What does Social Justice mean?

Hi, my name is Chika Kondo and I'm a 4th year studying Society and Environment and Political Science.  As a student leader engaged in social justice work, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide my working definition of social justice and what it means to me. 

In highschool, I was never quite exposed to the concepts of social justice, power and privilege, systems of oppression or any of those pivotal terms I find myself relying on now.  Back then, all I knew was that I wanted to help others and treat others the way I wanted to be treated. With that instinct, I participated in various volunteer projects and assistant coached a special olympics tennis team.  However, beyond those projects, I never found myself being critical of the root causes of most of the social issues I was tackling.  I merely volunteered because it helped my community and made me feel good. 

However, over the past 3 years at Cal, I've truly been able to reflect and digest on what service really means to me and why I find social justice work to be my calling.  Having had the opportunity and privilege to participate in programs such as Alternative Breaks and JusticeCorps has allowed me to rethink service and the way I am perceived by others.  I cannot ignore that I have certain types of power and privilege if I want to connect across difference.  I truly believe that service should come in the form of solidarity work rather than charity and that there is so much to learn from others and community wisdoms.  Because of that I am always growing and learning and continuing to question the institutions that are set in place.  I aim to be critical of the status quo and working towards structural solutions for the complex issues surrounding poverty and other social injustices. 

Because of this, I define social justice to be the relationships I build with others where I am cognizant of where I come from and the privileges I posses in order to break down the barriers to truly stand in solidarity in order to close the gaps of inequality.