ABC's of Social Justice

active listening

a process of hearing and understanding what someone is saying by empathizing with the speaker(s) and considering their perspective(s)

affirmative action

action taken by a government or private institution to make up for past discrimination in education, work, or promotion on the basis of age, birth, color, creed, nationality, ethnic origin, physical or mental ability, familial status, gender, language, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation

ageism

prejudiced thoughts and discriminatory actions, such as referring to someone's age in a context in which age isn't relevant, based on differences in age; usually those of younger persons against older persons

allyship

an active verb; leveraging personal positions of power and privilege to fight oppression by respecting, working with, and empowering marginalized voices and communities; using one's own voice to project others', less represented voices

assimilation

the process of adapting or adjusting to the culture or behaviors of a dominant or majority group or nation

bias

an inclination of preference, especially one that interferes with impartial judgement

bicultural

a person who functions effectively and appropriately and can select behaviors, values, and attitudes within either of two cultures; a person who identifies with two cultures

capitalism

an economic and political order that relies on a mostly-private, unequal market system of production and consumption

cis

a gender identity in which a person's experiences of their gender matches the gender and sex they were assigned at birth

cisgenderism

a socially constructed assumption that everyone's gender matches their biological sex, and that it is the norm from which all other gender identities deviate

civil rights

the rights established and ensured by a state government regarding political and social equality

classism

any attitude or institutional practice which subordinates people of a certain socioeconomic class due to income, occupation, education, and/or their economic status; a system that works to keep certain communities within a set socioeconomic class and prevents social and economic mobility

coalition

an alliance or union of different people, communities, or groups working for a common cause

color-blindness

a term referring to the disregard of racial characteristics. proponents of color-blind practices believe that treating people equally inherently leads to a more equal society and/or that racism and race privilege no longer exercise the power they once did, while opponents of color-blind practices believe that color-blindness allows those in power to disregard or ignore the history of oppression and how it is experienced today

cultural appropriation

the act of members of dominant/powerful/privileged groups claiming ownership of, or the rights to, less powerful/privileged groups' cultural and/or religious symbols, dress, and ceremonies

cultural competence

the ability to effectively and empathetically work and engage with people of different cultural identities and backgrounds in order to provide safe and accountable spaces for dialogue and discourse; is relevant in all fields of work, education, and informal social interactions

democracy

a governmental system whose actions and principles value and reflect the people's views through their votes

dialogue

a bi-directional conversation between people of two different groups or communities coming together to create and recreate multiple understandings of a topic or issue

disability

being differently abled (physically, mentally, emotionally) from that which society has structured to be the norm in such a way so that the person is unable to move, or has difficulty moving--physically, socially, economically--through life

disenfranchised

being deprived of power and/or access to rights, opportunities, and services

discrimination

actions or thoughts, based on conscious or unconscious bias, that favor one group over others

diversity

a multiplicity of shared and different individual and group experiences, values, beliefs, and characteristics among people

empathy

a learned skill that allows one to recognize and deeply listen to another's story or experiences, and connect them to common understandings and emotions; differs from sympathy

equality

the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability

equity

the situation in which all people or groups are given access to the correct number and types of resources for them so as to achieve equal results; differs from equality, which focuses on the equal distribution of resources rather than equal rights

ethnicity

based on shared culture, history, language, religion, and ancestral origin. it is usually tied to self-identity and community belonging

feminism

the pursuit of the social, economic, and political equality of all people, regardless of sex, gender, sexuality, race, geographical location, body size, socioeconomic status, physical and mental ability, and religion

fundamental attribution error

a psychology bias where you blame another person's bad behavior on their personality instead of looking at their situation; doesn't take into consideration the external factors that can, and often do, impact an individual's behavior

gender

the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and characteristics that a given society categorizes as 'masculine' and 'feminine'; not defined by one's biological sex

gender identity

a person's individual and subjective sense of their own gender; gender identities exist in a spectrum, and are not just masculine and feminine

gender neutral pronouns

pronouns that do not adhere to the he:she and his:her binary, and can refer to a number of different gender identities

genocide

the intentional attempt to completely erase or destroy a peoples through structural oppression and/or open acts of physical violence

gentrification

demographic shifts that usually occur in big cities in which upper-middle class and/or racially privileged individuals and businesses move into historically working class and poor and/or racially oppressed neighborhoods and communities

heteronormativity

a socially constructed assumption that heterosexuality is the natural norm from which all other sexual preferences deviate; the assumption that everyone identifies as heterosexual until shown or proven otherwise

