{"product_id":"laboring-in-the-shadows-precarity-and-promise-in-black-youth-work-paperback-softback-9781503644892","title":"Laboring in the Shadows; Precarity and Promise in Black Youth Work (Paperback \/ softback) 9781503644892","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eLaboring in the Shadows\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003ePrecarity and Promise in Black Youth Work\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eBianca J. Baldridge (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781503644892\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 17 February 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e246 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.666 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"Using rich, descriptive profiles, Bianca Baldridge highlights the unwavering commitment and the structural challenges that youth workers navigate—reminding us of their vital roles in sustaining community and nurturing hope for an anti-racist future.\"  —Prudence L. Carter, Brown University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Bianca Baldridge's sensitive, riveting exposé of the exploitative and essential character of Black youth work offers a fresh take on how neoliberal education continues to reproduce deep racial and class inequalities, and what we can do to change it. Hint: passion and sacrifice are not enough.\"  —Robin D. G. Kelley, author of \u003ci\u003eFreedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In this beautifully crafted portrait of how youth workers from marginalized backgrounds provide critical labor in nonprofits, Bianca Baldridge brings to life their voices and hopes. Nonprofit labor will never look the same after you have read this book.\"  —Woody Powell, Stanford University\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eYouth workers are essential to the fabric of society. Schools, families, and many of our social institutions rely heavily on their work, yet their contributions often go unrecognized. \u003ci\u003eLaboring in the Shadows\u003c\/i\u003e explores the critical role of Black youth workers, especially in the lives of vulnerable youth, and the challenges they face in their unstable, underappreciated position. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e  Bianca J. Baldridge situates the experiences of Black youth workers within the broader context of anti-Blackness and historical inequities. Drawing on rich interview data from across the United States, Baldridge offers a nuanced analysis of how the precarity of this work—marked by high turnover rates, low wages, and housing insecurity—compounds the challenges these workers face. She highlights how Black youth workers resist these structural harms by adopting and implementing innovative pedagogical practices alongside practices of \"freedom dreaming\" and joy as forms of resistance and pathways to agency for youth despite their precarious roles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e  Positioning Black youth workers within a broader network of informal care workers in the United States, Baldridge underscores the significance, fragility, precarity, and power of these dedicated professionals, their essential work, and the possibilities they create for youth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePreface: Journeying to Youth Work\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Introduction: Precarity, Paradox, and Promise\u003cbr\u003e 1. Working in the Shadows\u003cbr\u003e 2. Struggle for Power\u003cbr\u003e 3. Mourning to Movement\u003cbr\u003e 4. Protecting Youth, Protecting Ourselves\u003cbr\u003e 5. Shaping Black Futures amid Precarity\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion: The Promise and Future of Black Youth Work\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue\u003cbr\u003e Appendix: Research amid \"Uncertainty\"\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Stanford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52520939454744,"sku":"9781503644892","price":18.89,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/laboring-in-the-shadows-precarity-and-promise-in-black-youth-work-paperback-softback-9781503644892","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}