The role of social justice frameworks in an era of neoliberalism: Lessons from youth activism

ABSTRACT

The onslaught of neoliberal policies, practices, and thinking has resulted in the privatization of many public goods and services, a reframing of systemic inequities as individual failings, and a weakened capacity for collective action. Together, these trends have contributed to growing inequality in the U.S. However, there is strong resistance, most of it coming from young people. This article explores the use of social justice frameworks in youth activism. I argue that social justice frameworks can be powerful tools for countering these neoliberal trends. Social justice frameworks provide a vehicle for connecting seemingly disparate issues, policies, and institutions, thereby replacing single issue politics with broader agendas. They also provide alternative explanations of how the world works, thus challenging the narratives espoused by proponents of neoliberalism. Finally, the emphasis on intersectionality helps bridge barriers such as race, class, and gender. Through case studies of youth activism, I illustrate what these approaches look like in practice, some of the challenges and how to address them, and the critical role of adult allies.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge all the young people who dare to dream of a better world and the adult allies who listen, support, nourish, and encourage them. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Major examples include: Equal Pay Act of 1963; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbidding sex discrimination in employment (1964); Supreme Court decision legalizing contraception for married couples (1965); Roe vs. Wade (1973) legalizing abortion.

2. Unions have been dealt major blows by court decisions such as Janus vs AFSCME, in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, significantly limiting public sector unions’ abilities to charge employees fees for collective bargaining. In Epic Systems vs. Lewis, the Supreme Court in a 5–4 vote upheld the right of private companies to prohibit their employees from pursuing work-related claims through collective action or class action lawsuits, requiring them instead to submit to individual arbitration (Epps, 2018). Passage of right to work laws have also decreased the power of unions. Currently, 28 states have “right to work laws,” six of which adopted them since 2001, and five between 2012 and 2017 (National Right to Work Legal Defense Fund, 2016) Young people of color were especially victimized by this neoliberal whirlwind as they were demonized as “criminals,” and “super predators,” saw their schools transformed into prison-like environments, and, encountered harsh reforms in the criminal justice system. (Ginwright, Cammarota, & Noguera, 2005; Giroux, 2013; Hosang, 2006).

3. The Parkland participants were largely White and middle class; Dakota Access Pipeline protesters were largely Native American; Black Lives Matter predominantly Black, and the Global Climate Strike drew over 6 million people from 185 countries. Data on global climate strike is from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/21/across-the-globe-millions-join-biggest-climate-protest-ever.

4. I am using social justice approaches and social justice frameworks interchangeably.

5. “Isms” include racism, sexism, agism, homophobism, and the like.

6. In the first case, students in the fall 2015 cycle of POWER carried out the project. Seven of those students returned the next year in fall 2016, spending the entire academic year expanding on the work.

7. The per cents vary each year, but these are close approximations.

8. Many students in the POWER Internship get either internship or community service credit from their schools. POPPYN students receive a US$100 stipend when they complete an episode. We also have summer programming, 4 days a week for 6 hours a day over a six-week period. Participants get paid minimum wage directly from the funder of this program.

9. The assessment tool contains questions about hard skills such as communication, critical thinking, media literacy, and data gathering and analysis; interpersonal skills such as teamwork, time management, decision-making, goal setting; political/social awareness as determined by an understanding of power and privilege, the “isms,” knowledge about community and citywide issues; and confidence, self-esteem, and political efficacy. The assessment also covers future plans to engage with political and social issues.

10. Over 40% of participants stay for two or more years, participating in different programs.

11. Group size varies by program. POPPYN tends to have the fewest group members.

12. The film can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqUwuM4aZb0.

13. Mashed Media awards are given out by Philadelphia’s Public Access TV. Awards are given in several categories.

14. The film, Decided Fate, which also won an award, can be seen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_suXb5mLIEs.

15. On attitudes see, Payne and Smith (2016); Bob Roehr (2008); Pew Research Center JUNE 13 (2013); On bullying see, Kosciw, Greytak, Palmer, and Boesen (2014).

16. On December 3, 2009, South Philadelphia High School erupted in racial violence as a large group of primarily African American students assaulted 30 Asian immigrant students. The culmination of several years of simmering racial tensions, including bullying and harassment, the assault resulted in a ruling from the U.S. Department of Justice that the school district of Philadelphia had been “indifferent” to the bullying and harassment of Asian students. For an excellent case study, see Yee, 2016).

17. Episodes are typically 30 minutes long and comprised of 5–6 segments that address a common theme. Episodes are aired weekly on PhillyCAM, Philadelphia’s public access TV.

18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlhcwYQDylI.

19. In response to the deaths of children in foster care, DHS set up CUAs on the assumption that organizations rooted in communities are, in many ways, better suited to provide services for residents of their community than the “downtown” agency that is not connected to any community. Between 2012 and 2014, the city set up ten CUAs throughout the city.

20. While history classes do include some segments on Black and Brown people, the amount of attention given is still quite insignificant and the portrayals, can be questionable.

21. Approximately 50% of students in public schools are nonwhite Public School Review https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/white-students-are-now-the-minority-in-u-s-public-schools whereas most teachers are still White.

22. In Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles, teacher activists have been working with youth activists on social justice issues, and numerous teachers have incorporated this into regular classroom activities.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Barbara Ferman

Barbara Ferman is a Professor of Political Science at Temple University and founder and Executive Director of the University Community Collaborative, a media based, social justice initiative for high school and college students. She has published four books and numerous articles on education politics, urban policy, community development, racial integration, youth development, and pedagogy.