The Fight for $15 & Fairness: Exploring Youth Leadership for Economic Justice

Abstract

This chapter is about the social change efforts of youth—how they respond to the complex economic, social, and political conditions that shape their lives. Drawing on Paulo Freire’s (1996) notion of “praxis: reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it” (p. 33), we explore how youth take responsibility for “repairing the world (Tikkun Olam), through acts that promote social justice” (Berlinger, 2003, p. 30). Findings highlight intersectional struggles for economic justice—namely the Fight for $15 and Fairness movement. Foregrounding the importance of a distributive orientation to leadership, “(that is, leadership among many people) and of shared values and purpose” (Schmitz, 2012, p. 76), we illustrate how the social justice praxis of the Tikkun Youth Project and $15 & Fairness effectively center youth leadership. In so doing, the chapter contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of youth leadership––not as a product, but as a process––rich in transformative possibilities.