Youth organizing isn't just fun and games

By Jake Lowen
Hope Street Youth Development

Wichita, KS

Some organizers seem to have the perception that youth organizing is really junior organizing, that the challenges and victories of youth empowerment come in smaller servings and are less meaningful than those associated with adults.

These organizers are wrong.

The stakes are just as high and the victories just as significant. In fact, there are many challenges unique to youth organizing that, if overcome, can produce victories unequaled in adult organizing. Among the many strategies that any organizer might employ, there are a few which are especially relevant when working with youth:

1. The goal or “win” is never the end. Youth organizing must always be considered a means to develop the potential of the youth involved. No matter how big the victory, no matter how many people it “helps,” the greatest value of youth organizing is the empowerment of the participating youth. Targets will renege on promises, neighborhoods will cycle through decay again, but the dignity and self-determination earned through struggle will never fade.

2. Saul Alinsky wrote that in organizing you must take your weaknesses and twist them into positives that can be used against your target. He called it “Mass Jujitsu.” The youth organizer must find ways of turning both the real and perceived weaknesses of the youth demographic into tactical advantages. The targets you encounter are likely to be rich, white, and old—people who wouldn’t dream of setting foot in the “ghetto” for fear of what “those people” might do. Flip that disadvantage by bringing the ghetto to his or her office when you do a hit. A person who crosses the street when a young black male walks towards him on the sidewalk will reach a whole new level of unease when thirty young black males show up in his or her office.

Another huge youth organizing disadvantage is the lack of authority that youth have on almost any issue. “They’re just kids. What do they know about <insert your issue here>?” To flip that, I always remember William Clayton’s quote, “The dumber the people think you are, the more surprised they will be when you kill them.” Adults almost always underestimate the intelligence and sophistication of adolescent youth, presenting numerous opportunities to humiliate, surprise, and overwhelm.

3. Relate to your audience. As an organizer you can talk all you want, but unless you are speaking their language, youth will not understand what you are saying. Discuss issues with them in terms of their experience and values. Look for examples of the message you want to convey in the music they listen to, the clothes they wear, the people they look up to. Sometimes this is difficult to do without coming across as fake, another mortal sin in youth organizing. Nothing will drive away a youth leader faster than their perception of you as a poser. Instead, you have to find those aspects of your own experience that relates to theirs.

One particular leader of mine—a very successful athlete—had the responsibility of chairing a public meeting with the police. I wasn’t having any luck explaining the style, strategy, and tone that I knew had to be taken in order to counter the police’s inevitable heavy-handed approach until I found a way to clarify my message using terms he could relate to. I brought in some footage of legendary boxer Muhammed Ali’s famous fights against heavyweights like Liston and Foreman.

By watching the tapes together I was able to point out how a small fighter like Ali could beat a stronger, bigger opponent. Previous heavyweight fights were pugilistic: two oafs taking turns trading punches until one eventually fell over. My leader immediately understood that that was the game the stronger opponent always wants you to play because they will knock you out every time. When the smaller but quicker Ali went against Liston, no one thought he had a chance. But unlike previous champs, Ali moved in the ring. He thought about what was happening and responded in ways that no fighter had done before. As Ali said, “Your hands can’t hit what your eyes can’t see.”

My leader instantly understood that to succeed in a fight against the police we would have to own the fight. Make them meet with us on our turf. Armed with this understanding, he has proved to be a much more effective leader.

Always keep youth organizing loose, dynamic and fun. Remember that you are working with a generation that, unlike most of us, is still considered “cool.” Your actions, meetings, and events should reflect that extra energy only the young are capable of exhibiting. Never try to sanitize your youth into thinking that “leadership” is ignoring their own voice and imitating adult leaders. Keep the experience unique to them and employ strategies like the ones above to allow that voice to come through.

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