The Black youth organizers in the Alliance for Youth Action network are making history every single day. They work 365 days a year to build youth political power and make a change in their communities fighting for jobs that pay a living wage, accessible healthcare that includes mental health care, access to nutrition, access to the ballot box, and more.
Learn how Black youth organizers in the Alliance network are transforming their communities and building brighter futures for us all.
Brian X
he/they | Cultural Manager at Chicago Votes | Chicago, IL
How are you making Black history right now?
Currently leading Chicago Votes’ judicial efforts. Coordinating over 150 volunteers to digitally go into Cook County courtrooms and track data on racial and gender bias. The data collected will be used for public education around the current climate of courtrooms in addition to validating the necessities for some of the legislation that we are currently trying to pass. One piece of legislation is the Judicial Quality act which ensures judges receive quarterly trainings on racial bias, child abuse as well as the impact of trauma on youth brain development. Another piece of legislation is the Jury Qualifications Act which provides that no person who is qualified to serve as a juror may be excluded from jury service on the basis of a previous criminal record.
Also leading the Cultural work at Chicago Votes. Managing the Give A Sh*t collective of over 30 artists who lead monthly mutual aid efforts as well as using their art as a means to express their political/social views in a more digestible manner for young people ages 17-35. Civic engagement can in fact be fun.
What does a loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth look like?
A future where public schools are funded properly and the curriculum is up to date and all inclusive of past historical events. I see a future where even the architectural design of a public school does not resemble the inside of a county jail. A future where fresh food and healthy drinking water are accessible for all and not just thriving or overly funded communities. A future where every Black child has an equal chance of obtaining a college degree. A future in which if a Black child opts to not go to college, that will not be held against them for the remainder of their lives, being a constant Black cloud hanging over their heads. I imagine a future where all Black youth has fair access to jobs they desire. An internship, retail, restaurant industry, summer programs, no matter the occupation, ensure that every Black youth is being paid fair and liveable wages.
Who are other young Black leaders that bring you joy?
I am reminded of our ancestors. The leaders who were pieces to a puzzle they never lived to see the completion of: Chairman Fred Hampton, Huey P. Newton, Afeni Shakur
I am reminded of all of my peers who are no longer here. My peers who fell victim to substances and violence in the inner city. Their memories and legacies live on, they continue to move us forward.
Kalia Harris
she/ella | Co-Executive Director at Virginia Student Power Network | Richmond, VA
How are you making Black history right now?
I am working to build Black futures by building youth power and mass mobilizing in VA, centering the most impacted young folks. I am a student of abolition and follow in the tradition of truth-telling with my co-hosts on our radio show, Race Capitol, that interrogates racial narratives in the fallen capitol of the confederacy.
What does a loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth look like?
A loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth looks like a world without police, where there are resources that allow youth to actualize their dreams. Total abolition, total liberation.
Who are other young Black leaders that bring you joy?
Some young Black leaders that bring me joy + teach me every day are: Naomi Isaac, Roux Maloney, Stephanie Younger, Kai Hartsfield, Mikki Charles, and Jasmine Jones
Kelsey Rodriguez
she/her | Digital Organizer at Detroit Action | Detroit, MI
How are you making Black history right now?
I am making history right now just by being here. I believe that just existing in a world where there are systems working against you is an act of protest. And calling those systems out is all the more radical.
What does a loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth look like?
A loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth would be a world where life isn’t a privilege. We won’t have to worry about being killed by the police, or by incompetent doctors, or unsafe environments.
Who are other young Black leaders that bring you joy?
Other young Black leaders that bring me joy are the people that I work with at Detroit Action. The work that they do and the passion that they have inspires me every day.
Kiah M. Sandler
she/her | Development Associate at Chicago Votes | Chicago, IL
How are you making Black history right now?
I think Black history is filled with stories of radical change, and by nature being able to come on as the development associate for a Black-led nonprofit that approaches advocacy work through an abolitionist framework, and I’m not sure it can get more radical than that!
What does a loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth look like?
