From my understanding, social justice means that every human being should have equal access to resources and opportunities to be able to reach their full potential. It is the idea that every person should be equally treated and supported regardless of their background, race, culture, gender, or sex. It is the notion that no one should be underserved or underrepresented. Encompassed within social justice is economic justice, which contends that everyone deserves a decent relative standard living to be able to sustain themselves. It means eliminating barriers to employment and ensuring a living wage and income that is fair so that everyone has an opportunity to pursue their dreams. Thus, social and economic justice means that society has an obligation …show more content…
As a research assistant under Dr. Michele Fazio, I was able to able to draw awareness to the social, political, and economic injustices that the Lumbee Tribe endured over the years as a result of outsourcing of manufacturing jobs in the area. In an effort to deconstruct this negative image and stigma about the locals, I analyzed and conducted interviews of the Lumbee Tribe to learned about the ongoing political battle of federal recognition and economic struggles that have resulted in many relocating to find jobs. In the hope to draw awareness to these issues, I helped create a cultural exhibit of the work histories of the Lumbee and created a historical timeline of major businesses leaving the area as part of my contribution to the Voices of Lumbee documentary. After four years, the project continues to take a life of its own and has reached many people wanting to help address the issues facing the Lumbee population. I was able to listen to the direct needs of the community and voice their …show more content…
Recently, I have had the opportunity to work with a sociology professor as a teaching assistant to begin addressing poverty in Robeson County. Part of the project involved helping students create a demographic profile report of Robeson County and four major townships within the community with the highest poverty rates using census tract data collected through the U.S Census Bureau. Through this project, I helped students prepare a report of current poverty rates to present to town council members. Although many town leaders were reluctant about the data, I was proud that we were able to stand on our ground and reiterate that poverty, especially child poverty, is a problem that should be taken seriously. It was our first time facing politicians and I felt we were able to contribute our part and advocate on behalf of those suffering from
My definition of social justice in the field of education is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child and the British-Colombia School Act that state that every child has a right to a proper education (UNICEF, n.d.; School Act, RSBC 1996, c. 412). A proper education to me is based on opportunity. I believe that in order to have a proper education, children should all be entitled to equal opportunity in their learning process. Children should have equal opportunity to obtain the supports that will assist them in achieving their potential.
The collaborating individual chosen for this case study is Eva Pollinger-Middleton, a twenty-three year old undergraduate student in the College of Education at the University of North Florida. Eva is majoring in Secondary English Education and is currently in her junior year. Eva is ethnically Lumbee, which is a Native American tribe native to the north Florida Area. Although Lumbee is not a federally-recognized distinct tribe, Eva is highly invested in furthering her culture’s recognition in educational settings, including both increasing Lumbee presence in curriculum relating to Native American studies for students in the general education program and in furthering educational opportunities for students who are Lumbee. Eva is
Nelson Mandela once said, "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom” (Make Poverty History, 2005). Gwinnett county is third in the country when it comes to a high poverty rate, with 14% of the population living below poverty (Family Promise of Gwinnet County, 2013). As an educator it is important to familiarize with the county of which one is to teach in, and poverty is an issue in Gwinnett county. One must understand the affects of poverty on children's learning, how to recognize children of poverty and how to help those students, and what rights those children have to an education.
Everyone regarding social justice should feel this way because we are all born with morals that allow us to feel bad when others are hurt, so we should act on that feeling that it is bad. As humans, we need to act on these morals in order to do our duty to help others and to be good to them. Socratic Questions 2.
Ambler, Marjane. “Sustaining our home, Determining our destiny.” Tribal College Journal. Vol. 13 Issue 3, P8, Spring
Many people in the U.S. believe poverty is a major issue in other countries but fail to realize that there are high poverty rates at home as well. When looking at poverty there are many age groups that are affected at different levels, and one of the age groups that is dramatically impacted is children under the age of 18. This age group is specifically a sad one due to the fact that they cannot rely on themselves to get out of poverty. This results in many struggles for children and relying on programs and organizations for the help that they need. Although 21.1 percent of kids are ravaged by the struggles of poverty, many organizations are seeking to positively impact this issue through
It is no secret that, within the last decade, America has faced an economic crisis of historic proportions. Though the nation appears to be in a state of recovery from the greatest recession since the Great Depression, there are still major issues to address; namely poverty. Poverty today has hit more homes than ever, especially in places such as Eastern North Carolina. According to the 2010 Bureau of Economic Analysis, North Carolina ranked as the ninth wealthiest state with gross domestic production worth $424.9 billion.[2] North Carolina is among the top states for agricultural output, which consists of poultry, tobacco, hogs, cattle, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. A U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey, however, states that North Carolina’s poverty rate spiked to 18 percent, surpassing the official national poverty level of 15.2 percent (1). While those percentages may seem considerably small, it equates to 1.7 million people without adequate housing, health care, education or employment. This ranks North Carolina as the 12th highest poverty state in the nation. Moreover, the federal government reports that at least 20 percent of the residents of 10 Eastern North Carolina counties have consistently reported living in poverty for the past 30 years. These counties of “persistent poverty” include Bertie, Bladen, Columbus, Halifax, Martin, Northampton, Pitt, Robeson, Tyrell and Washington County.
