Investigating Latinx Youths' Anti-Racist Identity and Anti-Racism Action Using a Mixed-Method, Youth-Engaged Research Approach

Josefina Bañales

Youths' critical consciousness development, or the ability to critique and challenge oppression, is a developmental capacity that supports the wellbeing of youth, communities, and society (Watts et al., 2011). An anti-racist identity is a culturally-specific form of critical consciousness that involves Latinx youths' ability to reflect on how they see themselves as racialized beings and to situate these experiences within a context of structural racism (Bañales & Rivas-Drake, 2023). Despite the benefits of critical consciousness (Heberle et al., 2020), there are attacks to abolish youths' access to opportunities that increase awareness of and action against oppression, particularly in schools (Sawchuk, 2021). There is promise in developing educational interventions that promote youth critical consciousness in out-of-school-time spaces (Palmer et al., 2024), particularly contexts rooted in theoretical and empirical research on Latinx youths' unique racialized and sociopolitical experiences in the U.S. Thus, the current applied work engages in mixed-method, youth-engaged research to investigate how an anti-racist identity manifests and how an anti-racist identity promotes involvement in actions that challenge racism among Latinx youth (14-17 years-old) across the U.S. Findings from this research will inform the development of materials that undergird an out-of-school-time intervention that promotes Latinx youths' anti-racist identity and anti-racism action.

About Josefina Bañales

Josefina Bañales, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Community and Applied Developmental Psychology Area at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2020. Dr. Bañales aims to promote racial liberation for racially/ethnically minoritized youth and their communities through her action-research, practice, teaching, mentoring, and leadership. She uses mixed-methods and youth participatory action research (YPAR) to investigate how racially/ethnically minoritized youth develop a critical racial consciousness, or beliefs, feelings, and actions that challenge racism. In collaboration with youth, schools, parents, and youth development practitioners, she co-creates opportunities that facilitate youths' critical racial consciousness development and thus healing from oppression. Of note, she and her research team, which includes youth collaborators, are using mixed-methods and YPAR to develop the Roots y Resistencia intervention, which is an empirically-based intervention that facilitates Latinx youths' anti-racist identity and anti-racism action. Dr. Bañales is dedicated to translating her research to diverse audiences, including teachers, school administrators, and community organizers, through community-based discussions, talks, blogs, and podcasts. Dr. Bañales infuses her personal experiences as a Mexican American woman who is a first-generation high school, college, and doctoral student from the Southwest side of Chicago with her community-engaged research and practice. Dr. Bañales loves hot black coffee, singing, and walking at a very leisurely pace.