I often times say that my main goal in life is to teach and learn but it begs the question, what does this really mean? It means more than me becoming a teacher or politician some day. It means teaching one another about what’s wrong with society so we can learn how to make it right. It’s about us becoming better people by learning more about true social justice for all and teaching these ideas to others. It’s about my social justice revolution. It’s about our social justice revolution. Social justice is about ending the systematic oppression of all people on a micro and macro scale by aggressively removing the social constructs that hold us back such as race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class and so much more. Tearing down every system of oppression in existence is why we must continue to learn from and teach one another. In order to teach, we first have to learn while all that we learn, we must be ready to teach. With these principles of social justice in my heart and thoughts of revolution in mind, I can only be grateful as I reminisce over those who’ve given me such valuable life lessons to bring me to the point where I am today.
Alice Walker-
“The Color Purple” is a book that holds enough life lessons to enrich a generation of minds. It has helped to teach me about issues of intersectionality, how hard it is to be a woman in a world dominated by men, how hard it is to be black in white supremacist society, and how systems of oppression are interconnected causing them to compound on the oppressed people. Your writings not only illustrate how these systems can be so effective in stripping one’s power and dignity away but ,more importantly, they celebrate the great human triumph of those who overcome.
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.“
Angela Davis-
One of the truest radicals that I know of, one who speaks of liberating minds just as we liberate society. You’ve demonstrated throughout your life that the path towards liberation requires bravery and bold radicalism. Defeating criticism from men who said a woman shouldn’t be leading a revolution and standing strong on communist ideals and social philosophies that even to this day are still extremely divisive. An individual who has spent time on the FBI Most Wanted List and lecturing in classrooms across the world, your revolutionary heart beats on still today while you continue to captivate, educate, and advocate for liberty and justice.
“Radical simply means grasping things at the root.”
Audrey-
You gave me the gift of life and the gift of unconditional love. Without knowing what such powerful love feels like I’m not sure that any of these other names would matter very much. I may have never learned how important it is to love myself without you having always loved me so and without that love of self I worry that my love of my fellow man and woman would be insufficient. I don’t simply want to tear down these systems of oppression because I hate them, it’s because I love the oppressed people too much to allow myself to stand by while it continues. The more I’m able to share the unconditional love you gave me the more effective I’ll be in changing the world
Bell Hooks-
I realize that love isn’t just something I have but something I must do. I initially called myself feminist thanks to the writings and teachings of Bell Hooks. You are a writer of the highest caliber and I aspire to succeed just as you have as an author and intellectual. Just as my mother taught me to love unconditionally your writings have taught me why such love is so important. Social justice movements are born from love but grow through it as well and just as boldness and radicalism are integral to revolutions so are empathy and love. Your writings have helped to show me the importance of building truly intimate relationships and using love to bring people together in the name of freedom.
“Feminism is for everybody.”
Bernie Sanders-
The man who speaks of American political revolutions in the year 2016 helped to awaken something in me. An old white politician helped to shake my revolutionary spirit out of a deep slumber by showing that honesty and compassion were something we can and should demand from our leaders. By fighting for lives that don’t look like your own for most of your adult life like a true public servant should, you’ve demonstrated that government can be an effective tool of social justice instead of an enemy. The populist movement you’ve led and the revolutionary spirit you’ve inspired in so many youths, I believe, has helped lay the groundwork for the spiritual, moral and social progress we need.
“This campaign is not about me. It is about you.”
Cornel West-
Of all the social justice warriors that come to mind, you possess one of the most extraordinary intellects but this isn’t what even you yourself find to be your defining trait. It’s a profound love of your fellow man and woman that creates in you a moral content grounded in justice. When you are celebrated for your intellect you say you’d rather be wise, “Adolf Hitler was smart. I’m not impressed by that, you see.” I’ve been told my entire life about how smart I am but you’ve taught me that having love based morals is sometimes far more important than being the smartest person in the room.
