It’s Youth Justice Action Month, And DC Advocates Want To See Young People In Politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Young people in the nation’s capital, particularly Black youth, remain at the center of public debates about crime and policing, incarceration, school attendance, and joblessness.  But rarely are their voices heard and taken seriously in the policies that govern their lives. Now, local advocates are trying to change that.

During its October public meeting, D.C.’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Group called for a greater emphasis on mentorship, employment opportunities, mental health services, and community investment rather than relying primarily on incarceration to address the challenges facing young people.

October, which is Youth Justice Action Month, provided the backdrop for this meeting alongside a nationwide campaign that this year carries the theme “Building a Future Where Youth Thrive.” Advocates are raising awareness about how young people are treated in the justice system and aiming to reduce incarceration. Similar efforts are underway in other states, including Michigan, Washington state, and Pennsylvania.

“This month reminds us why our work matters,” said Jennifer L. Porter, director of D.C.’s Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants. “It reminds us that the narratives that we shape, the policies we influence, and the investments that we champion directly affect young people, their lives and their future.”

As an advisory group, they hope to change how the public views young people in the criminal justice system. Through YJAM’s theme, “Building a Future Where Youth Thrive,” they want to ensure that young people’s voices are championed and that their justice and safety do not come from incarceration, but through mentorship, investing in their communities, meeting their basic needs, and mental health resources. 

To start off the month, the advisory group brought representatives from a Black youth advocacy group, Black Swan Academy, to discuss youth enfranchisement. Black Swan Academy focuses on cultivating Black civic leaders, running after-school programs for underserved youth, and providing personal guidance and leadership development.

To put community-based initiatives to the forefront, the advisory group invited two Black Swan Academy representatives, Rachelle Downs and Ceon Dubose, to give a presentation about their yearlong campaign to create a Youth Governing Council, which was formerly known as the Youth Advisory Council.

Downs and Dubose used democracy as a framework to champion youth enfranchisement by outlining it as not a right, but a practice. 

“It’s about how people in your community practice it with each other,” said Downs. “It’s about what you do, but there’s also the responsibility for the government to make sure that you have access to democracy.”

To put it in perspective, they quoted Langston Hughes: “I swear to the Lord, I still can’t see why democracy means everybody but me,” emphasizing that having representation on paper does not mean everyone has equal opportunity, noting the disenfranchisement of youth in D.C.

Across the Washington metropolitan area, there have been growing concerns about youth violence and disruptive behaviors, so local authorities have imposed an increasing number of restrictions on young people’s movements and access to malls, train stations, and other public spaces. These policies require minors to be accompanied by an adult after 3 p.m. daily. The District has enacted extended curfew laws, and officials have designated areas where groups of nine or more minors are prevented from gathering after 8 p.m.  These restrictions have caused problems for how young people can move around their own communities and get to and from job sites.

For Black Swan Academy, these policies illustrate a broader problem of young people frequently being the subjects of public safety decisions but having limited influence over how those decisions are made. To address these concerns, the Academy offers youth support through paid internships, job opportunities, employment for the entire year, 24-hour access to community centers and, for those under 18, access to certain independent benefits. The month’s programming will include webinars, workshops, and gatherings designed to create community and educate people about youth empowerment.

Through initiatives such as these and the awareness being brought forth during YJAM to bring community-driven plans to how communities can keep their youth safe from incarceration, youth are given an opportunity to get their voice heard and to advocate for themselves, and this is where the practice of democracy comes into play.

“Democracy is also a choice,” Downs said.

Sydney Goitia-Doran is a senior journalism major and environmental studies minor at Howard University. She is the editor-in-chief of The Hilltop and a climate intern at The Washington Post. You can connect with her on Instagram @sydneygdmedia.

Madison Maynard is a senior broadcast journalism major at Howard University. She hosts Time to Talk Politics on WHBC 96.3 HD3, serves as the anchor of Spotlight Network’s “Herd It All,” and hosts her own podcast, “Power, Policy & Progress with Madison Maynard,” as she builds her career as an aspiring political reporter. You can follow her on Instagram @44wethepeople.

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