Social justice is necessary because gender equality is aiming for men and women have fair treatment that doesn’t discriminate. Race, men and women, Social status must all be equal. So in the long run for gender equality there are different factors that affect the chance of being gender equal. It’s different for coloured women to be equal to coloured men as well as a white woman and white male, a woman living in poverty being equal to a male living in great wealth. Social justice is suppose to bring everyone to an equal level, and overtime it is slowly coming together as
...en have lived in poverty in 1997- more than in any year since 1966 to 1990” (Sherman and Sandfort). This article focuses on the importance of ending poverty on all levels. To be able to do this, it would take the cooperation of people from every level of the system. Government policies would need to be made or stepped up to represent the people and give back what they constantly take away. Each state can take similar steps to reassure persons in their own regions they will be well taken care of. However, the last level is where the average person can begin to get involved-your own community. Each community involves a number of people who are responsible for studying and documenting data concerning poverty which provides assistance to different leaders in the community and will enable leaders in the community to reach out to more people that are affected by poverty.
Institutions that affect our social justice views can include religions, schools, our government, social networking and media. Our own identity of ourselves is highly impacted by the restrictions and judgments that come along with these institutions. Whether you believe in it or not, you are impacted directly by the views from these institutions. The views of these institutions can be a determining factor in your decisions, because if you decide the rebel against these views you can look like an outsider. Social justice defines what should be done in order the live the perfect American Dream, be socially acceptable, fulfill life to the fullest and be an active member of society.
Critical social justice, unlike the more mainstream social justice, looks at the inequalities present in society more critically and actively tries to change them. Though the word “critical” has many negative connotations critical social justice purpose is not to judge but to help people think about the different perspectives of an issue. Nothing happens in a vacuum and when looking at an issue critical social justice understands that a person has to comprehend the history and cultural perspectives surrounding the issue. The more critical social justice realizes that inequality is not just a hateful word here or there, but is actually is something ingrained into the structures that make up
Poverty itself is a controversial and widely debated issue with a variety of opposing viewpoints. Despite differences in opinions on how poverty should be treated, the vast majority agrees that poverty is a problem plagues the nation on both economic and social levels. Economically, poverty affects everyone. As taxes are paid by the entire nation, poverty influences where our money goes and how it is spent. Socially, poverty affects families and individuals on an emotional level. Impoverishment affects happiness and health, the decisions people make, and most importantly the development of children. To best understand poverty, one must look at the issue economically and socially, and contextualize the numbers surrounding poverty as well as
The terms are typically used together to describe equal opportunities socially and economically (Briana, 2016), however in reality we face social and economic injustice. When the term social and economic justice comes to mind, the writer thinks of the concepts: human rights, equality, opportunity, and peace. From the writer’s perspective, we live in a society that doesn’t respect human rights. Moving forward, Ehrenreich displays many social and economic injustices in her novel. She made finding a place to live her first task. Due to her income, she only qualifies for housing that is considered to be flophouses and trailer homes that have no screens, no air conditioning, and no fans. She finds a place and the rent is $500/monthly, however, she lives forty-five minutes away from employment opportunities and it isn’t the best style of somewhere to live. Many Americans face the challenges of finding cheaper housing that it isn’t in the best condition and they end up having to drive further for jobs. They have to pay for more gas, in which can take a toll on
Poverty is an undeniable problem in America. In 2014, 14.8 percent of the United States was in poverty (“Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet”). There are more people in the United States than it seems that do not have their basic necessities. In an
... I think this project has affected me in a way that I will remember for the rest of my life. Works Cited American Poverty and Welfare Reform. 2002. The 'Secondary' of the Women's Policy Research - Research. http://www.oycf.org/Perspectives/12_063001/American_poverty_reform.htm>.