Simply put, justice space is needed because racial segregation and color lines still exist. Not in the way they once did under Jim Crow laws, but there remains very real ways segregation is present in our society.
Since the Civil Rights Movement over 50 years ago, we have surely seen some change. The black middle-class grew, access to higher education and a wider range of jobs became available and, in theory, black and brown folks can go where they like, do anything they like, and live anywhere they like.
And yet, the reality of things shows us that is not the lived experience for many in our country.
Elementary, middle, and high schools are mostly very predominantly either white children or black/brown children. For some real reflection on this topic, watch https://www.ted.com/talks/kandice_sumner_how_america_s_public_schools_keep_kids_in_poverty
Neighborhoods, of course, the same.
White people still most often run large corporations and smaller businesses. Many people have a circle of friends only of the same skin color or background.
America is slowly coming to terms with the ingrained supremacy of being white, of the systems within our society that continue to fuel segregation and inequality through practice rather than laws (and sometimes still laws less obvious), and Americans want better for our country. Americans want the words “liberty and justice for all” to be our practice, not just our creed.
Yet we find it challenging to know what to do…how to cross these invisible yet real color lines and do it in a meaningful, transformative way.
Dignity in Action aims to have a Just Creating Space, where we can journey together, create together, and grow together. Where the space is created by all and for all.
It is necessary for us to do life differently; to make conscious choices to open doors, walk through new doors, and invite each other to join in the journey of creating a genuinely just and equitable society.
Let's start here and now.
Journey with us. Click here to let us know you are coming along!
