Youth, Power and Policy: It's Been Done Before
Activism in History
Student Activism and Civil Rights in Mississippi by ISBN: 9780807149843Publication Date: 2013-03-11In Student Activism and Civil Rights in Mississippi, James P. Marshall, a former civil rights activist, tells the complete story of the quest for civil rights in Mississippi. Using a voluminous array of sources as well as his own memories, Marshall weaves together an astonishing account of student protestors and local activists who risked their lives for equality, standing between southern resistance and federal inaction. Their efforts, and the horrific violence inflicted on them, helped push many non-southerners and the federal government into action, culminating in the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act?measures that destroyed legalized segregation and disfranchisement. Ultimately, Marshall contends, student activism in Mississippi helped forge a consensus by reminding the American public of its forgotten promises and by educating the nation that African Americans in the South deserved to live as free and equal citizens.
- Young People Shake Up ElectionsWith and without the vote and throughout American history, young people have been a force to be reckoned with as they take action and stand in support of the issues that matter most. In 2020 this legacy will continue; millions of young people will be eligible to vote in American elections for the first time and countless more will likely participate in the electoral process in other ways. The Young People Shake Up Elections (History Proves It) video series from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History shares 10 stories of young people shaping and changing elections throughout American history.
From the National Museum of American History - From Little Rock to Parkland: A Brief History of Youth ActivismFrom NPR Ed February 28, 2018
- Why Not Us?” Youth Activism in the SouthFrom the Atlanta History Center January 15, 2021
- A Century of Black Youth ActivismThe history of the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights Movement is widely studied, but young Black Americans have been organizing for justice for much longer. From JSTOR
- Young Black Activists are the Past, Present, and Future of the Fight for Civil Rights and Black LivesFrom the Children's Defense Fund, Texas June 18th 2020
- Student Activism 2.0A look back at the history of student activism and whether today’s protesters are making a difference. From the Harvard School of Education Fall 2018
Voter Rights in History
- Voter RightsA short history of voter rights from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, November 18, 2019
- Voter Rights in HistoryA history of the Voting Rights Act from the ACLU
- Voting Right ActFrom the Encyclopedia Britannica
- Young People Shake Up Elections (History Proves It)From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Youth Get the Vote
- The 26th Amendment "Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote"The history of the The 26 Amendment that lowered the legal voting age in the United States from 21 to 18. The long debate over lowering the voting age began during World War II and intensified during the Vietnam War, when young men denied the right to vote were being conscripted to fight for their country.
Youth Activism in Immigration
- How young, undocumented organizers fought to bring DACA into existenceTaking action, undocumented organizers catapulted themselves into the center of one of the nation’s fiercest debates to form an unlikely, yet powerful, political voice. From the DREAM Act, to DACA, to deportation and policing, undocumented organizers ushered in a new era of political activism, shaping policies, influencing elections, and sparking national conversations about exclusion and belonging. From the National Museum of American History
- How the Dreamers Learned to Play PoliticsTen years ago, there was no movement. Today, it just might be strong enough to make Donald Trump change his mind.
by Julia Preston September 09, 2017 Politico Magazine