Youth Voice and Power with members of Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan (DAYUM)

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of interviewing two members of DAYUM (Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan), each offering unique insights into the organization’s evolution and mission. The first, Harry, a founding member of DAYUM from its inception in 2018, now serving as an adult ally and the Director of Youth Organizing, having recently returned from college. Harry’s perspective highlights the continuity of leadership within the organization, bridging the gap between its early days and its current focus on youth empowerment.

The second interviewee, Janiala, is a 16-year-old student at Renaissance High School. A remarkable young leader, Janila possesses a keen ability to articulate the essence of the youth voice from a young adult’s perspective. Her involvement in DAYUM underscores the organization’s commitment to nurturing leadership among marginalized youth, giving them a platform to advocate for issues that directly impact their lives and communities.

DAYUM

Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan, better known as DAYUM, founded in 2018 as part of the anti-gun violence movement, is a Michigan-based organization dedicated to empowering marginalized youth by advocating for a seat at the decision-making table on issues that directly affect their lives and communities. The organization addresses a wide range of issues, including lead and copper contamination in school water fountains, gun violence, and education justice. Central to DAYUM’s mission is the belief that youth voices matter and should be heard when it comes to shaping the future of their communities.

DAYUM works intersectionality, tackling systemic challenges such as economic inequality, racism, homophobia, and ageism. Through targeted campaigns, the organization seeks to create lasting social change by addressing the root causes of inequality. These campaigns focus on changing specific policies and procedures at various levels, including schools, communities, and the state legislature.

What makes DAYUM unique is its commitment to youth leadership. Students take charge of their campaigns, selecting the strategies and tactics they feel are most effective. These efforts can range from hosting panels and organizing community events to leading protests—all with the goal of achieving specific demands. DAYUM ensures that students are not only advocating for change but are also learning leadership skills in the process.

Beyond its advocacy work, DAYUM values community building. Members enjoy activities that foster a sense of camaraderie and belonging, such as camping trips, museum visits, and traveling together across the country to collaborate with other organizations. The organization also partners with other Michigan-based groups, attending and supporting their events to further strengthen ties within the broader community.

Ultimately, DAYUM is committed to both transforming the material conditions of marginalized communities and nurturing the next generation of young leaders who are passionate about social justice and equity.

How significant is the role of youth voice in addressing the challenges we face in today’s world?

Janiaila: I believe exercising youth voice should always be the number one pillar in every conversation. In the next few decades, when you’re retiring, growing older, or some have passed on, I’ll still be here, living with the same rules and regulations that you were allowed to vote on and create—rules that will continue to affect me and shape my way of life. That’s why I believe the youth voice must always be at the center, because we are the ones who will be impacted long-term.

Harry: I am 24 now, but when I was a teenager in high school organizing, I often thought about the youth voice and its contradiction with youth power. A lot of times, even in high school when my voice was present in decision-making—whether I was meeting with the superintendent and my principal, or part of a task force where they brought a group of students together—they would listen to us, hear our voices, and try to incorporate that into their decision-making. I saw that there were a lot of benefits to this, and it helped shift dynamics in schools and influence policy. But I didn’t think it had the potential to truly change how my school was operating or its overall culture. Later on in high school, I realized I didn’t just want youth voice—I wanted actual power. As an adult working with youth now, I see how youth voices can sometimes be tokenized. Even when it seems like you’re being heard, actual change might not happen. But when youth come together in organizations like DAYUM, share opinions, and take collective action, it increases the influence of those voices. When you organize as a collective, you build power—not just voice.

We’ve seen this a few times, one example being during the start of COVID. One of the Detroit Public Schools wasn’t addressing the students’ needs regarding the COVID schedule; it was too compressed, with too much time online. A group of students from DAYUM and DPSCD organized a school strike. They went on strike because even though their voices had been heard, no change was happening. They had to build and use their power, and that’s how they ultimately got the school to change the COVID schedule. This highlights the importance of youth voice but also its limitations if it’s not backed by real power.

Can you speak to any obstacles or challenges DAYUM has faced in getting youth to engage, or what difficulties you’ve encountered in encouraging youth participation today?

Janiala: I don’t think youth is the problem. It feels more like a nature vs. nurture conversation because youth are growing up in the very environments we’re fighting against. Also, there are so many people, both in the organizing world and in general, who either look down on youth trying to speak up or, if not actively speaking down, just fail to offer that basic level of encouragement, like “You’re young, you have a voice, and there’s power in your voice—you should use it more.”

