for racial justice, especially against police violence, are on the rise. And this broader policy landscape is reflective of how youth are addressing racism in policing in their local context. Therefore, by drawing upon scholarship related to Black Radicalism, activism, and social movements, this study examines how youth of…

Almost like never before, the place and role of citizenship in a democracy is at the forefront of my thinking. The Trump administration, that in a month's time has attempted to turn the presidency of the United States into an autocracy, demands that citizens become actively engaged in ensuring that the hallmarks of living in a democracy and the…

A project-based approach to studying the civil rights movement can stimulate student engagement and their sense of connection to this historic period. The authors taught this project-based learning (PBL) unit on the American civil rights movement multiple times in the past 10 years to classes of middle school, high school general education,…

"At Our Best: Building Youth-Adult Partnerships in Out-of-School Time Settings" brings together the voices of over 50 adults and youth to explore both the promises and challenges of intergenerational work in out-of-school time (OST) programs. Comprised of 14 chapters, this book features empirical research, conceptual essays, poetry,…

An extraordinary educator and public intellectual, Stuart Hall's career as a scholar, activist, teacher and mentor has touched almost every field in the social sciences and humanities. Paradoxically, education rarely claims him as an educator. Stuart Hall's refusal to see publics as given, fixed or settled matters with clear or final demarcations…