Personal Narrative: A Hero Of Social Justice

As I look back on the work of past social justice heroes such as, Mohandas Gandhi, Malcolm X, Dorothy Day, and Martin King Jr., and the social justice movements I have grown up to see, such as the LGBT community and the Black Lives Matter movement, I tend to ponder how those individuals and movements were able to make such an impact on society. What were their methods and what tools did they use to get such attention nationally and internationally? I ask these questions because I aspire to help individuals who are facing social injustice by those around them and/or by a higher authority as well. Yet, how can I accomplish this? It’s a matter of looking at what can make me out to be a “hero” of social justice, how I can be a “hero” now as a student at the University of Mount Union, and how I can carry out the knowledge that I’ve been passed down through the university. With these elements pulled together, one can find the answer of what it means to be their own “hero”.
Hero: one who shows great courage. The individuals previously stated were confronted with many issues along their path, but they showed a plethora of courage to get around those issues. Not only is courage a key player in the structure of a hero, but commitment is another key player in the arena of social justice. If one cannot be committed to their cause and back down when the circumstances are too arduous to handle, then they cannot be considered a “hero” of social justice. Having seen injustice by my own eyes, through witnessing direct and indirect bullying due to one’s sexual orientation, religion, and other factors, I had done nothing because I lacked those characteristics. By being educated one can gain these