I would love to see a future where any young Black kid in America can look out into the world and see only examples of validation and affirmation that they are loved, their lives are valued and protected, they have every opportunity to be successful and happy in life as any other kid, and they can revel in their ancestry and appearance with pride. That to me is a future without inequitable and violent attacks from police, where the difference between attending a private or public school is not a measure of quality or price, and a future where differences of culture and appearance are exclusively celebrated and prejudice is condemned.
Who are other young Black leaders that bring you joy?
I am inspired by fellow young Black people every day, but some fellow organizers in this amazing city of Chicago who I admire and learn from on a consistent basis would be Kennedy Bartley with United Working Families, Eva Lewis of The Free Root Operation, DJ Evie the Cool of Babes Only, Kierra Wooden of The Southside Cleanup, and of course my own coworkers Brian X, Katrina Phidd, Rudy Garrett and Stevie Valles!
Jasmine Davis
she/her | Denver Organizing Fellow at New Era Colorado | Denver, CO
How are you making Black history right now?
Many answers come to mind in response to what I am doing to make Black history. The first being, my existence is resistance. My joy is resistance. My unwavering strength is resistance. Because being Black often means being pushed into the ocean, drowning in your oppression, and being asked, “why don’t you just swim a little harder?” It often means daily comments, stares, threats, and discomfort because of others’ ignorance.
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And no matter how many times you re-word and re-phrase the ways oppression is very much real and alive, there are some who will invalidate your lived experience on the basis that they haven’t experienced or seen it themself. And how heavy that is, to carry the burden of institutional and societal laws and eurocentric ideologies that have been forced onto you, and in the same breath, be told you are making it up. That you have a victim’s mentality. When we just passed laws that say we can wear our hair naturally, when Rosa Parks only died in 2005, when I’m being called slurs in the street and from my own professors, when I’m seeing videos of beautiful Black women being spit on by bigots in 2021. And that is why, however much my voice may be silenced and overlooked, I will always speak for my community and for other voices that are often unheard. It is why I am creating my company, ListenToBlackWomen, where I will not only post my own poetry for education and empowerment, but it will be a platform for other Black women artists, especially, to be able to be heard, because we deserve the mic without one syllable said against it. Additionally, working at New Era Colorado means I am a part of the Let My People Vote campaign, where I can get more people in my community involved, engaged, and aligned. Not only that, but the bills we are working on often affect marginalized communities the most due to white supremacy and so being a part of this organization has allowed me to elevate my activism. I hope for a day where we can have the freedom and equity we have always deserved, without having to protest during global pandemics and risk our lives because Black skin is weaponized.
What does a loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth look like?
Liberation tastes like collard greens and cornbread and all the love and warmth cooked in family reunion barbeques. Liberation smells like southern food and flowers and heavy seasoning you can smell from your room to the kitchen. Liberation sounds like Black boys and girls laughing, it sounds like older Black women calling you baby, it sounds like Black women having the stage and no one interrupting them and their voices echoing throughout the entire world, it sounds like James Brown’s “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m proud” playing on boom boxes in the street, and there is not one single syllable said against it, it sounds like peace.
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It feels like community, it feels like the tears down my face at the March for Black women, it feels like the validity I felt holding their hands and praying for our protection, it feels like Blackness being more than hashtags and targets. My vision for the world is one where everyone can live authentically and fully, with little to no conditions or limitations. A world where we are all aware of our potential and worth, there is no market preying on our insecurities or creating them. Where results of experiences do not vary by skin tone. Where brown and Black bodies are not just hashtags and targets and disposable uses for labor and ideas, where we can lay in our beds safely, we can walk down the street safely, we can go to stores and drive and love and go on runs and work and live safely. And not just safely, but fully. We can wake up and smile, not because we made it through the night, but we are excited for what blessings the day will bring. We can know our lives and bodies won’t be a political statement. A world where an election isn’t a juggling game of rights and survival, where we don’t have to protest to avenge and protect lives that were never someone else’s to take. A world where our kids can play in the front yard and there isn’t one single question of danger, where you can pass people on the street or in a grocery store and genuinely know, there’s no ill intentions behind their smile. A world where getting an education doesn’t mean drowning in loans and dying with debt. A world where we can not just survive, but live.
