A YOUTH SERVICES PERSPECTIVE ON DIVERSITY

IERACISM LIGHTNING TALK GIVEN BY ELISE DONEY

About Me: Id like to begin by sharing my story. As a young person I was forced through systems with which I did not agree and which brought violence into my life. I was labeled a bad or troubled kid, and then barred from resources I really needed because I was too young. So, it is part of my consciousness to challenge adult-ism, to work to create systems, spaces, and services that realize and value the autonomy of children and young adults over their bodies, their movement through space and time, their minds, ideas, and intellectual freedoms. Adult-ism: To be successful in our work with young people, we must understand a particular condition of youth: that young people are often mistreated and disrespected simply because they are young. Adult-ism refers to behaviors and attitudes based on the assumption that adults are better than young people, and entitled to act upon young people without their agreement. Interpersonally, adult-ism is socially acceptable, and invisible to adults. Institutionally, our society regulates and controls almost all aspects of young peoples lives. Age intersects with a young persons identities expressions, abilities, genders, sexualities, cultures, and histories. Adult-ism interacts with racism, classism, sexism in complex ways. But my goal today is not to give you a lesson on adult-ism, but to inspire you to reflect on your assumptions and practices working with people of diverse ages, and inspire you to see the potential of libraries in this work. Big Picture: First, we must understand that libraries operate within and according to the adult-ist norms of our society. But! Libraries have incredible potential to be institutionally supported shared community spaces that value young people as experts in their own experience. Libraries can be powerful partners in youth advocacy work. Since moving to Seattle, I have learned from fantastic community organizations, two of which I will highlight today for their work to challenge adult-ist principles and share some takeaways for libraries.

Powerful Voices: 1. Powerful Voices provides a social justice employment program for girls enrolled in the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. Girls choose social justice issues related to their lives to explore and research. They present their perspective at an annual youth-led conference. 2. As a mentor, I cannot overstate the transformative, revolutionary role of information that I witnessed in the lives of people I worked with and the activating power of young peoples voices being heard by their community. 3. As a volunteer, I worked on an information and research literacy program that helped mentors provide intentional support for access to information and research that acknowledged the dynamics of power and oppression, and honored youth-directed information seeking. Reel Grrls: 1. At Reel Grrls, an award-winning media arts and digital literacy program, girls work with media professionals ad mentors to produce and edit film. Their mission is to empower young people from diverse communities to realize their power, talent and influence through media production. 2. At Reel Grrls, youth determine community norms and agreements at the start of every day. They are empowered to adapt, challenge, and invoke the agreements throughout the program to take ownership of their experience, set boundaries, and create a safe creative space. 3. Access to multiple literacies allows them to contribute to the issues they care about: like media policy. I worked with youth to tell their stories about mutant polar bears from space, as well as disability, gender and transgender justice, and relationships with incarcerated parents. All are valuable. Takeaways: And what I take away from these experiences is an understanding that youth are powerful, as individuals and in solidarity. As a community and educational space, libraries can be a place to celebrate youth survival, accomplishments, and activism. Youth perspectives and youth culture are inherently valuable. Libraries can create for youth to advocate for themselves, share their ideas and opinions, and see themselves represented in their community. Libraries can provide information about the issues they care about, support youth in work that is meaningful to them, and in partnership with adults. Side-by-side learning builds relationships based on trust and shared experience, and not on default power dynamics. At Powerful Voices, I worked with a girl on her workshop on prostitution, and together we educated ourselves. Libraries can do this! They can provide youth access to high resources adults and intergenerational relationships, not only with people physically present with us, but to engage with the ideas and stories of past generations. We can build community across time. That is powerful! Thank you!