Principles 3 страница

Youth who are marginalized by virtue of their identity find them-selves disconnected from key institutions and social systems. Conventional youth-oriented programs can fail them because of the depoliticized nature of the services and activities rendered, as well as an inability or unwill-ingness to confront the forces of oppression in the lives of these youth (Roach, Sullivan, and Wheeler 1999). This reluctance may stem from an interplay of several factors, such as fears about funding termination, a lack of clarity and understanding of how oppression operates, concerns about alienating constituencies, and confusion about how best to relieve the op-pression in the lives of young people and their communities. Regardless of the reasons, not addressing the larger structural issues that serve to mar-ginalize youth in this society represents a missed opportunity, as well as a serious breach of ethics from our standpoint.

Addressing these forces through consciousness raising and social action is critical in engaging and sustaining marginalized youth. All action must be cast in a broader context that systematically examines the underlying roots of social inequality in the lives of these youth and the communities where they live (Martineau 2005). Furthermore, young people must play an active role in developing such a critical analysis and drawing the conclusions that lead to collective action attendant to it. It would not be sufficient to have an adult come in and give a lecture or to provide written materials to read at home (homework). The journey that youth take is as important as their destination; a participatory process of consciousness raising carries equal weight with the conclusions drawn about their state of affairs in this society (Tolman and Pittman 2001).

Although commenting specifically on youth civic engagement, Gibson’s (2001, 11) observations also are applicable in other arenas addressed in this book:

The lack of consensus on what constitutes civic engagement and whether and to what extent young people are engaged has led to disagreement about which strategies are effective in helping young people become ac-tive and long-term participants in our democracy. Exacerbating this frag-mentation is the tendency for those interested in this issue to adhere to and promote particular views about it, rather than to come together and engage in a thoughtful dialogue about how to enrich youth civic en-gagement.

Gibson’s challenge never has been more appropriate than it is today as youth-centered activities proliferate (Balsano 2005). The search for common ground starts with clearly defining the meaning of key concepts and terms. It is important to remember that these ideas have origins in a wide variety of settings and disciplines, and therefore it is quite natural to have many dif-ferent ways of describing the same phenomenon, as well as differential usages of identical terms. Clarifying and sorting out definitional confusion

OVERVIEW OF YOUTH-LED COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

never has been easy in any field, and the area of youth-led organizing is no exception. However, the authors do their best to accomplish this goal.

Conclusion

The importance of youth to this country has historically been overlooked and undervalued, and at times systematically undermined. This societal neglect of the contributions and potential of young people effectively has marginalized this population. The United States and other industrialized countries can ill afford to cast aside a significant portion of their populations and later expect them to become contributing members of society as adults. Human life never can be conceptualized as a faucet that can be turned on and off at will. Although this and other societies always are quick to note that youth are the ‘‘future of the nation, ’’ those words ring hollow when we examine the treatment of this asset. Indeed, the phrase ‘‘Actions speak louder than words’’ certainly does hold true in this instance.

The phenomenon of youth seeking social and economic justice for them-selves, their families, and communities in this country certainly cannot be confined to the twenty-first century; the following two chapters contextu-alize this perspective. Young people have played very important roles in helping to shape this nation. Unfortunately, their contributions either have gone unnoticed or simply have been minimized by adults. This chapter has attempted to highlight this injustice and the next two chapters help present present-day youth-led community organizing within the context of a rich historical past.

Youth-led community organizing is a field that is dynamic, growing, complex, and connected with many other areas of practice. Its origins can be found within a number of social paradigms, depending on the backgrounds and perspectives of those using this method of practice; youth development prominently is mentioned in many circles. While it can claim roots in nu-merous professional disciplines, youth-led community organizing has no home that it can call its own. Furthermore, many terms usually associated with this form of intervention are used imprecisely (or abused) by practi-tioners from other areas of the youth field, adding to a lack of conceptual clarity. One activity in youth-led organizing may be called by a different name in another field, making connections between fields that much more difficult to achieve and research, and increasing the likelihood of tension between young people and adults.

