Black Youth Activism and the Reconstruction of America: Leaders, Organizations, and Tactics in the Twentieth Century and Beyond

Abstract

BLACK HISTORY BULLETIN VOL. 79, NO. 1 | 5 79 No.1 BLACK YOUTH ACTIVISM AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF AMERICA: LEADERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND TACTICS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND BEYOND By Sekou Franklin Since the early twentieth century, young people have been instrumental in reconstructing American political culture and the social and political life of African Americans.1 From the NAACP Youth Council and the Southern Negro Youth Congress in the 1930s and 1940s to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Student Organization for Black Unity in the 1960s and 1970s, young people were the frontline activists during the two major protest waves of the twentieth century. Young Blacks then helped to propel the Pan-African and Black feminist movements of the 1970s, as well as the Free South Africa Movement/Student Divestment Movement of the 1980s. The Black Student Leadership Network was another group that set up dozens of freedom schools in ORZLQFRPHFRPPXQLWLHVGXULQJWKH¿UVWKDOIRIWKHV ,Q WKH VHFRQG GHFDGH RI WKH WZHQW\¿UVW FHQWXU\ \RXQJ SHRSOHDI¿OLDWHGZLWKWKH0RYHPHQWIRU%ODFN/LYHV0DWWHU protested racialized violence and police killings of African Americans. This article provides an overview of Black youth DFWLYLVP IURP WKH V WR WKH WZHQW\¿UVW FHQWXU\ ,W gives special attention to four periods of Black youth activism: Black youth activism from the 1930s-1940s; the modern Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement between the 1950s-1970s; the Free South Africa Movement/Student Divestment Movement in the 1980s, followed by Black Student Leadership Network and other youth-oriented movements; and grassroots youth activism LQWKHWZHQW\¿UVWFHQWXU\VXFKDVWKH0RYHPHQWIRU%ODFN Lives Matter. Through a diverse array of organizations and movement networks, young Blacks have immersed 6 | BLACK HISTORY BULLETIN VOL. 79, NO. 1 79 No.1 themselves in or launched numerous social movement campaigns since the 1930s. As indicated in Table 1, some initiatives were spearheaded by independent formations such as the economic justice campaigns led by the Southern Negro Youth Congress; the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s efforts to form the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party; the Student Organization for Black Unity’s mobilization campaign in support of historically Black colleges and universities; and the Black Student Leadership Network’s freedom schools. Other groups such as the NAACP Youth Council and the AFL-CIO’s Union Summer program operated under the umbrella of its national organization. Still, a loose network of activists coordinated other initiatives such as the Youth Marches for Integrated Schools, Freedom Rides of 1961, Free South Africa Movement/Student Divestment Movement, and Juvenile Justice Reform Movement activities. Table 1. Black Youth-Oriented Movement-Building Initiatives, 1930s-2015 Organizations/Movements/Networks Year(s) Sample of Activities/Initiatives NAACP Youth Council 1936-present • voting rights • anti-poll tax campaign • boycotts, sit-ins, marches Southern Negro Youth Congress 1937-1949 • tobacco workers’ strike • labor schools, citizenship schools • Right to Vote Campaign • Abolish the Poll Tax Week • youth legislatures Youth March for Integrated Schools (Organized by national civil rights leaders) 1958 & 1959 • school desegregation rallies Student Sit-In Movement 1960 • 50,000 students protesting segregated businesses & public accommodations Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 1960-early 1970s • local community organizing • voting rights initiatives • desegregation campaigns • freedom schools • Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Freedom Rides (Organized by the Congress of Racial Equality, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, & Nashville Students) 1961 • protests of segregated bus stations and transportation facilities Student Organization for Black Unity 1969-1975 • Black People’s Union Party • North Carolina Black Political Assembly • clothing centers & food buying clubs • campaign to save historically Black colleges and universities Free South Africa Movement/ Student Divestment Movement/ 1980s • shantytowns, boycott & protests at more than 100 colleges and universities Black Student Leadership Network 1991-1996 • freedom schools • National Day of Action Against Violence • anti-childhood hunger initiatives AFL-CIO’s Union Summer Program 1996-present • local unionization & economic justice campaigns Juvenile Justice Reform Movement 1990s-mid 2000s • advocacy initiatives to close youth prisons • opposed zero-tolerance policies, organized anti-violence/mentoring programs Black Lives Matter/ Movement for Black Lives Matter 2013-present • protest state violence & police killing of Blacks • organize “die-ins” & sit-ins • promote restorative justice initiatives and criminal justice reforms BLACK HISTORY BULLETIN VOL...