YUIR. We Are Them.

Who are we? We are them. The young people who see how youth are silenced in all corners of the city. We are them. Young people who want to be leaders in their community. We are them. Young people who sit in classrooms scrutinizing every history lesson. We are them. Young people who are students first before “public” or “private” is placed in front of them. We are them. Young people who make up more than one racial make up. We are them. Young people who talk and expect someone to talk back. We are them. Young people who acknowledge how the issues of the few, are the issues of the many. We are them. Young people who want to steer the boat and not just sit in it. We are them. Young people who are leaders of today, knowing there might not be change by tomorrow. We are them. Young people who aren’t ambitious, liberal, or revolutionaries, just themselves. We are them.

Youth Undoing Institutional Racism (YUIR) is an organization that involves Pittsburgh youth who collaborate together to better understand the current realities of racial inequalities ingrained in our institutions, while also understanding the intersection of racism and poverty. This racial justice group gives Pittsburgh youth a chance to voice their ideas about how to move towards an ultimate end to institutional racism in our society. The school-to-prison pipeline is a specific epidemic of institutional racism that YUIR is currently focusing its attention on. The group has created a campaign to bring awareness of and to terminate the school-to-prison pipeline, a system of unjust policies and practices which funnel students, specifically those of color and of poverty, into pathways of incarceration rather than of opportunity. Tackling this problem includes a demand of eliminating zero-tolerance policies, school police officers, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and alternative schools, while initiating restorative justice practices within the school community. Students from both public and private schools are working together on this campaign, while also learning from one another about the racial injustices they personally face in their schooling systems. Students are students, no matter what kind of institution they belong to. Students are students, no matter which racial identity box they check off. At the end of the day, all students should receive opportunities from their schools which allow each individual to be able to flourish and thrive from their education.

There is power in the young people’s voices. There is power in the young people’s minds. YUIR has both the energy and ideas to lead the way and to challenge the systems in our communities. We have the ability to change things for ourselves and for future generations. It is essential and necessary for us to tell our stories and have our voices be heard, for we truly are the future of tomorrow. And why not allow those who have the largest influence on the future, the leadership and opportunities to change it? It is critical and important to listen to and learn from the youth. The youth need to be allowed the opportunity to turn their ideas into actions. The youth hold the key to create impact. As Malcolm X once said, “... the young people are the ones who most quickly identify with the struggle and the necessity to eliminate the evil conditions that exist.”

Sophia Ogot and Olivia Rautio are high school seniors. Both are new to YUIR, with only a couple months under their belts, and already feel a tight connection with the group and have learned so much from the program in such a short amount of time. They have been close friends since their freshman year, and hope their first collaboration helps support the program that is so near and dear to their hearts.