Module 6: Southeast Asian Youth Activism Creating Community Safety
Was Asian American Activism successful in improving the lives of Asian Americans?
“Whose city? Our city! Whose streets? Our streets!”
“Ain’t no power like the power of the people, ‘cause the power of the people don’t stop!”
Image 41.06.01 — Providence Youth Student Movement youth organizers march in support of the Community Safety Act.
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This module explores youth activism, particularly Southeast Asian youth organizing, as a cornerstone of contemporary Asian American activism. On June 1, 2017, the enthusiastic chants of 250 middle and high school students and community members echoed through Providence City Hall in Rhode Island. Filling the central chamber room, a diverse group of Providence residents were passionately advocating for the city council to approve the passage of the Community Safety Act (CSA).
The CSA was a community-authored city law that created safer neighborhoods by banning racial profiling and increasing police accountability in Providence. One of the most important advocates of the CSA was the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), a youth-led organization of mostly LGBTQ+ and Southeast Asian youth committed to ending police violence and creating safety in their communities. PrYSM’s middle and high school students developed creative community-based alternatives to the police, illustrating the power of youth to not only change local laws but also to envision an abolitionist future without police, criminalization, or punishment—a future in which all communities can be safe.
What is community safety?
What challenges did Southeast Asian refugee families face in the U.S., and how did these challenges impact Southeast Asian youth?
What are racial profiling and criminalization? How did Southeast Asian youth redefine safety in their communities?