Youth-led community organizing has all of these limitations but still manages to enjoy tremendous popularity within this country and interna-tionally. Social change as a central goal is very appealing to youth, par-ticularly those struggling to overcome social and economic injustices. The

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following chapters systematically examine youth-led community organiz-ing and provide the requisite historical background, exposure to various key theoretical concepts, and case illustrations and vignettes, thus contrib-uting to a better understanding and appreciation of the virtues of this method of practice. This book attests to the importance of this field and its rightful place within the constellation we refer to as youth services.

Social and Economic

Justice Foundation

Social justice is the virtue which guides us in creating those organized human interactions we call institutions. In turn, social institutions, when justly organized, provide us with access to what is good for the person, both individ-ually and in our associations with others. So-cial justice also imposes on each of us a per-sonal responsibility to work with others to design and continually perfect our institu-tions as tools for personal and social devel-opment.

—Center for Social and Economic Justice, Defining Economic Justice and Social Justice (2005)

Some would argue that the key element determining the authenticity of a democratic society is how well it professes and carries out the values of social and economic justice vis-a`-vis all of its members. The following state-ment by Gibson (2001, 1) illuminates the lofty goals for a democratic society: ‘‘The heart of a healthy democracy is a citizenry actively engaged in civic life—taking responsibility for building communities, solving community problems, and participating in the electoral and political process. ’’ This state-ment’s simplicity masks the tremendous challenge, pain, and struggle that a society faces if the true meaning of democracy is to extend to all age groups and not be limited to adults. Citizenry, as the reader will discover in this chapter, is a concept that is elusive for all age groups in our society (Golombek 2006). Making the changes necessary to include young people

24 SETTING THE CONTEXT

may prove quite troubling, if not threatening, for adults in positions of authority and power (Carlson 2006). It is against this backdrop that youth-led community organizing can best be understood (Suleiman, Solei-manpour, and London 2006).

A number of fields embrace values reflecting social and economic justice. For instance, social work and many of the other helping professions have espoused the goal of achieving social and economic justice as a guide to the development of social-based interventions (Gil 1998). The Social Worker’s Code of Ethics explicitly singles out the goals of overcoming oppression and realizing social and economic injustice as central tenets of practice. The Council on Social Work Education, the accrediting body for schools of social work, also explicitly supports principles of social and economic justice. Other professions also make some reference to social and economic justice as part of their missions (Kiselica and Robinson 2001).

As additional forms of oppression have been recognized and many more marginalized groups have been acknowledged during the past several de-cades, the focus on social and economic justice has evolved and its scope has been expanded. However, only recently have children and youth been viewed as a disempowered group. Traditionally, this age group has been overlooked while social and economic justice has been viewed historically from an adult perspective. Adults have determined what is in the best interest of children and youth, ultimately defining what constitutes an in-justice and under what circumstances and forms it takes place. Scholarly publications, written by adults—as is this book—provide the theoretical foundations upon which to structure dialogue, debates, and research. Poli-cies and programs ensue, again developed by adults, to address the new-found oppression.

A perspective of social and economic justice facilitates the identification and inclusion of groups that historically have not enjoyed the status of being enfranchised within a society. The pursuit of justice provides an excellent framework for bringing together groups that have not collaborated in the past. The term justice, not surprisingly, generally consists of a set of uni-versal principles. Justice, according to the Center for Economic and Social Justice (2005), is one of four ‘‘cardinal virtues’’ in what commonly is con-sidered ‘‘classical moral philosophy. ’’ Courage, temperance (self-control), and produce (efficiency) are the other three virtues, which contrast with the more familiar religious virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Together these four ideal ethical qualities encourage members of a society to moderate self-interests in favor of the greater good.

Weil (2004) provides a simple but quite useful definition of social justice that is both broad and inclusive of an equitable perspective, and it is her con-ception that guides us in this book. According to Weil (2004, 8), social justice

essentially means fairness. As social refers to our human relations and interconnectedness in society, social justice implies commitment to fair-

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOUNDATION

ness in our dealings with each other in the major aspects of our lives— the political, economic, social and civic realms. In society, social justice should foster equal human rights, distributive justice, and a structure of opportunity and be grounded in representative and participatory de-mocracy.

As a consequence, social justice is a concept that serves a unifying function within a society and lends itself to being part of a foundation for youth-led community organization.

