Art by Alex Petrowsky
As adults suddenly become woke, young people are seeing a moment of opportunity for a different future they're already beginning to create. As adults organize protests and donations, young people have been starting the revolution on social media, having brave conversations with their friends and family, and even organizing protests themselves. Youth movements have always played a big part in social change, and you're ready. But where is your place in the Black Lives Matter movement as a young White person? How can you find your role when you're being flooded with information? How can you take action when you're too young to vote or do things without adult permission?
The Young White Folks Workbook (#YWFWB) is a free week-by-week guide to help you map out your own path to anti-racism. Each week, you'll get information from important scholars and activists of this movement along with some activities for reflection. The workbook will help you begin to unlearn White supremacy, re-educate yourself as a co-consipirator, and develop a lifelong practice of anti-racism.
The vocabulary and basic concepts of anti-racism
To understand privilege and its role in our society
How to manage emotions in tough conversations
How to take action to address racism in your community
To notice when you harm others and apologize well
How to speak up and call out racist behaviors
To dream about a future without racism
Strategies to keep your anti-racist work going for life
The YoungWhite Folks Workbook is free because it is produced by a White person, and I do not want to profit from this work. However, I strongly suggest that if you have the means, you ask your adults to donate to one of the youth-led organizations below.
Teens Take Charge - "Teens take charge is a student-led movement for educational equity in New York City. Too often, decisions about our schools are made without our voices. No longer. Our growing coalition of high school students from across the five boroughs will not rest until our public school system lives up to its promise of providing all of us an equitable education. Through oral & written testimony, meetings with policymakers, and targeted advocacy campaigns, we — the students of New York City — are taking our schools and futures into our hands."
YA-YA Network - "The mission of the YA-YA Network (Youth Activists-Youth Allies) is to provide training and leadership experience to prepare young people to become the next generation of activists in the movement for social and economic justice. YA-YA is a youth-driven, citywide, anti-racist, anti-sexist organization."
International Indigenous Youth Council - "The International Indigenous Youth Council seeks to organize youth through education, spiritual practices and civic engagement to create positive change in our communities. Through action and ceremony, the IIYC commits to building a sustainable future for the next seven generations."
New York State Youth Leadership Council - "The NYSYLC was the first undocumented youth led organization in New York. We work to empower immigrant youth through leadership development, grassroots organizing, educational advancement, and self-expression. Our goal is to give undocumented youth the tools and space to organize and create change in our communities."
Youth Celebrate Diversity - "We’re building a grassroots movement of students and educators organizing, educating, and taking action for inclusion and social justice. Youth Celebrate Diversity is dedicated to educating and empowering youth in order to advance inclusion and equity for all. We believe that education is a fundamental human right, and one of the critical tools every young person needs to succeed in life. We believe that change must come from within a community, and not from outside forces. We are working toward a more just and equitable society that values every human being. We believe in the young people who will lead us to this vision.