Examining civic engagement in ethnic minority youth populations: A literature review and concept analysis

Abstract

Racial reckoning is defined as the subjugation of Black, Indigenous, and people of Color (BIPOC) to racial hierarchies and subordinate groups that influence multiple well‐being outcomes throughout the developmental lifespan and across generations. With the two pandemics of racial reckoning and COVID‐19 amidst a growing controversial political landscape, topics around civic engagement have been brought to the forefront of community conversation. Discussions surrounding civic engagement must go beyond addressing issues of public concern and examine the vehicle in which civic engagement may be delivered. This is becoming increasingly important as civic engagement is one of the main avenues of social change through individual and collective action, particularly regarding racial reckoning and healthcare disparities highlighted by COVID‐19. The paper focuses on civic engagement among ethnic minority youth and young adults. An integrated model of civic engagement was created based off what was learned through this review. This proposed model of civic engagement is meant to be the first step to addressing the gap in civic engagement literature for ethnic minority youth. Weaknesses and future considerations regarding the model will also be discussed, as well as any implications for ethnic minority youth and young adults.

Positive and negative contact between Africans and native Italians: Importance for migrants' collective action in support of their and other groups' rights

“…Among other social benefits, positive intergroup contact is associated with increased civic engagement of majority group members, such as community service to improve life conditions of different groups living in the same area (Cicognani, Zani, Fournier, Gavray, & Born, 2012) or support towards classmates that belong to different ethnic outgroups (Bowman, 2011). Civic engagement is a concept that is applied to a large variety of issues, yet its definitions vary widely (Phan & Kloos, 2023, pp. 55), but includes ‘all individual and collective activities that address issues of public concern, and enhance the well‐being of one's community and the society’ (Chan, Ou, & Reynolds, 2014, pp.…”

Psychological Aspects of Civic Engagement during the Legislative Crisis in Israel

“…Civic engagement in times of socio-political unrest and crisis is a major force shaping the evolution and at times-revolutions societies and nations go through (Bull, 1982;Danopoulos, 2019). Civic engagement is widely acknowledged as a leading force leading social and political change in various settings, cultures and nations throughout history: Civic activism has been associated with pivotal events from the establishment of the USA (Skocpol, 1997), Ghandi's popular march facilitating India's independence from the UK (Zachariah, 2011) to the popular peaceful uprising of Solidarity in Poland (Biela, 2013) and others (Phan & Kloos, 2023). Such examples of civic involvement and activism at its best demonstrate how potentially powerful and influential the phenomenon can be in shaping societies in times of crisis.…”

Racial reckoning, resistance, and the revolution: A call to community psychology to move forward

“…Phan and Kloos (2023) focus their work on civic engagement among ethnic minority youth and young adults. The authors propose that discussions about civic engagement must go beyond addressing issues of public concern and examine how ethnic minority youth and young adults civically engaged either individually or collectively to create social change particularly related to healthcare and racial disparities that continue to be highlighted by the COVID‐19 pandemic.…”