SHAWON JACKSON

UNITED STATES, 28

Project: Vocal Justice
Pronouns: He/Him

Vocal Justice inspires and prepares Black and brown youth to become leaders for liberation who use their authentic voices to advocate for social justice. With programs focusing on low-income schools, participants take part in a youth curriculum consisting of units in which they share personal stories, learn about structural oppression, and learn to communicate persuasively about social issues. 

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How does your work explicitly address inequity?

Our program positions youth proximate to injustice, namely Black and brown youth, to become advocates for liberation. Our curriculum specifically focuses on helping young people build their critical consciousness and communication skills. After completing our program, we envision our youth alumni speaking at school board meetings about how to make their education more inclusive, leading rallies about climate justice, pushing for equitable hiring practices within corporations, and more.

“We are building a powerful pipeline of proximate youth leaders who will use their authentic voices to dismantle inequitable systems and advocate for just ones.”
Evan Wei-Haas