For generations, young people have been expected to be seen and not heard.
It shows up in classrooms, in boardrooms, and in policy decisions that shape their lives without ever asking for their input. It’s subtle, often unspoken, but deeply embedded in how systems operate.
There’s a word for this: adultism.
Adultism is the bias that assumes adults know best, dismissing the ideas, leadership, and lived experiences of young people simply because of their age. It shows up when youth voices are treated as symbolic instead of essential. When their participation is invited, but not truly valued.
And its impact is real.
Young people are navigating systems where decisions are often made for them, not with them. From school policies to daily rules, their autonomy is limited in ways many adults no longer recognize.
For many, it creates a quiet tension, a constant awareness that their voices are not always taken seriously, even when their lives are directly impacted.
As Baltimore begins building its first-ever Youth Master Plan, we are intentionally choosing a different path. One where young people are not just present, but powerful. Not just included, but leading.
Learning What’s Possible
Last year through the learning lab, BCYF traveled with grantees and community members to New Orleans to learn from a city that has already done what Baltimore is now stepping into: creating a Youth Master Plan with young people, not just for them.
Baltimore and New Orleans share a similar story: Both cities have deep cultural pride, rich Black history, and communities shaped by resilience in the face of systemic inequity and decades of disinvestment. But what we saw in New Orleans challenged us to think differently about what’s possible.
Through our time with the New Orleans Youth Alliance, we learned that youth leadership happens by design.
Before they wrote a single word of their plan, they trained adults to step back, to share power, and to recognize that young people are experts in their own lives.
That shift changed everything. We saw what it looks like when an entire ecosystem is aligned around youth leadership as a practice.
We heard directly from young people who helped shape decisions. The youth board members spoke with clarity, confidence, and authority. They took up space, were listened to, and were respected by adults.
There was a visible difference in the energy, in the ownership, and in the outcomes. You could feel thesense that this work belonged to them.
And in that moment, it became clear that we could do this in Baltimore.
We were going to return from New Orleans and we could no longer return to business as usual.
If we have seen what it looks like to truly center young people, then we are accountable for building that here in Baltimore.
Doing the Work in Baltimore
So now, we’re bringing that work home.
BCYF has launched a 10-part Adultism training series in partnership with NOYA for Baltimore’s youth-serving ecosystem. These sessions challenge traditional approaches and push us to rethink how we engage young people.
We’ve explored what it means to go beyond homework help — shifting from adult-directed support to self-regulated learning, where young people build independence, confidence, and ownership over their growth.
Other sessions focus on authentic choice and leadership, equipping organizations to create meaningful opportunities for young people to shape programs based on their ideas, needs, and lived experiences.
This is an invitation to nonprofit leaders, educators, policymakers, and community members to reflect, unlearn, and grow. If we don’t address adultism, we risk recreating the very systems we’re trying to change.
When young people are consistently over-directed or excluded from decision-making, it impacts programs and development. It can limit their confidence, their ability to advocate for themselves, and how they understand power as they grow.
If we are serious about outcomes, we must also be serious about how power is shared.
Beyond a Seat at the Table
At BCYF, youth voice and leadership is built into our structure.
Our Board of Directors includes young people starting at age 14. They are active decision-makers shaping how resources flow across Baltimore.
And when legislation was proposed to amend BCYF’s structure, one thing we stood firm on was that we would not reduce youth representation on our board.
Because reducing youth seats would have been adultism in action.
Too often, institutions point to low youth participation as a reason to scale back youth leadership, but what they fail to examine is the system around that participation.
Are meetings accessible?
Are there transportation supports?
Are stipends or meals provided?
Are there flexible, virtual, or asynchronous ways to engage?
Young people are not disengaged. Systems are often not designed with them in mind.
Building Something Different
The Youth Master Plan is our opportunity to do something Baltimore has never done before.
To move from fragmented services to a shared, youth-led vision.
To shift from talking about young people to building with them.
To create a roadmap rooted in their lived experiences, their ideas, and their leadership.
We must do things differently, but it does require something from all of us:
to check our own biases, and to reflect on the moments when we were told to be quiet instead of being invited to lead.
The Question in Front of Us
Baltimore’s young people are ready.
They are already leading in their communities, shaping culture, and imagining new possibilities for this city.
But do you see them?
They have ideas that are ready to change the world.
Do you hear them?
The question is not whether they’re ready to be heard.
The question is whether we, as adults, are ready to truly see them, hear them, and follow their lead.
