MSPA is a hub for radical youth activism, existing within a broader statewide ecosystem of grassroots, progressive student organizers, working to connect student struggles across higher education campuses, issues, and identities in order to build a powerful youth movement that will enact change. Since our inception in 2014, when MSPA started as an informal network of student organizers (i.e. Michigan Student Power Network) we have undergone several structural transformations; but continue to be the only statewide organization led by youth (including both staff and Board) dedicated to providing comprehensive training, mentorship and paid, relational-organizing opportunities for students on colleges and university campuses and in broader communities across Michigan.

Rooted in principles of co-liberatory socialism, we have stayed connected with progressive organizers and youth activists across the state through various levers to maintain our collective presence/ organization  as a youth-led incubator for radical ideas, learning, resources, and fostering relationships. Now, Michigan Student Power Alliance (MSPA) is blooming into the next phase, after a year of transformation and transitions, we have developed a strategy to invigorate and sustain the next generation of youth organizers.As we move deeper into the work of creating a rich ecology of student activism, we are proud to have a longstanding history of creating space for cultivating education, archiving, and self/community care that sustains radical movements in Michigan.

The most effective elements of MSPA includes: a comprehensive training curriculum created by and for our organizing fellows, also offered to students/ youth groups across Michigan on demand; exchange of knowledges from being part of a grassroots network of radical youth taking action on social justice issues within local contexts; and leveraging budding relationships with more established social justice coalition organizations to bolster our efforts to build a pipeline of progressive leadership. Our 501(c)(3) amplifies local commitments to create a wave of change amongst college campuses across the state and leverages the existing capacity of the broader ecosystem of activist and radical organizing.

To ensure we are developing a robust alliance of change-makers who will blossom into leaders in our local and statewide communities, we are invested in continuing to bolster the pipeline for youth to  build sustainable community engagement practices beyond their student life. We have a unique opportunity to nurture students on a large, formalized scale, seeing how the domino effect of funneling our resources into innovative ideas can create massive wins. For example, MSPA alumni have gone off to be incredible organizers leading change as staff in other Michigan-based organizations; as graduate student union organizers in partnership with local unions across the US; as advocates and policy influencers in foreign policy spaces; and as founders of local (Detroit, Grand Rapids, etc. based) co-ops and collectives. 

MSPA exists to create spaces and build specific skills for youth organizers to sustain anti-oppressive issue campaigns to win transformational change for their communities. The training, mentorship, and resources that MSPA provides to youth empowers them to find their frontline, activate into movement spaces and create strategic issue campaigns that seek transformational change for Michigan communities. By giving youth the tools they need to create movements that are rooted in solidarity, liberation, and strategy, MSPA is creating a ripple effect of youth leadership and change in the midwest.