Social Justice to me is the equality among people. The same opportunities for people such as in money, health, education, etc. For example, if a person has accessible education near them, anyone else should have the same opportunity as them no exceptions because that is our right as humans, to get educated. This applies to my personal life because even though I am undocumented, I can still get myself educated without the need of a social security number. This sounds really just to me because even if you’re not from this country, if your intentions are to get yourself an education no one should have the right to tell you no because it is not a crime to want a higher education. Our freshman year was a perfect example of Social Justice. They had fired the principal and hired a new one. This new lady decided to take away the seniors AP classes because she thought we didn’t deserve them. Even though we were freshman, we still decided to join in on the protests against this because we knew it was an injustice what they were doing. We didn’t realize it but we were fighting for social justice. The definition of Social Justice can change from individual to individual based on the experience with the matter.
Social Justice is a very tough topic because many things get in the way in order to keep us from achieving it. Things such as social class, race, education level and so on. In the past, the struggles that we have had in order to achieve social justice were mainly race and social class. Race played a role in this because since America was highly racist, there was a lot of injustice towards the black community and other minorities. Since they were discriminated against they were also sometimes denied education. Obstacles in today’s society to achieve Social Justice are mostly people who oppose to give equal rights to people. There are many Social Justice issues such as police brutality in today’s society. An example of an injustice that I have experienced myself was in my own school. When I was a freshman in Social Justice High School the seniors there were stripped of their Ap classes and their principal Ms. Farr. The new principal decided that we did not deserve to ha AP classes because of our school level. This really angered our seniors because it was such an injustice so they decided to organize a sit-in protest to get out classes back. Thanks to this we received our AP classes back and our principal. Even this school was built on the pretense to get social justice.
Ways that we can overcome these issues and be able to achieve social justice is to stay united, organized, and professional. We need to be united because without that we can’t achieve anything. A person by itself can only achieve so much without the help others. Great leaders have always had the support from others and that’s how they achieved their goal. We need to be organized too because it is necessary for things going the way that they’re supposed to go. Let’s say for example we were unhappy about something in the school. If we just on the spot say we're going to do an action about it without thinking it thoroughly, it would most likely not end in a pleasant matter. Finally, we need to be professional. By professional I mean peaceful. There is a need to deal with things in a manner that is civil and does not cause harm to people and things. The best way great leaders like Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. dealt with their matters is through a professional non-violent way. This way they achieved their ultimate goal and were actually heard. If things were dealt with brute force and unprofessionally then people in charge of changing thing won’t take us serious and label us as thugs and criminals. I think little by little we are achieving social justice. If you look back at the 1950’s to now, we have advanced a lot. Sure, racism, homophobia, religious discrimination, discrimination against minorities and the poor, and so on, still exist today. But the laws have changed in order to diminish these inequalities and help us progress. Racist laws have been removed, Gay marriage is now legal in all 50 states, minimum wage has risen, and so on. As the years advance we can only move forward, that is unless Trump wins the election.
My role in this struggle for social justice is simple, be a part of it. As I mentioned before, a leader can only do so much without his/her supporters. As long as I participate, as I have before, I think it helps the fight for social justice immensely. My fire is to just help people if I have the ability to. I think it is very selfish to be able to help someone out, have the resources they need, and do nothing. As long as I myself know that I helped someone out and made a difference, that’s honestly enough for me. As of this moment, I don’t yet know what career I’m going to choose, but I know I want lots of money. Don’t get me wrong though, once I’m making big money I will make sure I give back to my community, and people that need it. This is a promise I have made to myself if I ever make large amounts of money. Even if I’m not making big quantities, I know I will still help those in need.
Social Justice is a very tough topic because many things get in the way in order to keep us from achieving it. Things such as social class, race, education level and so on. In the past, the struggles that we have had in order to achieve social justice were mainly race and social class. Race played a role in this because since America was highly racist, there was a lot of injustice towards the black community and other minorities. Since they were discriminated against they were also sometimes denied education. Obstacles in today’s society to achieve Social Justice are mostly people who oppose to give equal rights to people. There are many Social Justice issues such as police brutality in today’s society. An example of an injustice that I have experienced myself was in my own school. When I was a freshman in Social Justice High School the seniors there were stripped of their Ap classes and their principal Ms. Farr. The new principal decided that we did not deserve to ha AP classes because of our school level. This really angered our seniors because it was such an injustice so they decided to organize a sit-in protest to get out classes back. Thanks to this we received our AP classes back and our principal. Even this school was built on the pretense to get social justice.
Ways that we can overcome these issues and be able to achieve social justice is to stay united, organized, and professional. We need to be united because without that we can’t achieve anything. A person by itself can only achieve so much without the help others. Great leaders have always had the support from others and that’s how they achieved their goal. We need to be organized too because it is necessary for things going the way that they’re supposed to go. Let’s say for example we were unhappy about something in the school. If we just on the spot say we're going to do an action about it without thinking it thoroughly, it would most likely not end in a pleasant matter. Finally, we need to be professional. By professional I mean peaceful. There is a need to deal with things in a manner that is civil and does not cause harm to people and things. The best way great leaders like Mr. Martin Luther King Jr. dealt with their matters is through a professional non-violent way. This way they achieved their ultimate goal and were actually heard. If things were dealt with brute force and unprofessionally then people in charge of changing thing won’t take us serious and label us as thugs and criminals. I think little by little we are achieving social justice. If you look back at the 1950’s to now, we have advanced a lot. Sure, racism, homophobia, religious discrimination, discrimination against minorities and the poor, and so on, still exist today. But the laws have changed in order to diminish these inequalities and help us progress. Racist laws have been removed, Gay marriage is now legal in all 50 states, minimum wage has risen, and so on. As the years advance we can only move forward, that is unless Trump wins the election.
My role in this struggle for social justice is simple, be a part of it. As I mentioned before, a leader can only do so much without his/her supporters. As long as I participate, as I have before, I think it helps the fight for social justice immensely. My fire is to just help people if I have the ability to. I think it is very selfish to be able to help someone out, have the resources they need, and do nothing. As long as I myself know that I helped someone out and made a difference, that’s honestly enough for me. As of this moment, I don’t yet know what career I’m going to choose, but I know I want lots of money. Don’t get me wrong though, once I’m making big money I will make sure I give back to my community, and people that need it. This is a promise I have made to myself if I ever make large amounts of money. Even if I’m not making big quantities, I know I will still help those in need.