Instead, it’s often adults explaining things—if you know what “mansplaining” is, you’ll understand “adultsplaining.” There’s a lot of ageism and adultism in these spaces, and when you experience that, it can be very discouraging as a youth organizer working with other youth. You start to wonder: when will our voices actually have power? When will adults stop just hearing us and actually start listening to us? When will it stop being “We heard you” and start becoming “We’re listening to youth”?

Harry: One of the hardships that DAYUM is finding is the conditions that young people are facing in Michigan right now, which limits their ability to truly show up and lead. For example, students in the foster care system often face significant hardships and are unable to take bold leadership due to the restrictions they’re under. Similarly, some schools are drastically underfunded compared to those in more affluent neighborhoods, which creates a lack of resources like counselors and mental health support. Without addressing trauma and mental health issues, it becomes really hard for students to attend school and then, on top of that, attend a DAYUM meeting.

I think the capacity that young people in Michigan have in 2024 is deeply affected by the lack of investment in youth. Instead, we see corporate welfare given to massive corporations in the state, with a disproportionate amount of that money not going to young people—specifically Black and Brown youth in Michigan. Beyond the personal conditions they face, sometimes youth are also segregated by the state’s geography. Michigan’s segregated areas make it hard for communities to come together, recognize their shared experiences, and realize how state policies are creating these conditions.

DAYUM has worked to bridge this gap by connecting different communities and experiences, but it’s challenging because the way our state and country are set up doesn’t encourage these conversations in shared physical spaces. You can see this through the way highways are designed or the lack of metro Detroit public transit, which reflects how communities across Michigan are separated. A high percentage of Michiganders live in areas where access to these spaces is limited.

In addition to these conditions, DAYUM faces challenges with funding. There isn’t a lot of philanthropy willing to fund an organization like DAYUM. Oftentimes, foundations prefer to give money to youth-serving organizations that provide services to youth, rather than supporting youth-led organizations like DAYUM that are led by youth. 

Building on the conversation about the conditions, hardships, and challenges you face in engaging youth, what strategies have you found effective in getting young people involved within your organization? Additionally, what suggestions would you have for teachers trying to engage youth?

Harry: Strategies that I have used involve connecting skills to issues that are important to the youth. Oftentimes in youth advocacy and civic education work, adults tend to hyperfocus on elections and voting. While there’s a time and place for elections and voter education, most of the youth I work with cannot vote. When we place too much emphasis on the electoral process, it can discourage people who are unable to vote—whether they’re undocumented or under 18—from engaging in social change and politics.

A key strategy is focusing on what young people can do in the present moment. For example, that could involve planning an event and then learning from that experience to host a second, more public-facing event aimed at pushing for policy changes. Another strategy is teaching youth how to plan a protest—we have hours of curriculum on how to organize a protest effectively and safely, not just for a photo op, but to actually build organization and strengthen their base. I think it’s important to align the interests of youth with the skills that will help them achieve their goals.

Janiala:  The only thing I’d like to add is that I feel teachers shouldn’t make politics an “adult thing,” because realistically, they aren’t. A lot of the policies being passed and created are the same policies affecting us now, or will affect us in the coming years. One thing I see a lot at my school is that teachers like to bring up politics, but they only address it at a surface level. And if you know me, Harry, you know I can’t talk about anything on a surface level without mentioning at least ten other facts about it.

For example, today we were discussing gun violence, and I felt like we rushed through the lesson because, for one, we didn’t have enough time. And two, I think too often adults try to make politics seem like something only adults need to worry about, when in reality, that’s not the case. I think it’s important to engage youth in things they may not be able to do, such as voting, but it’s still okay for them to understand voting and develop an interest in it. There are ways for them to be engaged—they just might not know that unless we tell them.

What is a challenge or call to action you would encourage our readers to take in order to engage students or youth more effectively in their classrooms?

Janiala:  As a youth, something I would want to tell my administration—well, it’s always on my mind—is to advocate for youth. I know that sometimes youth are always saying, “Put me on the front line, I can do this,” which is 100% true—put me on the front line! But it’s also okay for adults to use their adult privilege to advocate and organize with youth and for youth. I feel like people in administration, especially in education, shy away from those types of conversations and actions because of fear, which I understand. But sometimes your beliefs have to be larger than your fear. You’re always going to be scared of something

In AP Psych, I’m learning a lot about fear, but you also have to understand that you can get over fear. But can you really get over being unjust? As an adult, you have privilege—utilize it to help someone else.

I’ve noticed that the hesitation often isn’t about fear, but more about wanting to approach things the “right” way. Would you agree that there’s no single right or wrong way to engage youth?