Who are other young Black leaders that bring you joy?
Other Black leaders that bring me joy would be Maya Angelou for one. I am actually going to get “And Still, I Rise” tattooed onto me because not only has she been vital in history, but this sentiment is why I live by. No matter what happens, in regards to racial injustice or other hardships, I will always rise and come back better. Black leaders like her give guidance to continue to fight and believe we are, there is, and that this world is made for so much more.
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Additionally, I would say Justin Michael Williams, who I feel has really helped revolutionize spirituality and meditation for marginalized communities. His book, “Stay Woke,” is dedicated to LGBT, Black youth, women, anyone who has had barriers systemically and statistically faces increased mental health issues and a lack of resources. I look up to so many Black leaders, but I would also include two of my favorite slam poets Kai Davis and Rudy Francisco, who have illustrated the Black experience (and Kai Davis the experience of intersectionality as a queer, Black, woman -relatable), in a way that is very much Black without the chaser, because we shouldn’t have to water down our voices to better suit people who already benefit from it.
Princeton Jackson
he/him | Canvass Coordinator at Leaders Igniting Transformation | Milwaukee, WI
How are you making Black history right now?
The work I do is Black history, defeating the odds as a young and intelligent man is Black history. Setting an example for the generations after me is Black history. Every day I and so many other Black people wake up to make a difference… and that too is Black History
What does a loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth look like?
A strong system of self belief, a support system that fosters their feelings and encourages them to leverage their gifts and talents. If we instill these seeds when they are young they will grow to be stellar adults and share the same love that was given to them.
Who are other young Black leaders that bring you joy?
Well…. my joy doesn’t come solely from the youth as I believe that we can gather inspiration from people regardless of their age. With that being said what Dakota Hall has managed to do in a short amount of time is inspirational… frankly doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Within a few short years, the organization he founded has been able to make a meaningful impact throughout Wisconsin and soon enough it will spread beyond LIT’s home state(if it already hasn’t).
Timothy Young
he/him | Digital Content Creator at Mississippi Votes | Jackson, MS
How are you making Black history right now?
How I am making Black history now is by using my graphic talents and ties to the community to help amplify the electoral landscape here in Mississippi. I have done so by organizing the largest peaceful protests in the state of MS since Freedom Summer. The protest’s main mission was for the removal of the confederate symbol in the state flag. Mississippi currently has a new flag, one voted on by the majority of people here. I also help in educating my community by mapping out what we have done politically and socially here through a podcast called Better Luck. It seeks to explore conversations with Legislators and ask questions directly from the community they serve. Currently, at Mississippi Votes, I am also using my talents in an effort to restore voting rights to those in Mississippi who have been previously convicted of one of the 23 disenfranchising crimes. By doing so, I hope to make Mississippi a place in which the entire voice of the community is heard through its governing.
Who are other young Black leaders that bring you joy?
Another young Black leader who brings me joy would have to be my podcast cohost Shaugnhy Rickmon! Shaughny brings such an upbeat spirit to volunteering that anyone around her becomes inclined to push themselves even harder!
Victoria Dadet
she/they | Senior Advocacy Manager at New Era Colorado | Denver, CO
How are you making Black history right now?
I am making Black history by being dedicated to Black liberation. When I radicalize my friends and family, when I protest, when I testify, when I work with Black-led organizations, when I take time to rest and rejuvenate, I am making Black history.
What does a loving, safe, just, and thriving future for Black youth look like?
It looks like a future where we are free to breathe, dance, play, laugh, cry, create, fail, make mistakes, experiment, build relationships, be vulnerable. It looks like a future where accountability is prioritized, where Black youth are valued, supported, and protected. It looks like a future where we can fully experience the depth of humanity without being afraid that our lives will be stolen from us.
Who are other young Black leaders that bring you joy?
My co-workers and co-conspirators: Morgan Royal and Lauren Smith
My favorite artists, healers, community organizers, innovators: Karia White, Bri Hill, Sophia Benrud, Tahirah Green, noname, everyone at BYP 100, and Octavia Butler (she was young once!)