Based on ten years of research by youth development scholar Ben Kirshner, this book shows young people building political power during an era of racial inequality, diminished educational opportunity, and an atrophied public square. The book’s case studies analyse what these experiences mean for young people and why they are good for democracy. What is youth activism and how does it contribute to youth development? How might collective movements of young people expand educational opportunity and participatory democracy? The interdependent relationship between young people's political engagement, their personal development, and democratic renewal is the central focus of this book. The author argues that youth and societal institutions are strengthened when young people, particularly those most disadvantaged by educational inequity, turn their critical gaze to education systems and participate in efforts to improve them.