The Impact of Youth Voices: A New Generation of Public Poets Move Toward Civic Light

Youth Speaks alumni include an Obama speechwriter, the founder of a Black-owned media tech company, and the youngest inaugural Poet in history, Laureate Amanda Gorman.

Through literary arts-education, youth development and narrative change programs, Youth Speaks has long helped youth as young as 13 develop, publicly present, and apply their unique voices as agents of change, says Executive Director Michelle “Mush” Lee. But the San Francisco-based nonprofit is also now training selected alumni to speak publicly on issues that transcend personal identity and individual culture.

“We have individual poets from all over the country who … can command a room. They can be truthful, honest, provocative, and compassionate,” Lee says. “But what does it look like for a group of young people in our programs to apply their voices collectively towards a common goal?”

The Public Poets Fellowship is a new, year-long narrative change and public speaking training program for alumni youth between 16 and 26. It enables them to do more than just write and perform poetry about society’s ills; it empowers them to be vehicles of change in their community and beyond so that they don’t have to keep writing the same poem.  

“Public Poets is a direct vehicle for young writers to participate in social justice policy change in communities where young people feel divested/attacked/ ignored by the government. ‘Public Poets is less about turning poets into policy experts. It’s about preparing a new generation of writers and speakers to use their talents to heal civic trauma, build trusted connections, and guide public dialogue—essential elements to advancing any social change effort forward,” says Lee. “The 10-month fellowship program includes public speaking coaching, narrative power building lessons, deep arts practice,  mentorship, social media content creation, and public appearances including poetry performances, speaking engagements, panel discussions, and moderating interviews.”

Youth Speaks was created in the mid-1990s as young Black and Brown men were being overpoliced, the hip-hop art and culture movement was going mainstream, and government agencies were waking up to the importance of investing in youth development.

Today, Youth Speaks continues to be ever more relevant and vital, following years of racial reckoning and persistent structural racism, and in response to the deep and long-lasting impacts of the COVID pandemic on youths’ mental health and the harmful effects of social media and excessive screen time.

The BIPOC and women-led nonprofit is also home to popular writing and performance workshops that it hosts in schools and neighborhoods, its Under 21 Open Mic events, and its flagship Brave New Voices Youth Poetry Festival and Queeriosity, which gives LGBTQI youth of color a safe space to express themselves.

Most participants say its events have positively affected their mental health and helped them see other perspectives. 

Youth Speaks also stays relevant by growing its digital presence. Last year, in addition to the thousands of youth and others reached in schools and in-person programs, the nonprofit reached 20 million people on Instagram, had four million views on TikTok, and two million views on YouTube. 

Due to popular demand, Youth Speaks is set to extend its reach to students as young as 10. 

“We youth share such similar experiences, but I find that sometimes poetry is the only time we’re truly brave enough to share it,” says Myra, 17. Youth Speaks does just that – it allows youth to share an important voice. And the community is listening.