Breaking Old Cycles and Envisioning New Futures
A new book by UCLA Luskin Social Welfare Professors Laura Wray-Lake and Laura Abrams tells the stories of Black youth in Los Angeles who tap into the strength of their communities to challenge injustice. “Young Black Changemakers and the Road to Racial Justice,” written with a third lead author, Elan C. Hope of North Carolina State University, and several students and recent graduates, tells the stories of 43 young Black people and their journey into a life of civic engagement. Drawing strength from their Black identities, families, communities and civic organizations, they work for a future of dignity and equality for all Black Americans. “We aim not to intellectualize the Black experience but to portray young Black changemakers’ humanity by sharing their stories in their own words,” the authors write. The book’s subjects are 13 to 18 years old, a time when they are “actively figuring out who they are, who they want to be and what they stand for. … Because young people are less entrenched in ‘the way things are’ in society, they can better envision new futures and break old cycles.” Contributors to the book with UCLA affiliations include Mariah Bonilla BA ’23 in public affairs; Elena Maker Castro PhD ’23 in human development and psychology; social welfare doctoral students Domonique Kianna Henderson and Sara Bloomdahl Wilf; Dominique Mikell Montgomery PhD ’23 in social welfare; Victoria Millet MSW ’22; and Jason Anthony Plummer PhD ’22 in social welfare. Channing Mathews of the University of Virginia also contributed. Authors of the book will join some of the young people profiled at a March 21 book launch.
