Reconstituting Political Genealogies: Reflections on Youth, Racial Justice, and the Uses of History

Abstract

Black and Brown youth activists in the United States are creating new forms of politics and establishing new communities and networks; some of the most creative anti-racist projects are those in which youth activists use the Black radical past. Their work is not simply an exercise in acquiring historical facts, but of creating new understandings of histories and of the relationships between Black and Brown activists over time and space. For many Black and Brown Afro-diasporic youth, reimagining and resurrecting the Black radical past is an essential aspect of contemporary organizing. As such, their attempts to build coalitions are based in a sense of a shared past, a common network of “fictive kin.” This article will explore the ways in which some Black and Brown youth activists have used history in developing new coalitions and political ideologies.