“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”
Geoffrey-
An excellent embodiment of what it means to be a big brother, leading by example and loving all the time. I know few humans who are so driven as you are and the example you set by chasing your goals day by day are both an inspiration and lesson. Every day what I see from you is another goal met and a new goal set, revolutionaries won’t get very far without being driven like you are to succeed. I’ve been learning from you in how you constantly pursue your dreams and continue to exemplify brotherly love.
Jaabron-
Another exemplary big brother, teaching me through your own spiritual living the importance of faith. Even as I find myself doubting my own faith in organized religion you continue to shine like a lamp placed on a stand. You possess a wisdom worthy of admiration and faithfulness worthy of respect and that’s why I’m proud to call you both a brother and teacher. Religion over time has become less important to me but religious ideology along with faith in one’s morals continue to motivate me and I have you to thank for continuing to show me how positive an impact religion can still have on our lives.
James-
You and I don’t agree on very many things politically and philosophically but growing up with this strict difference of ideas between us has allowed me to learn the importance of having strong convictions. Ruth Bader Ginsburg said of Justice Scalia “I disagreed with most of what he said, but I loved the way he said it,” and I feel that this is one lesson I’ve been able to learn from you. Being raised for a significant portion of my childhood by someone with beliefs that I very much reject now has been an important lesson to me in dealing with conflicting viewpoints. You can disagree profoundly with someone but still love them; you can be respectful of the opinions of others while realizing that it’s very important to be able to hold on to your convictions.
Jasmine-
When I look to you for inspiration I see your boldness in confrontations, not just confrontations with other individuals but also in how you confront situations. I’ve seen you remain bold when dealing with our family and unafraid in situations such as making personal decisions in your college years. I’ve seen you move on about your life unbothered with what others may say and the lessons I’ve been able to learn from that are invaluable. When I speak of things like social justice and revolutions I know it’s important to understand the necessity of boldness and I feel better prepared to confront such things with the example you’ve set.
Jerusha-
Malcolm X said, “I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.” and you seem to understand that sometimes the most effective tactic is to make oneself heard. You’ve helped to teach me one of my hardest personal lessons, as a naturally soft-spoken individual, it’s been difficult for me to know when the time to “make some noise” is. We are at war for social justice and it’s important to know that quiet does not always mean there is peace, a message of justice requires an adequate volume but too many find themselves apathetic and far too quiet. Listening to you has helped to guide me in knowing when it’s time to speak up and speak out myself.
Joelle-
In contrast to knowing when to speak out, it’s equally important to know when to be quiet and listen. A platform of social justice involves knowing when to listen to the struggles of oppressed people, when people know when to speak but not listen we end up with harmful phenomena such as “whitesplaining”, “mansplaining”, or other regressive condescending ideas. For one to teach they must speak but in order to learn we must listen, you seem to understand profoundly the importance of listening and learning. Many people mistake the “quiet one” for someone with nothing to say but you’ve continually demonstrated that you just have nothing to say until it’s important. In a world where so many are eager to speak, it seems that quietly listening is underappreciated but not by you and thanks to you, not for me either.
Joi-
When I think of success you always are one of the first people to comes to mind, a deeply driven individual with the success to show for it and you inspire me constantly. What inspires me even more about you though isn’t your fantastic success but the fact that even though you’ve not always been so successful you’ve always been generous. From our humble beginnings when you’d always make sure that everyone in the family was taken care of as much as you could and now, as your own situation has improved so has your generosity. No social justice movement will survive and thrive without bringing people together and lifting them up together. You may think Bernie Sanders is the reason that I’ll gladly wear the socialist label but I have you to thank as well, your strong sense of community has shown me the importance of bringing people together and taking care of others.
Julius-
The way in which many life lessons contrast shows the need for balance and you strike a personal balance between two important things, humor and deep thought. Both concepts are nurturing to the mind and you demonstrate a well-practiced balance of the two. Your ability to find humor and remain calm when others are too tense while being able to also force people to think more deeply about a situation is a versatile skill and a valuable lesson. Cornel West says,”You have to be a thermostat rather than a thermometer.A thermostat shapes the climate of opinion; a thermometer just reflects it.” I find you to be a rather effective social thermostat in simple interactions and difficult ones by finding a balance in yourself between remaining calm and creating a bit more tension. As someone who hopes to radically change the social climate, it’s important to know what it is to be a thermostat.