Embracing a social justice agenda such as that articulated by Weil (2004) brings with it a responsibility to ensure that all sectors of society have rights and that corrections are available to rectify any injustice. Purposefully over-looking disenfranchised groups in a society because it is not politically ‘‘safe’’ to consider their needs effectively undermines the establishment and maintenance of a social and economic justice agenda for change. Such a circumstance dramatically limits the potential of the affected group to max-imize its inherent resources, including both its social and financial capital.

This chapter has the important goal of providing a four-part definitional and philosophical foundation upon which to build a contextualization of youth rights and their social-political status within this society. It includes definitions of: (1) social justice; (2) adultism; (3) youth rights; and (4) a social and economic justice agenda. Moral philosophy and sociology influence these four perspectives on justice. Each is addressed as an entity unto itself, an artificial but necessary separation. In reality, however, these four con-cepts are intertwined, and discussion of one necessarily involves discussion of the others. Furthermore, a commitment to these four concepts is essential if adults are to play meaningful roles in working respectfully and effectively with young people in youth-led community organizing. We do not expect the reader to accept our definitions or visions of these four conceptual un-derpinnings, although it is always wonderful to achieve consensus. Rather, the reader must be prepared to identify the elements that he or she embraces and those with which he or she disagrees. This outcome will play a deter-mining role in how the reader views youth-led community organizing as a distinctive field of practice, and how he or she conceptualizes the role of adults within this field (Ranjani 2001; Youniss, McLellan, and Yates 1997).

Social Justice

Language and concepts play such a critical role in any form of social in-tervention, and nowhere is this more the case than in community organiz-ing. As a result, youth must use language and concepts that help them better understand their social context and enable them to communicate success-fully with those outside their own group. The saliency of the concept of social justice and its roots in political philosophy represent an excellent

26 SETTING THE CONTEXT

starting point for engaging youth in a discourse about their lives and the conditions of their communities, even though such an examination initially may result in a tremendous amount of pain and anger.

Social justice is a term that has almost universal meaning throughout the world. This concept encompasses economic justice in most fields of practice and in much of the related literature, especially in the social sciences (Center for Economic and Social Justice 2005). Social justice has a rich historical meaning in this country dating back to the Revolutionary War, when it provided a philosophical rationale for breaking away from England (Kur-land 2004). Its meaning since that time has broadened and evolved to in-clude a multitude of social perspectives that stress the importance of in-clusion rather than exclusion, going beyond a limited number of social factors such as race, class, and gender.

Age has become the latest factor to enter the dialogue about social and economic justice in democratic societies, including the United States. Child Welfare Across Borders (2003) notes that viewing youth from an autonomy perspective implies that young people have the same rights to participation and decision making as adults, while using a social justice framework to assess the status of youth leads to the creation of social interventions to rectify injustices. David Miller (1999) advances the position that social jus-tice has been the animating ideal of democratic governments in the twen-tieth century.

Separating rhetoric from reality, however, is essential for any group wishing to further a social and economic justice agenda in this society. Furthermore, the appeal of such an agenda can transcend groups and has equal applica-bility for examining the social conditions of both youth and adults, helping campaigns for social action cross this age divide. There are numerous ways in which such a social justice construct may be constituted, with the particular perspective taken influencing debate and corresponding actions.

However, social justice usually consists of three essential principles (Center for Economic and Social Justice 2005): (1) the principle of partici-pation; (2) the principle of distribution; and (3) the principle of harmony. We believe that all three principles must be a part of any operational definition and agenda embracing social justice, whether it is youth-led or adult-led. Therefore, every effort must be made to bring these principles to life, rather than to hold them as abstract philosophical ideals. The greater the specificity with which they are operationalized, the more their attractiveness and utility for youth-led community organizing.

While a distributive paradigm is the prevailing manner in which social justice usually is conceived, discussed, and operationalized, the concept has been both elusive and the source of much contention over the past two and a half centuries (Garrett 2005; Kant 1797; Mill 1849/1973; Marx 1975; Rawls 1999; Nozick 1974; Dworkin 1977; MacIntyre 1981; Sandel 1982; Walzer 1983). Consequently, the tension usually associated with any meaningful dialogue on this concept is not new; and not surprisingly, it also is mani-

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOUNDATION

fested in the youth-led community organizing arena. However, this dif-ference of opinion must be recognized, since it will enrich debate and be relevant for those engaged in social action-oriented interventions.

