Partnering with Laramie High School, the pilot YJI afterschool program met weekly over the course of three months. The theme of the pilot program was “know your rights,” and each week our group of 24 participants welcomed an adult ally and advocate who explored their civil rights with them. These guest engagers included creatives, artists, policy makers, social workers, organizers, and activists. It was through these guest engagers that YJI created partnerships with the UW Restorative Justice Program, Wyoming Equality, and the Defender’s Aid Clinic. Alongside adults, participants learned advocacy tools, mapped crucial resources in their community, learned about their civil rights in and out of school, and made artwork in response to systems that affect them.

Their individual artwork and accompanying writing was published and donated to 10 Wyoming public libraries. The institute's culminating event was a community celebration and art exhibition at the University of Wyoming Art Museum. Six participants took part in a public panel at the event, sharing their visions for their community and encouraging adults to listen to the needs of young people. As one Youth Justice Institute participant told the audience, “Adults need to listen to us. And what a gift for them to see the world through our eyes and our lens.”

Through my national network of teaching artists, I reconnected with educators Bob Martin and Carrie Brunk in Owsley County, Kentucky, and Monique Verdin in the Southeast Louisiana to partner on an ambitious youth-led project. Partners for Rural Impact—a Kentucky-based organization that supports rural leaders and communities to accelerate educational outcomes—invited Bob to establish a youth cohort spanning over three rural regions to present at their annual conference. Supported by their teaching artists, youth from Wyoming, Kentucky and Louisiana would meet over zoom for three months to build relationships and begin conversations around community envisioning (consider adding thesis question: what does it mean to be rural). I selected six exemplary young leaders from the YJI after school pilot program to create the Wyoming cohort. During these three months, the youth participants slowly started to brainstorm what their morning plenary at the conference could be, but understood that the three cohorts would have a mere 36 hours in person together in Charlotte, NC to fully develop the presentation for the conference.

All three cohorts arrived on the Friday of the conference and immediately joined each other for a meal. Young folks who had only met on zoom were able to meet each other in person, and connections were quickly formed. The next morning, all cohorts and supporting adults grounded themselves in the hotel conference room, where we would spend 13 hours that day developing our presentation. In collaborative artmaking speak, we “got in the room” together. Bob, Monique and I led young folks through envisioning activities, listened to each other's lived experiences, and collaboratively created a framework for our presentation. Grounded in the question, is rural a culture or a place, we supported young folks as they created songs, skits, and monologues that would convey the challenges and hopes they experience in their communities. We worked to weave these stories together into a 45 minute long performance that received a five minute standing ovation at the conference the next day.

“They are experts in their own lives” an educator and conference participant told me “it’s time adults listen to them.”

Summers can be challenging for young folks, away from their structure and social support systems. The YJI summer institute centered community- building and served our community’s queer and queer ally young folks. The continued hostile climate toward LGBTQIA+ community members in our town, and on the Laramie High School campus, was the catalyst for YJI summer institute to focus on serving young folks who have experienced bullying and discrimination at school.

The theme of this institute was “organizing”, and young folks connected with adult community leaders who led workshops on art making as social justice, restorative justice, storytelling as advocacy, and organizing around issues that affects young people. Extending the institute's community organizational partnerships, YJI parterend with the Laramie Public Art Coalition and the Laramie Plains Civic Center. With support from these organizations, participants spent the 9-5 week exploring issues that affect them, while designing a large-scale art installation under the guidance of lead public artist Conor Mullen. They identified two major themes for their piece: celebrating diversity in Laramie by making queer and BIPOC people visible through the work, and celebrating the things in their community that bring them joy. We are presently completing the design aspects of our installation. Our unveiling event and community celebration will be at the Civic Center, September 14th, 2023. “I’m not often listened to or heard,” one summer institute participant told me, “It feels really good to be heard.”

YJI alum (Lilly, Spitz, Kai and Ash) presented “How to Support your Young Activist” at this years powerful Shepard Symposium.

Learn more about the Youth Justice Institute, where young folks engage with advocacy tools while making media and interrogating the state’s juvenile justice system, centering their voices in conversations around juvenile justice reform in Wyoming. More session information: The annual Youth Justice Institute is grounded in exploring and interrogating Wyoming’s juvenile justice system. YJI embraces three main components. First, let’s be in community while engaging in conversations with adults and youth allies in Laramie whose work centers around advocacy, policy making, law, social justice, and restorative justice. Second, let’s map resources in Albany County by surveying organizations, places, and people that are available to support teens. Lastly, let’s learn from local teaching artists and create space and time for reflection through art making. Aubrey Edwards will present alongside alum of the Youth Justice Institue. Aubrey will take a support and facilitator role, to create a space and forum for alum to talk about their own experiences and perspectives. They will talk about why youth voice and youth action matter in our state, against a backdrop of the hightest youth suicide rates and highest youth incarceration rates in the nation. As adults we are in a unique position to use our power and privilege to advocate for and support young people. As an adult, how do you engage in this work? How can you engage in this work? Listen to young folks as you reflect on these questions.n goes here