Social justice is defined as ‘the fair treatment and equitable status of all individuals and social groups within a state or society’ (Duignan, 2023). It refers to everyone - including those who have been or still are oppressed (for example minority groups such as women, people of colour and those of the LGBT community) having equal opportunities to both benefit and contribute to the society around them. Historically, only members who fit into the ‘pale, male and stale’ idiom were valued within society (Reilly, 2015). However, in modern day society due to a variety of factors (including the suffragettes, new human rights laws and the work of the UNCRC for conventions of the child) all human beings are entitled to a voice – regardless of their …show more content…
As the next generation, by speaking out against racism and advocating for change, children contribute to shifting societal attitudes and beliefs (Hicks & Robinson, 2020). Furthermore, their participation in protests and demonstrations helps to diversify and broaden the movement, highlighting the intersectionality of race, age, and activism (Cachero et al., 2018). One notable example of child activism within the Black Lives Matter movement is the story of Ruby Bridges. Bridges was born in 1954 in Mississippi. In 1960, during the Brown v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional (Adler, 1995). In 1960, at the age of six, Bridges became the first Black child to integrate into an all-white elementary school in the American South. Her decision to attend an all-white school was motivated by her desire for a better education and equal opportunities for African American children (Adler, 1995). Despite facing threats and hostility from segregationists, Bridges continued to attend school, escorted by authorities. This links to article 28 which gives all children the right to education. Her bravery and resilience garnered national attention and inspired others to confront racial injustice (Adler, 1995). Norman Rockwell's famous painting "The Problem We All Live With," depicting Bridges being escorted to school by these federal officials, captured the nation's awareness by highlighting the injustices of segregation (Adler, 1995). This demonstration of the systemic racism and oppression African Americans face highlighted a wider issue within America. Through her courage and activism, Bridges challenged the status quo and helped advance the cause of civil rights in America. There is a belief that we must protect children and young people from the
In my eyes, social justice is an action of equality for everyone regardless of their color, ethnic ground, or gender. Since we all breath, we should have the same economical rights, political rights, social rights and the same amount of opportunities. Everyone should have economical rights because if one works hard for something they should be able to be rewarded with a good return. Everyone should also have political rights because it gives the nation as an entirety the right to a make decision rather than just to certain people. Social rights are also something everyone should have because it allows everyone to get an education, house, right to health, and other important things. Everyone having the same amount of opportunities is also what social justice should be because no one should be considered better than another person unless they really know the person. Therefore, knowing what social justice is can help us better understand what Shakur is trying to teach us about social
Falconer, D. (2013, November 5). 'Theme 5: Work’ Lecture conducted in 'Introduction to Social Justice, 38-101' from the University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario.
Ruby Nell Bridges played a significant role within the civil rights movement because she led the fight in desegregating schools in the south by being the first black student to attend an all white school there. She was born on September 8, 1954 in Tylertown, Mississippi. This was the same year that the Supreme Court made its Brown v. Board of Education decision. At the age of four she and her family moved from Mississippi to New Orleans. Although the law passed that segregation in schools was illegal in 1954, many white schools in the south refused to desegregate, and therefore the movement for desegregation didn’t take place until the 1960’s.
The social justice piece is very important in social work’s Code, as it distinguishes social work from other helping professions, and radical social work is justice motivated. Traditional social work follows more along the lines of the medical model and social justice may be set aside in the interests of helping those who can pay or have health insurance learn coping skills. The social justice and competency standards written into the Code must not be forgotten or set aside. Jemal is calling for radical social workers to keep these standards as their goals and
Today there are many controversial subjects discussed throughout the media. One of the most discussed is race and the Black Lives Matter movement. Recently, I came across an article titled “The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter’”, written by The Editorial Board. The article was published on September 3, 2015, to the New York Times. In the article, The Editorial Board writes about what they believe African Americans are facing as challenges in society today, including the all-too-common police killings of unarmed African-Americans across the country. The Editorial Board is right that some African Americans have been treated unfairly, but all ethnicities have been. Life is a precious thing that comprises all ethnicities. This brings us to ask; why
Though people may be judged based on their gender and race, everyone has the same rights and without the movements that sought to change the “traditional” norms of society, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
A free society operates on principles of continuous advancement in the social and economic spheres of the society. A free society would be able to disobey laws that they perceive as backwards and limiting on a people group. This group of people practicing civil disobedience must be able to unite and prepare a plan in order to achieve their goals. In the ideal free society, civil disobedience would only progress the society positively.
