Youth Voices

From the beginning, the Californians for Justice club stood out to me because it had a purpose and vision about student voices and how they matter, and that intrigued me to come back.

Being involved in CFJ has changed me to speak up more, get more involved, and to want to be a better leader and make sure everyone can participate because every student’s voice matters.

I learned this lesson especially during a focus group with the district, where students got to weigh in on how to make student discipline more just and equitable for Latinx and Black students. I finally felt that this was the opportunity I needed where I could be more open and felt like I could be vocal about things. The Stakeholder Equity Committee felt like something I would never do, but it called to me, as something I should be doing. Participating in this has made me feel more vocal because our voices are being heard at the district level. At the focus group, I immediately felt – that “this is where change is starting to happen”.

I care about CFJ because its work empowers us, the youth, to have our voices heard so we can make a change within our communities and schools.