You may feel motivated to partake in social justice efforts because the topic relates to your own identity. You may be motivated because the efforts address an underrepresented or marginalized group that you care about. Ask yourself what issues you are passionate about: race, culture, gender awareness and identity, developmental and acquired disabilities, ethnicity and nationality, socio-economic status, political perspectives, faith-based beliefs, language?
How does one get started doing something rather than just thinking about it?
Work on ourselves— None of us is ever fully educated. We should always be reading, listening, engaging and communicating. It is important to delve into topics, resources, and programming where we feel uncomfortable. Find ones where you feel uneducated and/or unprepared.
Name and address our own group privileges —What advantages do you have by virtue of (fill in the blank: your education, race, sex, geography)? What do these privileges allow you to do that others may not be able to do? Talk with friends, family, co-workers, supervisors, neighbors and others about these issues. Is there something about the privileges that you have that could be an asset in tackling social change? Is there a way to acknowledge the privileges without pride? Is it possible to downplay them?
Identify ways in which you can begin to change the system now – Does your work put you in a position that allows you to engineer change? Your education? Organization or community? Or, does creating systemic change feel out of reach, or like someone else’s responsibility? For some areas of chance, it may take five or more years of constant effort, labor and advocacy before they actualize. For others, like racial justice and decolonization, there is so much work to be done.
Start with thinking about some curricular and/or forum topics: social justice for systems change, urban education reform, textbook diversity, race and racism in our prison system, urban food systems, welfare policy, public housing and gentrification, and involving parents of students of color. Social justice change agents are created by hard work and a commitment to building coalitions.
Do this today to effect systemic change: critically evaluate any decisions you make in your personal life or career where “majority rules” is your approach. Why is the decision of the crowd the best solution? You do not need a powerful title, name or job to push for systemic change. You can inspire others, build coalitions, write thought-provoking articles, get involved in meaningful community service, go to challenging presentations, attend rallies, and join many other activities.
If systemic change is important to you, get started now. The best time is now.
