Despite the fear of young people (teens in particular, urban teens in specific) that is prevalent in our society, there are young folks who have found the source of their power, and speak it loudly. We are blessed to have some of these folks in our United Playaz family. Read the following blog post, by DeVante Lewis, a UP Mentor at United Playaz of New York, about the research project he did with three other young researchers. These amazing folks took the notebooks out of the hands of those in power and conducted research about topics that they were personally familiar with, in order to find out: what do youth experience within the juvenile justice system? What reforms do youth and their families want to the system, so that it would work on the balance of true justice?
Read more here:
http://lawatthemargins.com/
Once you have completed reading the blog post, respond in a comment below to the following questions. Please write your name in your response so you can get credit for your work!
1. What is one statistic that really stood out to you? Why?
2. Do you agree with DeVante's claim that the juvenile justice system fails our youth? Why/not?
3. Adults often say that "youth don't care". Do you think youth want to have a voice at court and in policy decisions around juvenile justice?
4. Why do you think that youth aren't involved in decisions about your lives? Where is one place you'd like to have more voice in your life?
