California Freedom Summer Participatory Action Research Project
California Freedom Summer Youth Conference, Fresno, California, September 6, 2025. (UCLA/CSRC)
As low-income, immigrant, and racially diverse communities experience multiple threats and hardships, it is critical to equip young people with the skills and tools to take civic actions that advance their collective self-determination and safeguard democratic institutions. To this end, the California Freedom Summer (CFS) Participatory Action Research Project trains University of California, community college, and high school students in research and civic engagement. Through a participatory action research model, CFS guides students in examining youths’ multilayered concerns and conducting broad-based, nonpartisan civic action in their communities. CFS builds on the initial success of the 2018 Central Valley Freedom Summer project, which contributed to a 262 percent increase in voter turnout among 18 to 24-year-olds in the Central Valley.
In partnership with university-community organizations in regions most affected by social inequities, students serve as interns and action researchers. By integrating academic coursework with hands-on experience, California Freedom Summer (CFS) equips young leaders with the skills and civic knowledge to drive change that prioritizes their communities’ needs. In 2026, CFS is training fifty UC students and partnering with community colleges across California to reach and train over one hundred high school and community college students who will be conducting action research on youth civic engagement in their local communities.
Inspired by the 1964 Freedom Summer, which mobilized college students in collaboration with grassroots organizers to expand Black voter registration in the South and modeled after successful UC-based internship and research programs, CFS is an investment in the local leadership of underserved communities.
To make a donation to the California Freedom Summer project, visit the Give to UCLA site.
