Why social justice?

I had an interesting and lively discussion recently with my classmates, some undergraduates and some graduate students on why I came back to school, after I have completed 6 years of teaching: local & abroad, have earned a California Teaching Credential, and a TESOl certificate in November. Most people would think I am crazy and overqualified for anything related to graduate studies. I have to admit that it took me a while to grasp everything, and find meaning in the path I'm on. I do know that my heart was always very set on earning a Master's Degree in Education, but I thought I might've missed the opportunity. I was hired to be a full-time faculty by the school where I did my student teaching. So, my path was diverted away from graduate school. When I was teaching at H.K., I kicked around the idea of earning a Masters and working at the same time but I felt obligated to stay focus on teaching at H.K..as I knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I also knew then that I wanted a social justice element in my graduate studies and H.K. would not be able to offer that. Six years ago, my seminar leader, Mrs. Barbara Perea, had started our cohort off with including social justice elements into the teaching profession. However, I felt that was only the tip of the iceberg and that I needed more training and knowledge in this area. And, only SFSU's graduate studies could further shape and develop social justice ideas and philosophies, and seeing all of the 'unjust' ways that education has been operating and moving towards, made me more compelled to go back to school. What made me very disheartened was the way public schools were 'producing' something for the marketization of the global world, and in the U.S., the No Child Left Behind Policy by the Bush Administration was awful. We can argue that public schooling is not preparing young people to be responsible and intelligent citizens, nor is school focused on creating citizens who are solid and grounded and aware of social, political, and economical structures and conditions, and having a burnning desire to transform and contribute to the world. We will be left with more and more depletion of the planet then our contribution to the planet.

So, what is social justice? It is the idea that we critique the conditions and the struggles of the inequities and the inequalities that face people, particularly the poor, the battered, the marginalized, the wounded and the silenced. Through this critique of external conditions, is also a critique of our own lenses upon which we perceive the world. In a transformative way, we will then understand that change starts from within, and hope begins to emerge in order that change occurs in reality. Social justice could be added to any professional work that we choose to do in life whether one is a physician, a teacher, a real estate agent, a designer, an architect, in the fields of social science, science, business, etc... the key is to offer one's services, talents, knowledge, and skills to uplift a community, society or the world through critical awareness of oneself, and of peace and justice that are often absent in those communities mentioned above. Social justice work is not for everybody. Because if you don't live it or believe in it with your heart and soul, it'll just be a 'scam' and people see through people all the time in our world.

Examples of social justice elements in reality:

- Hong Kong's Democratic Protests/Commemoration of June 4th
- Ceasar Chavez's Farmer's Workers Union
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Nelson Mandela
- Hong Kong's former Rock Band - Beyond
- Doctors without Borders
- Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Company
- Green & Environmental Movements
- Wangari Maathai
- Actor Edward Norton
- Educator: Jane Elliot
- Irish Band - U2
- Seattle Architect - Victor Steinbrueger

and many many more fantastic examples....

So, why social justice? Perhaps it's my experience as a marginalized citizen in the U.S., perhaps it's my parents' struggle to 'make it' in the U.S., perhaps it's being schooled from K-12 in very rare moments of social justice and seeing people disillusioned by the educational system, perhaps it is seeing the crappy conditions and design that our power structure had set up. I am not a very 'vocal', 'loud' person, but that doesn't mean social justice isn't there. Social Justice isn't about breaking rules, getting attention, creating a high profile, criticizing everything to death, or exerting changes to an existing environmental condition. To me, social justice is about PEOPLE. They are #1 - collectively and indivdually. Any change worth undergoing, happens in PEOPLE, even in myself. To think outside of the box is the seed of social justice. That's why I believe our world can't survive without society's artists. I love artists.

And, social justice is born in the minds of people esepcially those who are sick and tired of seeing the same things happening again and again in our world that do not serve people at all. Social justice is about exerting pressure on the power structures that are made of PEOPLE therefore the negotiation must be strategic and humane (exmp: MLK's non-violence tactic), also asking for and honoring others' voices, questioninng 'silence' and how that re-produces conditions, and questioning 'normality' that is so ingrained in society and in all of us. With social justice, we question how we have been normalized to behave, act, speak, and think in our world. When we learn to deconstruct 'normalization' we can then return to ourselves whole, complete and undivided. That is the irony of the transformative process. If we don't go through that transformative process, how do we expect to bring peace and social justice in those moments that call for it? Social justice has taught me a lot about who I am and about what our communities, societies and world's conditions are. Most of the time, it isn't funny, idealistic, or happy. Instead, it is quite troubling. I have had sleepless nights just thinking about issues that are so rooted and institutional that it takes me a awhile to crawl back up and see light, and feel joy and happiness again. That's how powerful social justice elements could be. It is always knawing at your soul.

I end with a quote by a 'radical' social justice fighter named Assata Shakur, a former Black Panther. Some people might argue that she is not a radical depending on your perspective. Her words exemplify how social justice operates:


If you are deaf, dumb, and
blind to what’s happening
in the world, you’re under
no obligation to do
anything. But, if you know
what’s happening and you
don’t do anything but sit on
your ass, then you’re
nothing but a punk.
--Assata Shakur

Well, maybe I don't want to be a punnk, a coward, or a sell-out. And, if we don't care much about social justice, then at least be thankful for those who do because without their 'work and effort' we simply won't be where we are today. For example, without the 1960's Student Movement at SFSU, then there would not be an Asian American Studies Department today, and I would not have been able to learn about the history and the struggles of Asians in America, and I would not have identified with an amazing community, gained a sense of cultural pride and historical truth, and I would not have enough 'groundedness' to go into teaching, and I would still be sitting in a corporate office in downtown, S.F., and just making money and buying 'shit' I don't need, and falling prey to all the 'things' that are supposed to make you happy, when it does not. And, I would not have journeyed beyond privilege and deprivation, and see what the world is really about, which is more and more about PEOPLE and how we all have struggled, and how we all aim for intellectual and social stimulation and a true sense of belonging, and what we all want more than anything are connections, joy and happiness, peace and justice for ourselves, for our family members, for our communities, and for the world at large. One live social justice, and not just talk about it. So, this is the only and last bit on why social justice? You decide what you want to do and be. Sometimes, there really isn't a choice. Thanks for reading! PEACE!