Stanford Against Hate

Social justice basically means addressing and dismantling the socially-constructed and systems-perpetuated barriers that keep different communities from mental, physical, emotional, social, and financial health. If we begin to acknowledge these barriers and their impacts, we can deconstruct them and hopefully increase the well-being and success of all our communities.

This idea of dismantling barriers, not just making changes around or to them, is sometimes called justice or liberation work- freedom from systems, beliefs, and behaviors that keep people from their whole selves, full potential, pursuit of happiness. As this illustration shows, if we take away the barriers for those who are most impacted, we all have access to participate and engage in our world.

 In order to get to liberation, however, we must start by acknowledging the different barriers at play. A lot of the time, these barriers come in “isms” and “phobias” (e.g. racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia) because they keep certain communities in power and certain communities out. From Kimberle Crenshaw’s term of intersectionality from Black feminist theory, we learn that in order to talk about these barriers, we have to also recognize that these barriers (like a birdcage) intersect and overlap, creating specific experiences of oppression for folks depending upon their identities and experiences. 

One of these huge overarching and intersecting barriers is what many call White Supremacy. White Supremacy is the belief that White people are superior to other races, especially Black folks; this belief is then used to rationalize the domination, subjugation, and mistreatment of Black people and other folks of color. While some folks think that this term belongs only in describing extreme hate groups, our entire U.S. culture and its corresponding systems are based in White supremacy. When exploring how the Declaration of Independence claimed only White male landowners as citizens, how policing began from slave patrols, how our medical system was built to serve only White Americans at the cost of Black lives, and on and on and on, we can begin to see that these structures were built to serve White people first and foremost and that some of our current systems were actually created primarily to limit the freedoms and health of Black people. 

Here is a roadmap on how we can be upstanders to dismantle White supremacy and other oppressive forces. 

1. First, we begin as an active ally, making some changes personally or within our circles like posting a hashtag, sharing our pronouns, reading anti-racist books, or amplifying others’ stories and voices. While these are important actions, they do little to change overarching systems. 
2. Once we realize that oppressive forces cannot be fought by individuals alone or fought without continual work, we begin to move towards being an accomplice. By continually working to fight systems like challenging stereotypes and jokes, decentering privileged experiences, advocating for training and organizational change, we begin to carry the weight of working towards liberation.
3. When we begin to be vigilant in our social justice efforts, holding ourselves accountable, and take risks to reallocate funds and attention, these actions have become a lifestyle. A co-conspirator is willing to take personal risks to dismantle and re-envision a world of liberation.

This matters, first and foremost, because absolutely everyone deserves the chance to explore their potential and thrive. None of us had any say in the types of situations, systems, and communities we were born into. These things should not keep us from being our true, whole selves in pursuit of what brings us joy, connection, and security. 

Second, while we may all face different barriers, the limitation of these barriers limits creativity and contribution for all of us. If the barriers were broken down, think of all the unlocked potential available to humanity, the problems we would solve, and the world we could create.

Third, while these barriers and forces affect people and communities differently, they still affect everyone. Racism keeps people disconnected from each other and their own capacity to thrive and create. Sexism, homophobia, and transphobia restrict authenticity and expression for every person. By tearing down barriers, all of us are liberated.