Getting involved in social justice work can be overwhelming. There are so many causes you can get behind, varieties of movements, new vocabulary words/terms, and the feelings that arise when thinking about “what if I say the wrong thing” — all of that, and more, can make it difficult to know where to start. However, none of that should prevent you from being a part of a movement or group that revolves around an issue you're passionate about. The article, “Eight Ways to Meaningfully Support Social Justice Movements” tells us the first step for joining a movement or group is simply showing up! As we start another week of school, I want to remind you all our first Equity Core Team (ECT) meeting of the year on Tuesday morning (and every Tuesday morning). We will be spending time initially looking at our vision for the team, but then deciding on some action steps for our team to take for Hoyt. We will also doing some digging into our own beliefs and changes we can make that benefit our students and community. "If an injustice moves you, just do something to acknowledge that feeling." -Jenn Li It's always a great idea to build connections with other like-minded people. Local activist groups, and organizers often hold open meetings and are excited to have new people involved (like Des Moines' SURJ, Showing Up for Racial Justice, https://dsmsurj.org/ ) *More info on SURJ on the Community Events page. Becoming part of a community, like Hoyt's ECT, will help you learn new things, and have others hold you accountable. "After all, each of us must make sure we’re doing our best not to contribute to the problem at hand. For example, it doesn’t make sense to ask others to help you combat racism if you abuse white privilege or silence people of color. We have to first unlearn bad habits and behavior ourselves before we encourage others to be mindful of social justice." In the article, 23 Simple Ways to Contribute to Social Justice Movements, the author suggests self-reflection when beginning (and continuing) any social justice work: What are your attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in relation to gender, race, sexual identity, immigration? What’s your personal history? How do you define yourself? Can you change to support equity, respect, and nonviolence? How?
As suggested in the list above, one great place to start with social justice is to read books with more in-depth analysis of a particular social movement and the issues with which it grapples. This link has 24 fantastic suggestions. I have eight of the books on this list in my office, and I know others in our building who own some of these on this list too. I’d be happy to lend any of you a copy of mine and I’m quite sure others will be more than willing to let you borrow a book too. Don't forget, Hoyt purchased five copies of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, which happens to be one of the books on this suggested reading list. "In addition to diving into a good social justice book, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr are incredibly popular in social justice communities. On Facebook, you can either join or create a group dedicated to discussing and organizing around a movement. On Twitter, you can find other people who tweet about the cause you're interested in, and even start a discussion with them." ( If you don’t know where to begin or want some new contacts, I have a list of “Podcasts and People to Follow” here) Jenn Li, a Washington, D.C.-based activist says, "There are probably things you do or say but don't even think about, and people on Tumblr will have a post explaining what the problem is, how it's oppressive, who it affects and the ways you can be better.” The Tumblr community also encourages the sharing of personal experiences, and acts as a safe space to talk through issues you might not discuss in your everyday life. Social media is good place to practice your activism. Posting articles, sharing videos and writing updates about organizing meetings or information about your movement are all simple ways to share messages about your movement with a wide audience. "Those closest to the problem are also closest to the solution." As we think about our Equity Core Team this year, Li reminds us, “There's no one-size-fits-all approach to social justice movements. Some people have a grassroots approaches, while others create organizations. Both approaches — and everything in between — are essential to the success of any movement. The common denominator, however, is a drive to create change.” *For what it's worth, the ECT last year was a group of about 10- 15 of us that met and we for sure fell into the category of "everything in between". ;) Riley, Echo and I will be co-facilitating the meetings. We are open to ideas that will help move our building forward in all equity work. We hope to see you at one, two or all of the meetings this year!
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