Kwame Ture-
You’ve taught me about social justice not being just a populist movement but also a mass struggle, a fight by the oppressed and for the oppressed. It’s easy to believe that social justice will come about by holding hands in a circle and simply declaring love for each other but that’s only the bright side of things. You helped to popularize the term black power for the necessary purpose of creating a forceful social justice movement to uplift black people specifically, that type of rawness within a movement won’t always be pretty or be wrapped up in a nice, clean bow. Harsh realities and oppressive systems are the enemies of social justice and there’s no fully agreeable way of addressing such things but the need to address these things is undeniable. I’ve learned that when I see people becoming uncomfortable concerning social issues that it may not mean somethings wrong but instead that something is right and it’s the fight.
“No man can give anybody his freedom.”
Malcolm X-
My lesson from you stems from arguably one of the most famous quotes in the history of social justice, “By any means necessary.” You’ve shown me that being an advocate for justice sometimes means being what some may consider impolite, offputting, or too radical. A good friend of mine once said that you mostly only did damage to the civil rights movement because you made it harder to get white people to join the movement but I reject this statement and others like it. All social justice activists must attempt to pursue the truth even though sometimes it won’t be popular and people in privileged positions may not be along for the ride. To me, “By any means necessary” isn’t an extremist mantra, it is about destroying all deterrents of social justice no matter the cost. Understanding the necessity of truth and justice allows one to remain firmly on the path towards social justice.
“I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against.”
Michelle Alexander-
Reading The New Jim Crow opened my eyes like few other things in my life. I’d lived for so many years through systematic oppression and yet couldn’t even begin to fathom how such a concept could exist and how it could affect millions. I could only see racism through the lens of a series of personal microaggressions but your profound work brought to the forefront of my mind the idea of oppression on a systematic level. You helped to open my mind to larger issues and without such an urgent awakening I wouldn’t care so much to fight for the things I do. The idea that a group of people might hate another wasn’t alien to me but the idea that we as a society lived with systems in place to continually oppress people is what drives me now.
“We have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.”
Martin Luther King Jr-
I hope to fully grasp your understanding of the need to bring people together and emulate your ability to effectively do so. Bringing millions together in the name of civil rights in a time of great divisiveness is an exceptional accomplishment by any measure. The purpose of social justice is to work towards achieving equality in all aspects of life for all people and in order to do so we must first bring oppressed people together. I truly am learning from the best when I look to you for guidance on a morally driven effective political and social movement, like any great teacher you’ve set the bar quite high. Bringing people together in the name of justice and then finding what we can all do to lift each other up, that is what my social justice revolution truly means to me.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”
Xavier-
With all these lessons from others that I have to be thankful for in mind, it’s important to not forget the lesson I can take from you. I’ve watched you continually grow and I’ve watched you take your own path always as a dream chaser not to be hindered by the opinions of others. We’ll always be surrounded by people who want to tell us what is pragmatic or realistic but no matter what you hold strong in the belief of lofty goals and that’s something we all will need to be able to do. Unabashed idealism is at the heart of revolutions, we don’t change things profoundly by imagining how realistic we can be. With all the profound lessons informing guiding me down my path it’s important to realize that sometimes the next step forward requires a simple “fuck it”.
Yourself-
With respect to our legendary leaders, the insightful intellectuals, and my revered relatives the most important lesson I have going forward comes from myself. That lesson being that I have so much more to learn, I’m just 21 years old I’ve learned so much and yet I’m just learning the importance of what it means to teach. I challenge you to find what is of deep importance to you in the name of social justice. Find the revolution that the matters to you, thank the revolutionaries that inspire you, and awaken the revolutionary in yourself.
Jameson's Brain 