Many scholars are quick to point out the difficulty in defining the concept of justice across national boundaries; yet the word still evokes an important emotional and sociopolitical response, regardless of country. O’Kane (2002, 698) captures this sentiment when he observes:

Changing times and differing needs have affected its description. How-ever, around the world, children of different cultures appear to share an acute sense of justice. The expression ‘‘it is not fair’’ is frequently uttered by girls and boys when exposed to situations of inequality, whether small or great. . . . How just and fair a society is depends on who has the power and how it is exercised. Good governance will ensure equity and social justice for all. It is said that the litmus test of justice or injustice in any society is how it treats its poor and powerless.

Additionally, social justice has tremendous meaning for both newcomers and longtime residents of the United States (Stepick and Stepick 2002). For example, unequal access to and distribution of resources have played an influential role in encouraging migration from Latin American countries to the United States. Long histories of dictatorships and political oppression have spurred revolutions in these countries. As a result, countless millions of Latinos have been uprooted and then have migrated to the United States, making the subject of social and economic justice very real for them, while creating a construct that can be used to help unite immigrant youth and their communities (Delgado 2007).

As noted earlier, a society’s distribution of advantages and disadvan-tages to its members is an organizing perspective from which to determine who is valued and who is undervalued within that cultural context. Un-derstanding why this is the case offers an opportunity for politicization that has great potential for youth-led community organizing. David Miller (1999,

17) notes, ‘‘Relations of domination and oppression are drawn into this picture because the systematic presence of such relations is clear evidence that the basic structure is unjust. ’’ Unequal distribution of resources and access to opportunities become the basis upon which to determine reasons for societal disparities, as well as the source of interventions designed and undertaken to rectify this imbalance.

Rawls (1999), in his widely acclaimed book A Theory of Justice, raises the concept of the social contract as a means of resolving the debate about political obligation by introducing the theory of ‘‘ justice as fairness. ’’ Rawls goes on to articulate two principles of justice: (1) ‘‘First, each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty comparable with a similar liberty for others’’ (60); and (2) ‘‘Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both: (a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, and (b) attached to offices and positions open to all under

28 SETTING THE CONTEXT

conditions of fair equality of opportunity’’ (303). Introducing fairness into discussions involving youth strikes a familiar chord and allows the concept of social justice to be translated in a manner and language that are under-standable and attractive to young people (Kurland 2004). The concept of fairness is one that often is found in family and school discussions, and thus is not foreign to youth.

Any serious examination of how the odds are stacked against the young in this society cannot help but uncover how the power and domination of adults over youth are at the heart of many of the struggles fought and challenges faced by young people (McNamara 1999). Therefore, youth need to be able to understand how social and economic injustices relate to a host of social factors, including age. When economic variables such as changes in the labor market are added to the analysis, it becomes apparent that youth must cross barriers that previous generations did not face. And often they are expected to surmount these obstacles with minimal assistance from adults (Noack and Kracke 1997). Recognition of how these forces impinge on their lives often represents the first critical consciousness-raising step that young people take as they begin organizing to achieve a greater measure of social justice.

These barriers are most apparent regarding young people who are new-comers to this country, as well as immigrant parents who attempt to shape their children’s cultural values (Delgado, Jones, and Rohani 2005). While the experiences of immigrant parents are different from those of their sons and daughters, there nevertheless needs to be a shift in power that promotes partnership between the generations rather than continued adult domina-tion over the young.

David Miller’s (1999) conclusions, although not focused on adult-youth relationships and the distribution of power and control, easily apply to age discrimination on the part of adults toward young people. Regardless of its particular form, such unfairness limits opportunities for the group being discriminated against to reach their potential. The emergence of a field like youth-led community organizing, we believe, is a direct response to adult discrimination and disempowerment of young people. The process of dis-crimination also takes a toll on those who discriminate, because of the time, energy, and resources that have to be expended to carry out such unjust, and often counterproductive, practices and policies.

