Transformative Youth Organizing: a Decolonizing Social Movement Framework
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LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations 2018 Transformative Youth Organizing: A Decolonizing Social Movement Framework Emily Estioco Bautista Loyola Marymount University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Bautista, Emily Estioco, "Transformative Youth Organizing: A Decolonizing Social Movement Framework" (2018). LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations. 522. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/522 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY Transformative Youth Organizing: A Decolonizing Social Movement Framework by Emily Estioco Bautista A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the School of Education, Loyola Marymount University, in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education 2018 Transformative Youth Organizing: A Decolonizing Social Movement Framework Copyright © 2018 by Emily Estioco Bautista ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is a manifestation of my ancestors’ dreams and all the people who have shared in the pain, the fight, and the joy towards our collective liberation with me. In Lak’ech. I am so grateful for the wise sensibilities of my Grandpa Ipe, who instilled in my father the value of doing what makes you happy. Despite neocolonial pressures to pursue lucrative professions, my dad encouraged me to follow my heart, which gave me permission me to continue the legacy of education from my mother’s parents, who were educators in Bauang, La Union. Together, my parents’ lineages have equipped me with the gifts to sow knowledge, and I am eternally grateful to have my ancestors as my spiritual guides along the way. Dad, thank you for your unwavering support and for being the ultimate model of working hard, planning for the future, maintaining relationships you value, and unapologetically being your joyful self. Your example has immensely shaped the woman I am today. Mom, thank you for making the library my favorite place to be every week growing up. Even though you worked intense hours at the hospital, the quality time we spent together at the library helped me develop a love for imagination and expression. Ronnie, thank you for teaching me how to navigate this country and its treacherous institutions. Your struggle was instrumental to helping me flourish. I am forever indebted to all my family whose pain, sacrifice, and lessons learned helped me grow. Many thanks to the generations of UCLA student organizers and ethnic studies and education professor allies who have politicized my understanding of indigenous epistemologies, colonialism, education, and student empowerment. Thank you for not only augmenting my repertoire to articulate my experience and for providing the frameworks to understand it, but for also cultivating my sense of power and agency through the various spaces you have initiated and iii ingeniously sustained so that I, too, could continue the fight for our communities to reclaim our epistemological rights in these colonial institutions of higher education. These spaces have been so critical to my development as an educator for liberation, an educator who dares to struggle with youth. Many thanks to my bosses at YouthBuild Charter School of California. While neoliberal charter school politics have complicated the public-school landscape in Los Angeles, your efforts to operate a school that sincerely believes in the capability of young people to lead their communities created a space where my experience as a student organizer-turned-teacher for social justice was not only validated, but was also honored by recognizing my leadership despite my young age. During my time at YouthBuild, I have been afforded numerous opportunities to continue to grow and interact with so many other people and educators who share our vision for transformation in the communities we serve. I am incredibly blessed. Thank you to my committee (Dr. Darder, Dr. Ginwright, and Dr. Colín), LMU colleagues (Cohort 12), professors, and staff (Michaela Cooper). The dissertation process is a powerful experience and I’m so thankful to have each one of you support in my journey towards the finish line. Dr. Darder, it was truly divine to go through this scholarly journey with you. Your mentorship as a strong, loving, visionary woman of color has given me the courage to develop my scholarship and activism towards a decolonial vision in solidarity with the community you’ve helped build. Dr. Ginwright, thank you for creating spaces for me to engage in ancestral healing and for your guidance in my dissertation. Dr. Colín, thank you for reading my dissertation with care and for encouraging me to embrace my storytelling. Dr. Bickett, thank you for always making me feel heard throughout the program. Dr. McCarthy, your open door and iv welcoming spirit has made me feel safe and supported. Dr. Huchting, thank you for being so understanding and supportive through the various stages of my academic journey. Thank you to the UCEA Jackson Scholar network and the various mentors (Dr. Khalifa, Dr. Mackey, and Dr. Bowers) who have supported me throughout the years. Thank you for helping me learn how to navigate the academy and for planting seeds in me. The time you invested in me helped me begin to see the radical possibilities of sharing my thoughts and engaging in dialogue with people around the world. You all have helped me develop my scholar identity and your support has been incredibly affirming. Many thanks to my close friends (BC and Breal) and to my comrades in the People’s Education Movement (TS, SD, SC, AK, LT, TF, ANM, RE, ON, CV, JD, AW, MRE, HD, PC, DS, FPK, JC, EF, PDP). Thank you for all the hours we have spent together for self- care/wellness/ healing, reflecting together on our dreams and visions for our communities, engaging in honest and transformative dialogue around challenging dialectics, and laboring together to create the radical autonomous spaces we believe that our communities deserve. Our community and our work inspired me to pursue this project in hopes that it can inform our journey towards the world we seek to create. For the countless others who have showed me love and support throughout my journey as an educator, organizer, and emerging scholar, thank you for your sincerity when listening to and validating the vision of this scholarly project. Each validation helped continue to fuel the fire that keeps my hope alive. We cannot do this work alone and your solidarity has been everything to me. So much gratitude to you all. v DEDICATION For my ancestors that have come before me and those to follow. May we actualize the radical dreams of liberation that birth one another. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ xii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 7 Limits of Traditional Organizing ....................................................................... 10 The Need for Transformative Organizing ...................................................................... 13 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 15 Purpose ......................................................................................................................... 15 The Conceptual Lens..................................................................................................... 16 Critical Pedagogy .............................................................................................. 17 Cultural Politics ..................................................................................... 17 Political Economy .................................................................................. 17 Historicity of Knowledge ....................................................................... 18 Dialectical Theory .................................................................................. 18 Ideology and Critique ............................................................................. 18 Hegemony, Resistance and Counter-Hegemony ..................................... 19 Praxis ..................................................................................................... 20 Dialogue and Conscientization ............................................................... 20 Decolonizing Pedagogy ..................................................................................... 20 Methodology ................................................................................................................