The kids are all right...

brownfemipower watches this video about the T. Don Hutton facility, which basically boils down to a prison for "illegal" children as young as two years old;



(try not to read too many of the comments at YouTube; it tends to undermine the glimmer of basic faith in humanity that follows here)

...and takes from it the following conclusion:

I watched this video and all I could think was how does the eternal feminist focus on abortion shut these girls out of their rightful place as leaders in a feminist movement?

But you know what? Young women are doing it spite of us all. Young feminists will be reckoned with.

And it is only to our shame that we have done nothing in our own work to support them.

A quick note about those hyperlinks:

1) The Center for Young Womens' Development-Opportunities for High-Risk Young Women

The Center for Young Women's Development (CYWD) is one of the first non-profits in the United States run and led entirely by young women. From the beginning, we have organized young women who were the most marginalized in San Francisco — those in the street economies and the juvenile justice system — to design and deliver peer-to-peer education and support.

2) NPR clip about some Detroit and Milwaukee teenagers' protest of a recently imposed policy (perhaps soon to be coming to a mall near you) wherein malls now are restricting teenagers unaccompanied by an adult from attending on weekends. also see: Detroit Summer,

a multi-racial, inter-generational collective in Detroit, working to transform ourselves and our communities by confronting the problems we face with creativity and critical thinking. We currently organize youth-led media arts projects and community-wide potlucks, speak-outs and parties.

3) Sista II Sista: Freedom School for Young Women of Color

The Sista II Sista Freedom School for Young Women of Color was created in 1996 to involve young women in personal and political development through an exploration of cultural identity, community organizing, and long term relationship building. The Freedom School consists of interactive workshops, physical activities, field trips, organized action projects, and a “herstory” project.

4) Young Women's Empowerment Project

Our mission as the Young Women’s Empowerment Project is to offer safe, respectful, free-of-judgment spaces for girls and young women impacted by the sex trade and street economies to recognize their goals, dreams and desires. We are run by girls and women with life experience in the sex trade and street economies. We are a youth leadership organization grounded in harm reduction and social justice organizing by and for girls and young women (ages 12-23) impacted by the sex trade and street economies.

Other sites worth checking out:

Girl-Mom: support, education and community for young mamas

Queer Today article on Anti-Violence Project's to protest the ban on under-21 club nights in Boston, which has a particular impact on LBGTQ youth (who have fewer alternatives for congregating)

the section on queer youth in Asia at Sayoni Speaks (English articles start partway down the page, keep scrolling)


Next Genderation Network,

a transnational European network of students, researchers and activists with an interest in feminist theory and politics, and their intersections with anti-racist, migrant, lesbian, queer and anti-capitalist struggles.