Youth rights movement in the United States

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The youth rights movement, also described as "youth liberation," is a nascent grass-roots movement whose aim is to fight against ageism (also known as adultism or adult chauvinism) and for the self-determination civil rights for persons "under the age of majority"-- 18 in most countries. The youth rights movement can trace its roots to the 1970s and the books "Escape from Childhood" by John Holt and "Birthrights" by Richard Farson. Perhaps the first and best known youth rights group was Youth Liberation of Ann Arbor, which lasted from 1970 to about 1980.

During the 1980s, Youth Liberation faded out (for curious reasons) and morphed into a more superficially-oriented children's rights movement. Youth rights is different from children's rights, and the two movements are sometimes at odds with each other (again, for curious reasons). The children's rights movement advocates changes that are often restrictive, protection oriented, and paternalistic, that is, done for children rather than by children. While great strides were made by children's rights groups in combatting child abuse during the 80s, great deceit was also perpetrated, i.e. in the form of well-financed professional adults taking control of children's voices and autonomy; a comparison of 1970s youth liberation literature and present literature should make that abundantly clear, despite the rhetoric.

In the mid-1990s, a youth led movement for self-determination rights began on the Internet. This reborn Youth Rights movement coalesced in 1996 into Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions (ASFAR). Divisions soon emerged between radicals and moderates within ASFAR leading to the formation in 1998 of the National Youth Rights Association (NYRA). NYRA, founded by leaders of ASFAR and YouthSpeak, was founded to professionalize the youth rights movement.

At the end of 2005, the National Youth Advocacy League (NYAL) split off from NYRA to pursue a wider base of issues that surround the Youth Rights movement. NYAL supports Youth Rights by exploring the social and cultural issues that affect the struggle for youth rights and intergenerational equality, and by assisting youth organizations in pursuing their rights more effectively. NYAL remains allied to NYRA's work.

Today, the youth rights movement is led largely by NYRA and its leadership, including their president, Robert Reynolds, and their executive director, Alex Koroknay-Palicz.