Lifespans of Civic Engagement: Imagining and Enacting Justice-Centered Civic Learning Trajectories

Abstract

This symposium widens the lens on “what counts” as civic engagement to include social movements, acts of dissent, and counter-narratives that center the voices and rights of BIPOC youth and elders, people without homes, and immigrants. The authors all share a commitment to learning that moves beyond the walls of a classroom, from immigrants members of decision-making bodies across the state of Oregon; to the streets and sidewalks of Seattle neighborhoods, to libraries and community walks in the Southeastern US; to the online political engagement of BIPOC undergraduate students during the 2021-2022 school year; and finally to an out of school design-build program for Black and Brown high-school-age girls of color. By bringing together these myriad learning environments in one symposium, we emphasize how civic learning trajectories are best supported by a diversity of settings which mutually reinforce individuals’ and collective agencies, interests, and civic opportunities.