From Being System-Involved to Changing the System: Infiltrating the System

One model for engaging young people to be more civically minded and to help them develop a critically conscious sociopolitical identity is through youth organizing and participatory action research. Over the last 3 years, I have worked with Leaders Organizing 2 Unite and Decriminalize (LOUD) members—a majority of which we system-involved—who have worked toward creating a more socially just and humanizing juvenile justice system through youth activism and youth participatory action research (YPAR). Through this process, youth have developed their sociopolitical identity by finding their voice, speaking out against injustices, and raising awareness on critical issues that are needed to reform the juvenile justice system, where minoritized youth are overrepresented, sentenced longer, and face more severe punishments. Thus, this paper seeks to address the processes of YPAR that empower system-involved youth to advocate against racist policies and challenge the oppression found in the juvenile justice system.