Defined by the NASW (2016), social justice is the idea that everyone is entitled to equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities. This is one of the main goals social workers aim to achieve. There are many injustices occurring in the world today, such as wage inequalities, institutional racism, and the amount of people living in poverty. Fighting for social justice is fighting for equality in all of these
I spent the day in Massachusetts blitzing stores that will be a part of the Turkey Trots on December 9th. I started off in the morning with Andrew Wagner in Dorchester, MA with manager Will Tasker. We walked the store together and placed an order for missing POP, along with making notes of R2 executions that need to be taken care of before my next store visit. We also worked with the store to get the Ryobi 31pc D&D executed, this needs to be in a SC, not a wingstack in Dorchester for the walk. Along with looking for off-shelf merchandising opportunities for R2. We ended my visit going over R2 product knowledge that Andrew had questions about.
We call ourselves the United States, yet we are anything but united. Social justice, which I believe to be the promotion of equality in money, opportunity, and rights amongst all people, plays a key role in todays ever-so-demanding society. Although many aspects can be affected by social justice, gender is major one. By creating equal pay between men and women and making feminine hygiene products for women become free, I believe that we as a society will inch towards creating a more just society.
Overall, many believe that the undeviating war on racism in today’s society is fueled by police brutality and anti-police violence. Specifically, The Black Lives Matter movement which is the source of controversy regarding these topics. To summarize, this campaign is “both a hashtag and a political project that formed after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin.” (Miller). Later in the article Chelsea Fuller, senior communication associate of The Advancement project which is a multi-racial civil rights organization, states “The Black Lives Matter movement is to deal with anti-black racism, to “push for black people’s right to live with dignity and respect” and be included in the American democracy that they helped create” (Miller). In discussions of The Black Lives Matter movement, a controversial
A person who advocates for social justice is someone who believe there is good in everyone and that there is a solution to help issues that are in a person’s daily life.
Social justice is a core value in the social work field. We define social justice as, “all citizens would possess equal fundamental rights, protection, opportunities, obligations and social benefits (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2015, p. 29). Unfortunately, we understand there are many members in today’s society that are not receiving social justice. Some may not want help and believe that s/he is able to do it on their own and then there are the individuals that we may not know about that could really use our help. Our jobs as social workers is to help those who need help no matter if they are rich, poor, disabled, white, Hispanic, it does not matter because everyone should be treated equally. As NASW states, “The original mission of social work had much to do with championing the rights of society’s most vulnerable members, from children to homeless people to the physically disabled” (NASW: National Association of Social Workers, 2015, para. 1).
One of the most prominent grassroots movements currently at work in the United States is, undoubtedly, the Black Lives Matter movement. A multifaceted reform movement, it tackles the issue of institutionalized racism against black people in the United States. The movement began as a hashtag on Twitter in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Treyvon Martin case. Zimmerman shot Martin to death, claiming it was in self defense as he felt the young man looked threatening because it was dark and he was wearing a hoodie. He was acquitted of both manslaughter and second degree murder. Activists felt that this case was an extreme example of how little value black lives seem to have to the greater community. How could a young, unarmed black person get shot and killed while the white person who shot him simply gets to walk away? This all started as an anti-racist
Capeheart, L., Milovanovic, D. (2007). Social Justice: Theories, Issues and Movements. USA: Rutgers University Press