Uncivil Youth: Race, Activism, and Affirmative Governmentality

182 Pages·2013·0.6 MB·English

by  Soo Ah Kwon

UNCIVIL YOUTH

Soo Ah Kwon
U N C I V I L
YO U T H
Race, Activism, and
Affirmative Governmentality
DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS
DURHAM AND LONDON
≤≠∞≥
© ≤≠∞≥ DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper $
Designed by C. H. Westmoreland
Typeset in Minion Pro with Hypatia Sans Display
by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kwon, Soo Ah
Uncivil youth : race, activism, and a≈rmative governmentality / Soo Ah Kwon.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8223-5405-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-8223-5423-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Minorities—Political activity—United States.
2. Youth—Political activity—United States. 3. Nonprofit organizations.
4. Democracy and education—United States. I. Title.
e184.a1k887 2013
305.2350973—dc23 2012044747
FOR MY PARENTS

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ∞
Civilizing Youth against Delinquency 27
CHAPTER ≤
Youth Organizing and
the Nonprofitization of Activism 45
CHAPTER ≥
Organizing against Youth Criminalization 73
CHAPTER ∂
Confronting the State 95
Conclusion 121
Notes 131
References 149
Index 165

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My deepest appreciation goes to the members of Asian/Pacific Islander
Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership (aypal), who welcomed me
into their organization and generously shared their lives with me. I had the
opportunity to get to know and learn from many incredible young people
during my time with aypal. Their sense of humor, quick wit, and ceaseless
energy devoted to organizing for social justice have deeply a√ected my way
of seeing and thinking about the world. I am especially grateful to the
amazing group of sta√ organizers who served as my second family. I have
so much admiration and respect for all of them; I wish I could name them
here and give them the recognition they deserve. Their passion and com-
mitment to working with young people to challenge social injustice is truly
remarkable.
I was fortunate to have worked with outstanding colleagues and faculty
members who saw me through the beginnings of this book at the Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley. I grew as a scholar in the company, collabora-
tion, and friendship of a spectacular cohort: Andrea Dyrness, Emma Fuen-
tes, Shabnam Koirala-Azad, Amanda Lashaw, Kysa Nygreen, and Patricia
Sanchez. My advisor and unfailing cheerleader Carol Stack deserves special
praise for her keen ethnographic eye. I am also grateful to Michael Omi,
who provided rich guidance. My deep appreciation goes to Stuart Tannock
for o√ering me the theoretical tools to approach a study of youth.
Many wonderful colleagues and friends o√ered invaluable support while
I was writing this book. I feel privileged to have fellow scholars who so
generously took the time and energy to engage with drafts of my manu-
script at its various stages: Nancy Abelmann, Ruth Nicole Brown, Sara
Clarke-Kaplan, Kirstie Dorr, Maria Gillombardo, Robert Hughes, Robin
Jarrett, Reed Larson, Amanda Lashaw, Lisa Nakamura, Fiona Ngô, Mimi
Thi Nguyen, and Kent Ono. I am particularly indebted to two exceptional
writing partners, Fiona Ngô and Mimi Thi Nguyen, whose sharp intellect
and unfailing support were crucial. Mimi’s genuine interest and careful