In preparation for MLK day,and with the support of the Youth Opportunities and Advisory Board, SPAN staff and interns, and a doctoral student from the School of Education at CU, Peers Building Justice is working with a team of youth and adults ranging from ages 12-35 on a Participatory Action Research Project looking at race and racial justice in Boulder County. The project started by establishing a research question to guide our work: How do our experiences and identities inform our approach to racial justice work? Youth, representing 6 Boulder Valley Schools, and adult partners from MESA, SPAN, CU Boulder, and Naropa, then determined research steps, established goals,  selected data collection methods, and are collectively coding the data in order to compile findings in answer to their research question. Data sources include reflection from field journals, conversations with the group and with community members about race, racism, and racial justice movements, facebook posts, interviews from contemporary and historic racial justice advocates, such as MLK, and interviews with each other. The research team will compile their findings and present them in an interactive community event on January 18th at Alfalfa’s Community Room from 4-6pm. The event is open to everyone, with the goal of informing the audience members of the research findings and inviting them into conversation and action around racial justice issues in Boulder County and beyond.