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Key Issue

Youth Undoing Institutional Racism

AFSC's Youth Undoing Institutional Racism (YUIR) programs are a multi-city youth-led network mobilizing people of all ages to work against racist systems that oppress us all.

AFSC serves hundreds of youth annually in anti-racist workshops called Freedom Schools.  Dozens of young people participate in ongoing YUIR organizing groups that have been influential in change on an individual, community, and national level.

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Our work

Explore the rich history of Freedom Schools and see where AFSC continues that work through its YUIR programs.

Work Area
Seattle, Washington
The 1st Annual St. Louis Freedom School.
Work Area
St. Louis, MO
Young man raising his hand before the group
Work Area
St. Paul, Minn.
Three people talk around table in government office
Work Area
Pittsburgh, PA

YUIR in the news and recent victories

Story
Seattle organizers pressure officials to downsize youth jail

Thanks to three years of intense pressure by anti-racist organizers, officials in Seattle have announced significant changes to a proposed $212 million juvenile detention center.

Seattle YUIR group photo
Story
Anti-racist youth organizers receive Seattle human rights award
anti-racist organizers win in Seattle
Newsroom item
Anti-Racist Organizers Win as Seattle Council Votes to End Youth Incarceration
Freedom School participants sit in a circle
Newsroom item
Ferguson One Year Later: Turning Anger to Action

YUIR stories

Jelani Brown
Story
Planting seeds of change in St. Louis

Young people in St. Louis use a new community garden to build strong neighborhoods, grow healthy food, and take a stand against the school-to-prison pipeline. 

Students in front of window discuss poverty
Story
Systemic racism the focus of Twin Cities Freedom School
Multimedia Page
Anti-racism youth organizers in Pittsburgh speak out
Earlham Spring Break in St. Louis 2016 group
Story
Earlham Students Spend Spring Break with AFSC St. Louis

Resources

dustin washington
Video
Framing your anti-racist organizing: 3 tips from the Tyree Scott Freedom School

Dustin Washington, Community Justice Program Director for AFSC's West Region, shares three tips for anti-racist organizing based on his experience as an organizer with the Tyree Scott Freedom School.

Young people listen intently at St. Louis Freedom School
Resource
One year after Mike Brown’s death, St. Louis youth tackle roots of racism
Document
Twin Cities YUIR - Youth Undoing Institutional Racism

Related issues

Ending racism

AFSC works across racial lines to promote understanding and healing and to challenge the systems that perpetuate racism.

Learn More
Mass incarceration resources

As the U.S. continues to imprison more people than any country in the world, momentum is growing for change in the criminal justice system. Learn more about the problem of mass incarceration and join our work to end it.

Learn More