The Blueprint of Social Justice

What is a blueprint, exactly? Is it a tinted piece of vellum, or a map laying out the steps to take in order to be successful? Is it formulas and a handful of nuts and bolts, or is it simply a visualized Candyland board with no shortcuts and no winning rainbow square at King Kandy’s castle?

Most people will happily live their lives without ever thinking about the answers to these questions. I am not one of those people. I am one of the people who will turn these questions every which way in my head and still struggle to come up with a definitive answer.

I do not think I will ever be able to stand in front of the masses and say with confidence, ‘Social justice is...’, or, ‘The blueprint of social justice is…’ Although I may never be able to answer that question with a concrete answer, I can answer it with what I do know. What I am unequivocally sure of is that the blueprint to social justice is subjective.

Blueprints are traditionally a step by step process, but when you take a concept such as ‘social justice’, the blueprint will overlap with another; the blueprint of our lives. Each person in this world, even if they are siblings, even if they have grown up the same way with the same parents and the same friends, the way life has shaped them will be different.

If someone lived in an environment where there was a plethora of social justice movements, yet each one failed more devastatingly than the last, that person may look at the question, ‘What is the blueprint for social justice?’, with a blank look on their face and write that it means sacrifices with no outcome. That it is a waste of time and it is a failed machine.

But someone who grew up seeing only successful social justice movements throughout their entire childhood may look at this question and excitedly write down what is certain to work and how, in fact social justice is not a waste of time.

Social justice is not factual. It is not logical, it cannot be concretely defined by Webster. It is not a spreadsheet and it is not a formula.

Social justice is a person seeing an issue and wanting to help. It is someone shouting until they are heard. It is someone quietly publishing a small article. It is someone whispering the truth into the earth’s ears when it is sleeping. It is marching together as one and allowing people to whisper while you scream, social justice is each and every person who wants to make a change, no matter how loud or how quiet they are. Social justice is an understanding, a feeling.

Social justice is a community; that is the one thing every single social justice movement needs. Regardless of subjectivity and personal bias, community is the most important factor. Always.