Adultism

As noted earlier in this chapter, the importance of language in any social intervention cannot be underestimated. This is particularly the case for youth-led community organizing and youth rights, an area that only re-cently has begun to receive the national attention it so richly deserves (One

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOUNDATION

and Four 2005, 1): ‘‘Language is important for new movements such as youth rights. We are given the very difficult task of presenting new ideas to a skeptical public, and as with anything else, very new concepts require new terms to describe them. ’’

The power imbalance between adults and young people, and the nega-tive consequences that result, necessitates the use of new language that quickly conveys its meaning to the professional, as well as the general public. However, creating such terminology never is easy and is not a task that can be taken lightly. One activist’s statement about the oppression of youth helps illustrate how a single word can convey the meaning of a new concept (Felix 2003, 5): ‘‘Is it possible that America—a country that prides itself on working to end racism, sexism, and other -isms—could be guilty of committing countless acts of adultism? ’’

Not surprisingly, the professional literature has added a number of expressions to describe the power imbalance between young people and adults. The phrase adult supremacist recently emerged as an alternative to adultism, and this concept reflects the fundamental belief that adults have the moral authority to control youth. Youthism also is finding currency, al-though it is not as popular a term as adultism or ageism. The term reverse ageism also has been used to identify discrimination against the young. Adultism and ageism have been referred to as the Coke and Pepsi of the youth-rights movement (One and Four 2005).

We favor adultism, although the reader should not be surprised if he or she has never before heard this word. Adultism has been used only for the last decade or so, as the concept slowly has found its way into the profes-sional literature on youth, particularly in writings embracing a rights per-spective (Tate and Copos 2003). The term seldom has surfaced in discus-sions related to social oppression in this country; nevertheless, in order for youth-led community organizing to fulfill its mission, adults must be pre-pared to confront their biases, as difficult as that may be. Therefore, adultism captures the single greatest factor that threatens the ultimate success of adult–youth collaborations on social interventions such as community or-ganizing.

Although Bell (1995) is widely credited with popularizing the concept of adultism, Flasher (1978) made what is probably the earliest mention of this term in the professional literature. In fact, there are various definitions of adultism in the field. Checkoway (1996, 13) defines it as ‘‘all of the behaviors and attitudes that flow from the assumption that adults are better than young people and are entitled to act upon young people in many ways without their agreements. ’’ Bell (1995, 1), in turn, defines adultism as the ‘‘assumption[s] that adults are better than young people, and entitled to act upon young people without their agreement. ’’ Consequently, a social and economic justice perspective on youth necessitates that issues related to op-pression be integrated into interventions. This process of disempowerment can manifest itself in attitudes, behaviors, and language (Bergsma 2004;

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Evans, Ulasevich, and Blahut 2004; Morrell 2004; Prilleltensky, Nelson, and Peirson 2001).

Some readers may prefer the term ageism to describe this power differ-ential based on age. However, ageism is a term usually reserved for dis-crimination focused on elders, even though it is not restricted to this group (Macnicol 2006). Ageism still continues to be a major social issue in this and other countries. One study of ageism in Britain found that this form of op-pression eclipsed racism, sexism, and discrimination based on disability (Age Bias 2005). As of 2003, only Alaska, Florida, Maine, Maryland, and Mississippi had employment antidiscrimination laws that specified no age limits, unlike federal law that specifies age 40 and over for legal protection (Armour 2003).

However, adultism has been used specifically to focus on youth, thereby giving this age group a unique term that helps capture a wide range of attitudes and behaviors by adults. The extent that adultism is central to youth-led community organizing remains an open question; however, as one young activist noted (Weiss 2003, 100): ‘‘While young activists often encounter and take on ageism, it is seldom the focal point of their struggle. ’’ Therefore, the reader may ask why this book pays so much attention to the adultism/ageism matter if this phenomenon is not the central feature of youth-led community organizing. The answer is quite simple: because the presence of this oppressive force permeates all contacts that youth have with adults and people in authority. This reality effectively serves to un-dermine any serious campaigns for social change, and it is ignored by youth-rights advocates only at great peril to their success. This form of social oppression serves as a catalyst, or rationale, for the important social-change efforts being led by young people, with or without the aid of adults.

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