Janiala: There’s no right or wrong way to organize. There’s no right or wrong way to be active. Well, there is a wrong way, but there’s no right or wrong way to help youth—if you’re actually helping them. There is a right and wrong way, actually, which we at DAYUM offer training on if anyone is interested. But don’t police the youth—advocate with youth. Be an adult ally, not an adult authoritarian. Yes, there is a wrong and right way to organize with youth as an adult, but the only way to overcome that is to understand it. You have to recognize where you’re wrong, where it’s coming from, and what it’s rooted in—which is also part of another training DAYUM offers, called the Issue Tree. You have to get to the root of your unconscious biases to take meaningful action. Once you get past the wrong ways or the unconscious biases you hold, then there’s really no wrong way to do it, because you’re aware of your privilege and the disadvantages the youth you’re working with face. So, it’s really a conversation about awareness, not necessarily right or wrong.

Harry:  The thing about awareness is that we need to be aware of so much to be good adult allies and good educators. I think part of that, in my work, involves a bit of experimentation. I like to think of myself as a scientist, where I have a hypothesis about how I think a particular strategy is going to work to help teach youth a specific aspect of a campaign. Then, at the end, I reflect to see if that hypothesis worked, and I create a new one, repeating the process and refining it. I think back to the science classes we had in middle school or elementary school, and how we were taught to be intentional with experiments. That same level of intention is necessary for our awareness, constantly learning how to be better adults.

Can you both share what motivated you to join DAYUM and what aspects of the organization stood out to you?

Janiala: I joined DAYUM like three years ago—I’m a junior now—so it must have been in 2021 or maybe the summer of 2022, I’m not sure, but I did an internship. Let me start at the beginning, actually. My organizing and activism journey started with me writing poetry. My poetry was very metaphoric, and I used instruments to symbolize student voices. In the beginning, I didn’t really know what I was doing; I just knew I had some fire inside that I needed to get out and put somewhere. So, I put it on paper, and I kept doing this. It started in the sixth grade, and then when I entered my freshman year of high school, we had a school-wide group chat. I don’t usually read it, but that day I just happened to, and there was this little blurb about DAYUM—how they’re student-led and prioritize student power. It included the mission statement and said they were offering a summer internship where we’d learn Organizing 101.

Ninth-grade me didn’t know what organizing was, but I knew what activism was, and I knew they had similarities. So, I filled out the application, but I missed the deadline. I had to email our adult ally, Julia, and she reopened it for me, and I submitted it. Out of about 100 kids that applied, I was chosen for the internship. That’s how my organizing journey began.

During the internship, I learned about Organizing 101, what my voice actually meant, the power it held, and the power it was supposed to hold. I realized how I’m actively fighting for a voice in these areas of oppressive spaces. I think intersectionality really led me to become an organizer. I’m a youth—like the high school type—I’m Black, I’m a woman, and I think so many parts of intersectionality always feel over-oppressed, always at the front line, always fighting for something. I needed some type of outlet, but I didn’t know what kind until I read that blurb about DAYUM. I think I found something within myself. What it was, was that I finally figured out what intersectionality was and how it was playing a role in how I viewed myself and the things happening around me.

DAYUM was really that eye-opener for me, and it kind of led me to become the organizer I am today.

Harry: My organizing journey started when I was 15 in high school. There was an adult hall monitor in my school system who would harass students, particularly queer couples, if they were holding hands or giving each other a hug. She was quite severe about it and would send students to the office. So, I ended up creating the “Harry Campaign” to get her fired. It was just a thing, and I failed completely. There was no success, and nothing really happened. I felt discouraged.

When I turned 17, I became really angry after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. As a teenager in high school myself, I could feel the pain those students were going through, and I was scared it might happen at my own school. I created the “March in Metropolitan Detroit” against school shootings to promote and demand common-sense legislation. I organized this march with a group of high schoolers I was able to connect with across Southeast Michigan. On the day of the march, over 10,000 people showed up. We had Senators, Congress members, and other leaders speaking at the event. After that, we realized there was a need for an organization to hold the container for all that organizing across Metro Detroit for high schoolers. So, myself and the other high schoolers created DAYUM in 2018. After college, I came back to DAYUM as an adult ally, taking on the role of Director of Organizing. That’s my journey with DAYUM.

Closing Remarks 

When it comes to connecting with DAYUM, you can contact Harry at his email, harrysusalla@gmail.com, or through their website on Linktree, DAYUM313, and Instagram @D.A.Y.U.M_. People should always keep an eye out for their internship programs. DAYUM offers internships every summer and occasionally during the school year, though it may not be the case this year. The internships are a paid program for high school students to learn the basics of organizing and understand politics and social change.