homophobia

on a personal level, homophobia is an irrational fear, aversion, or dislike of homosexualities and people who identify as homosexual; on a social level, homophobia is the ingrained structural discrimination against homosexuality and those who identify as homosexual that prevents access to certain resources or opportunities and inhibits individuals from feeling safe or able to be socially recognized as homosexual

horizontal hostility

the structural strategy to intentionally place two or more oppressed groups in competition with one another; a strategy that aims to divide and conquer

immigrant

a person who moves out of their country of birth, supposedly for permanent residence in a new country

institutional oppression

the systematic mistreatment and dehumanization of any individual based solely on a social identity group with which they identify that is supported and enforced by society and its institutions; based on the belief that people of such a social identity group are inherently inferior

intersectionality

the intersection of race, class, gender, and ability identities within each individual that informs how one views, discusses, and navigates through the world the way each of us views and discusses the world

justice

the establishment or determination of rights according to rules of law and standards of equity; the process or result of using laws to fairly judge crimes and criminality

LGBTQ+

the umbrella community of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, two-spirited, queer, questioning, intersex, and/or asexual

marginalize

the systemic disempowerment of a person or community by denying access to necessary resources, enforcing prejudice through society's institutions, and/or not allowing for that individual or community's voice, history, and perspective to be heard

multiethnic

a person who identifies as coming from two or more ethnic groups; a person whose biological parents come from different ethnic groups

multiracial

a person who identifies as coming from two or more racial groups; a person whose biological parents come from different racial groups

nonviolence

a strategy employed by social and civil advocates that stresses social and political change through acts that do not involve physical violence against oneself or others; nonviolent language is used to imply language that does not perpetuate structural inequalities

oppression

the systematic use of institutional power and ideological and cultural dominance, resulting in one group benefiting at the expense of another; the use of power and the effects of domination

patriarchy

a social system and institution in which men have primary power in the political, social, economic, legal, and familial spheres; patriarchy favors male-dominated thought, and is centralized on the male narrative or perspective of how the world works and should work

people of color

an umbrella term for any person or peoples that is considered by the society in which they live to be non-white

prejudice

a preconceived, often unconscious, judgement or opinion about a person or group; usually a negative bias

privilege

benefit, advantage, or favor granted to individuals and communities by unequal social structures and institutions

queer

an umbrella term within the LGBTQ+ community that refers to anyone who doesn't prescribe to societal views of gender and sexuality; it covers diverse identities such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual, pan, or someone who is questioning their gender identity and/or sexuality

race

a term used to identify and define individuals as part of a distinct group based on physical characteristics and some cultural and historical commonalities

racism

an ideology and institution that reflects the belief, prejudice, or discrimination that certain racial or ethnic groups are naturally superior or inferior to others

safe space

spaces in which people, often of marginalized or underrepresented social groups, can say, be, and share their experiences without fear or judgement

silencing

the conscious or unconscious act of excluding or inhibiting certain groups' voices, thus preventing their experiences, perspectives, and histories to be heard

slur

an insulting or derogatory comment directed at a person or group; often based on identity, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or social class

social justice

the practice of allyship and coalition work in order to promote equality, equity, respect, and the assurance of rights within and between communities and social groups

solidarity

unity or agreement based on shared interests and objectives; long-term mutual support within and between groups

stereotype

an attitude, belief, feeling, or assumption about a person or group of people that are widespread and socially sanctioned; though stereotypes can be positive and negative, they all have negative effects because they support institutionalized oppression by validating oversimplified beliefs that are often not based on facts

supremacy

the superiority of one group of people over other groups of people through a system of domination and subordination

tolerance

acceptance and open-mindedness to cultures, practices, and attitudes that are different from one's own; does not necessitate agreeing with those differences

unconscious bias

negative stereotypes regarding a person or group of people; these biases influence individuals' thoughts and actions without their conscious knowledge. we all have it

UPstander

a person who chooses to take positive action in the face of injustice in society or in situations in which individuals need personal assistance; the opposite of a bystander

white guilt

the individual or collective guilt felt by some white people for the historical and current oppressions experienced by people of color; though white guilt has been described as being a detrimental consequence of racism, experiences associated with white guilt are not comparable to the experiences of systemic oppression faced by marginalized communities

white privilege

the right or advantage provided to people who are considered white; an exemption of social, political, and/or economic burdens placed on non-white people; benefitting from societal structuring that prioritizes white people and whiteness

whiteness

a modern social and political construct that establishes white identity as the unspoken cultural, social, and structural norm in Western societies. whiteness often operates as a default cultural baseline. society compares all other racial groups against this unstated standard

xenophobia

the unreasonable fear or dislike of things, cultures, forms of expression, or people that are different from oneself and one's own experiences of the everyday; fear of that which seems foreign or strange