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As we've discussed in class, there is a lot of work to be done when it comes to social justice. However, it does not negate how far we have come from slavery and segregation. We have accomplished political milestones from having a black president, Chicago electing its first African American female Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, to Jared Polis becoming for first openly gay governor in the United States, to there being 102 women in the House of Representatives.

We have given people a voice to speak out against sexual assault with the #MeToo movement and It's On US. We have muted artists like R. Kelly and directors like Harvey Weinstein who have participated in such acts.  Same-sex marriage is now allowed in all 50 states and we now have inclusive gender pronouns for non-binary individuals. Though it derived from one too many tragedies, Black Lives Matter movement was born and to create some resistance, New York City creates laws to protect black women against discrimination due to their hair.

This only names a few accomplishments in the past few years and yes, there is still work to be done, but these accomplishments were long and hard fought battles and shows that there is still hope for our society.

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The next concept ethics/morals vs legality/the law. In order to be a social justice ally and warrior, it is imperative to understand that causes you may be fighting for/against are not always legal, which is ultimately why the concept of social justice exist-To make it a social norm in the court of law that all people are treated with fairness. One who is a fighter for social justice will make decisions and accommodations based upon what is ethically or morally right and responsible vs what is the policy.

An example I have for this was when I was completing finals during my undergrad. I had a 15 page page paper to compete for an english class I was taking. Unfortunately, I had just suffered one of the most traumatic incidents in my life not too long before it was due. I had been sexually assaulted on campus. I was unable to finish my paper on time and although the policy was no late work, I asked for an extension. Despite the policy, my professor gave me an extension because ethically/morally, it was the right thing to do.

In conjunction with ethics and law, the  fourth concept is equity vs equality. A socially just individual is a fighter for equity.

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In order to understand social justice,there are four main concepts that have to be understood as well.

The first concept is social identity. Though it may seem like a basic concept, there are a ton of social groups and subgroups one can belong to including the following: ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, social class, etc. Social justice is meant to serve people belonging to oppressed/ misrepresented identity groups. Yet, how can social justice ever be achieved if people do not understand the groups that exist or even what groups they belong to themselves? A great first step in becoming a social justice advocate is understanding your own identity and taking a social identity inventory. I  did this exercise during college and  it helped me understand not only how I view myself, but how I am viewed by society. Some social groups identify with are Black Americans, women, Christians, heterosexuals, etc.

The second concept is oppression and that it still exists. In Harro's (2010) article, he breaks down the Cycle of Socialization. Though no one is born into this world with any biases or prejudices, socialization starts at a young age when we are taught our social identities by those who are closest to us. As we grow older, we morph into those identities. When they are reaffirmed on a daily basis, the differences between people become more evident, but can become less understood and appreciated. Oppression exists because people cannot learn or taught to be tolerant of those differences. According to Harro (2010), when people realize that oppression exists, they have two options. They can either A.) promote the status quo and continue to teach this cycle of socialization on to future generations or B.) interrupt the system and stand up for a call to action.

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Harro, B (2000).  The Cycle of Socialization, In Adams, Maurienne et al. Readings for diversity and social justice.  Pp. 16-21.  New York, NY Routledge.

Davis, B .W, Gooden, M. A, Hall, D. L, Lee, L & Spikes, D. D (2018) Leaders Changing How They Act by Changing How They Think: Applying Principles of an Anti-Racist Principal
Preparation Program, In Teachers College Record Volume 120, 140306, 2018, 26 pages
Copyright © by Teachers College, Columbia University.

Sergiovanni, T. J. (2000). Leadership as stewardship. In M. Fullan (Ed.), In The Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dantley, M, E. & Tillman, L, C. (2010). Social justice and moral transformative leadership. In C. Marshall & M. Oliva (Eds.), Leadership for Social Justice: Making Revolution in Education (2nd ed.) (pp. 19-34). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Speaker, Champman, O. (2017). Is Equality Enough? [TED-Ed Student Talks]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/jgQYfAo6umg

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When we examine the term social justice it is a concept made up of two terms: Social and Justice.
Social : In this context social means society, the public, group of individuals, etc.

Justice: Fair/equal treatment.

Social Justice: Providing equitable,morally, ethically and fair treatment and action to individuals in a society.

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Leadership is an ever changing concept and there is never one leadership style that is better that the next. Depending on the circumstance, all forms of leadership can be needed in some shape of form. The beauty about impactful leader is that they are able to serve their people by figuring out what it is they need at that very moment and how they deliver it to them. During their anti-racism leadership research, Davis, Gooden, Hall, Lee and Spikes quoted the following:

" Theoharis (2007) describes social justice leaders      are those who “make issues of race, class,  gender, disability, sexual orientation, and other historically and currently marginalizing conditions in the United States central o their advocacy, leadership practice, and vision” (p. 223). " (p.2)

This truly explains it best. Socially just leaders  also know how to adapt to setbacks and be fluid in their leadership styles for the interest of society as a whole. They have to not only be an ally to  oppressed groups, but be able to speak up for those who feel they have been silenced. One leadership style that best describes the interests of social justice is servant style leadership.  In Sergiovanni's (2000) article on leadership, he states that the reason why servant style leadership is so legitimate is because it takes into account the needs of others to get a sense of direction to achieve an overall goal. This describes the term equity to me. Though there may be a commonality in what needs to be accomplished, what tools does each person need to get there? A servant leader will take the necessary steps to assure their people have the means to be successful as individuals and as a whole.

In their article on transformative leadership, Dantley and Tillman (2010) discuss how "leadership for social justice investigates and poses solutions for issues that generate and reproduce societal inequities" (p.2). In other words, social justice leaders question the status quo, raise awareness,  create resistance, dismantle the system and cultivate change.  The process of change is rigid and cannot be done overnight. Therefore, so is the work of a transformational leader. The beauty of a transformational leader fighting for social justice is that they can be flexible and recognize that transformation, like social justice is a multistep process.