{"product_id":"laboring-in-the-shadows-bianca-j-baldridge-9781503640351","title":"Laboring in the Shadows: Precarity and Promise in Black Youth Work","description":"\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 \u003cp\u003eBianca 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 \u003cp\u003ePositioning 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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bianca J. Baldridge\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1503640353\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781503640351\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Stanford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/17\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Bianca J. Baldridge","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46880824459519,"sku":"9781503640351","price":110.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ad76a36e-00f2-4e16-8c0d-d4a7dd5dcc53.jpg?v=1747969837","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/laboring-in-the-shadows-bianca-j-baldridge-9781503640351","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}