The Invest in Youth Long Beach Coalition

Abstract

Problem, strategy, and findings

Broader power imbalances across race, class, and age hamper anti-racism in planning. Here, we show how the youth of color–led Invest in Youth Coalition in Long Beach (CA; IIY-LB) pushed the city to implement co-production and youth co-governance in budget planning, strategic planning, and city program development. We drew from participant observation, semistructured interviews, and secondary sources to highlight youth organizing (YO) strategies, including leadership development, political education, electoral organizing, and storytelling. Youth leaders redefined budgetary agendas through participatory research and other strategies that highlighted disinvestment in, and criminalization of, youth and communities of color. They successfully won city attention and resources for positive youth development. Building on partnerships cultivated with the city, IIY-LB also secured more equitable representation and decision-making power of low-income queer youth and youth of color in strategic planning processes. The coalition amassed and flexed electoral power of systemically disenfranchized communities, winning a local ballot measure to secure and fund an Office of Youth Development. Finally, IIY-LB has collaborated with the city to enact youth co-governance in the office’s implementation. This case study advances co-production and youth engagement literatures by illuminating specific YO strategies to achieve elusive models of authentic community collaboration and co-governance.

Takeaway for practice

IIY-LB shows how planners can concretely share power with youth and communities of color, especially YO groups, at all stages of planning. Funders and planners can divert resources directly to youth and community organizing groups, whether via multiyear, unrestricted grants or directly resourcing YO groups to lead capacity building. Planners should build longer, more flexible timelines and collaborative spaces to support substantive youth decision making. Planning educators can support promote service learning and internships with YO groups to develop planners’ understanding of organizing.

Keywords:

• anti-racist planning
• co-production
• racial equity
• youth organizing
• youth participatory planning

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We appreciate the trust that IIY-LB leaders placed in us to share the accomplishments and insights of their coalition. In particular, we are indebted to Alexis, Janice, Jenn, Joy, Lian, and Mac for the time spent not only discussing their insights but facilitating and coordinating additional interviews and reading and providing feedback on our drafts.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

The authors are current (Lin, 2022–) and past (Patraporn, 2013–2015) board members of the Khmer Girls in Action, the anchoring organization of the Invest in Youth-Long Beach coalition.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2022.2123023

Notes

1 We refer to this as IIY-Long Beach to distinguish from other Invest in Youth campaigns in cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Ana (CA).

2 Because KGA anchors the campaign, we devote more attention to describing this organization. KGA’s work is also central because Long Beach is home to the largest Cambodian population outside of Cambodia (Chow, 2019).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

May Lin

MAY LIN ([email protected]) is an assistant professor of Asian American studies at California State University, Long Beach.

R. Varisa Patraporn

R. VARISA PATRAPORN ([email protected]) is an associate professor of sociology at California State University, Long Beach.