Black Youth Project

Providing an online space where black youth can speak for themselves and amplify their voices on the issues that concern them.

The Problem

A half-century after the Civil Rights era, African American youth remain largely on the margins of American society — often demonized, misunderstood, and excluded from many of the social and economic opportunities that most Americans — and certainly white Americans — take for granted. Their ideas, attitudes, values, and opinions about contemporary social and political issues are poorly understood by the larger society, partly because young African Americans lack a platform for expressing those views.

The Solution

Through “knowledge, voice, and action,” the Black Youth Project works to “empower and uplift the lived experiences of young Black Americans today.” The organization highlights and amplifies the voices and ideas of Black millennials through an online platform -- “a space on the Internet where black youth can speak for themselves about the issues that concern them.” BYP also conducts research into the attitudes, resources, and culture of black millennials, especially as these relate to political and civic engagement. Based on their findings, the organization works with its activist arm to “mobilize black youth and their allies to make positive change and build the world within which they want to live.”