‘YOUTH IN FRONT’ ARMS ACTIVISTS WITH POLITICAL PROWESS

Christa Graff
Published: March 21, 2018

Online resource offers guidance to participants of upcoming political protests

CAMBRIDGE, MA (March 21, 2018) — YouthInFront, a new online learning resource, provides safe, practical strategies for middle school and high school-aged individuals to peacefully protest in planned national school walkouts and marches scheduled on March 24 and April 20.

In light of the volatile political events concerning racial inequality and gun violence, among others, planned protests and organized speaking events are popping up all over the country, often led by young people. Faculty members from Harvard Graduate School of Education and MIT, along with experienced youth activists and allies, developed YouthInFront.org to serve these aspiring civic activists.

“Our nation’s future lies in the hands of this young generation, and they are ready to make real change for good,” said Assistant Professor of Comparative Media Studies at MIT Justin Reich. “We are only here to provide support to their existing passion, drive and ambition to make their voices heard.”

YouthInFront is a community-created online learning resource made up of individuals with a diverse array of beliefs about public policy, the tactics and strategy of protest, and how adults can best and most appropriately support students. The project began by interviewing and surveying youth about their questions surrounding walkouts and protests – safety, legal rights, and potential impacts of raising their voice – followed by sourcing questions from adult allies and educators. From there, youth-produced and youth-focused resources from around the web were reviewed, and the venture benefitted from the generous contributions of media producers, civic educators, youth activists and organizers, software engineers, and many others.

YouthInFront was kicked off by three longtime civic educators: Justin Reich from MIT, Doug Pietrzak from Fresh Cognate, and Meira Levinson from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). While the YouthInFront site was planned and organized by adults, the ultimate goal is to provide a model of how adults can support youth who are leading the way.

YouthInFront is supported by a wide variety of organizations, led by the Harvard Graduate School of Education Usable Knowledge project, the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, Fresh Cognate, Justice in Schools, and the HGSE Teaching and Learning Lab. The majority of project resources were generously provided by volunteers, along with financial support from the HGSE Dean’s Office and Dean James Ryan.

For more information about YouthInFront and its initiatives, contact Christa Graff, of Graff Public Relations, by calling 435-640-7921 or emailing christa@graffpr.com. For more information about YouthInFront and its initiatives, contact Justin Reich, Assistant Professor of Comparative Media Studies at MIT and director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, at jreich@mit.edu or visit YouthInFront.org.

About YouthInFront

YouthInFront is a community-created online learning resource made up of individuals with a diverse array of beliefs about public policy, the tactics and strategy of protest, and how adults can best and most appropriately support students. YouthInFront provides timely advice as young people around the country rise up as civic actors. For more information visit YouthInFront.org.

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Keywords: Marches, training, youth, Youth Activism, YouthInFront