Social Justice: More Than Kindness

Our individual narratives help us find meaning in life; they tell us about ourselves and the various social groups to which we belong, and they help us navigate the events around us. For me, this is what a celebration of diversity is based upon. But as we form our narratives, we should remember that it is too easy to settle into complacency and to skip the hard work toward social justice for all.

While we may agree with Martin Luther King, Jr who asserted that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”—we can often substitute a mythology of social justice progress only to distort our perception of reality.

In our E & I Corner, Susan Santone speaks to this issue and builds on the premise that social justice

requires examining institutional barriers, not just bigoted behavior, and she advocates that we take

bold, concrete actions, rather than relying on the merely symbolic.

~Isabel Estrada O’Hagin, E & I Corner blog co-host

Social Justice: More Than Kindness 

by Susan Santone

As a long-time member of SCBWI, I’m gratified to see our community elevating voices of underrepresented creators. By surfacing long-silenced voices and stories, we give children “windows and mirrors” that expand their understanding of the world and themselves.

But representation--getting to the table--doesn’t guarantee a seat that provides equal reach to the banquet of respect, rights, opportunities, and power. These inequities are the basis of the “isms,” the ranking of people based on race, gender, and other identity groups. These hierarchies operate by conferring benefits to a dominant group while denying them to others. This is why we must aim for social justice, intentional actions to dismantle discriminatory beliefs, practices, and institutions. 

Social justice is not just about “being kind” and checking bigotry, although that is certainly part of it. Nor is justice about being colorblind, a disingenuous claim (we do see color) that implies the problem is race rather than racism. Rather, social justice implicates unfair systems and asks us to change them while recognizing the role individual actions play. This begins with naming the social “architecture” that builds inequities into everyday life, including schooling, the economy, and the judicial system. 

We are all part of these systems, whether or not we’re conscious of it. That’s why social justice asks us to recognize the ways our identity benefits or disadvantages us. For example, as a White woman, I won’t be harassed or killed by the police. I know a landlord won’t deny me housing based on my race. My way of speaking is deemed proper and correct. My hair, no matter how unkempt, will never be a cause for dismissal in the workplace. 

These unearned benefits are the core of privilege, a dynamic that’s at play whether or not we intentionally leverage it to maintain a leg up. Privilege is also intersectional: Given we have multiple aspects of identity (such as race and gender), we can simultaneously benefit in some ways while being disadvantaged in others. In my case, while my race brings benefits, being a woman means I may be dismissed as too emotional or less competent. 

Framing social injustice as a systemic problem also disarms a persistent source of resistance: the belief that it’s “wrong” to be White, male, cisgender, etc. Let’s be clear: being a man isn’t wrong; sexism is. Being heterosexual isn’t wrong; homophobia is. And while we must recognize privilege, wallowing in guilt won’t change injustice; only actions will. 

How do we apply this to children’s literature? Here are a few guidelines (many already articulated in the writing community):

• Avoid gratuitous tokenism that inserts disparate (“diverse”) yet cardboard characters. Characters must be well-rounded; likewise, their stories don’t have to hinge on their identity. One-dimensional portrayals of people are dehumanizing. 

• Consider the tensions inherent in portraying shared human experiences. For example, while all people can experience illness, the consequences differ based on identity; the disproportionate impacts of Covid on communities of color is an example that points to deeper inequities surrounding access to health care.    

• Honor #OwnVoices by thinking hard about whether you have the insights and experiences needed to tell a story from the perspective of other identity groups. 

• Recognize that diversity is about our collective differences. Using “diverse” as code for people of color (for example) implies that White people are “regular” and that “others” are defined based on degrees of difference. 

• View social justice as a condition to work for, not a trend or market opportunity. People’s lives and histories are neither.

• Promote the idea that social justice is democratic, not Democratic. There’s nothing political about ensuring everyone has respect, dignity, and opportunity--rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Finally, we need to understand that “celebrating diversity” is not the same as working for justice. While there’s endless beauty in our vast human family, social justice will take more than championing our differences. Let’s work towards justice and then celebrate as we move ahead together.

You can find additional perspectives on social justice on my blog.

Susan is an instructor at the University of Michigan’s School of Education, where she teaches graduate- and undergraduate courses in education reform and social justice. She's the author of Reframing the Curriculum: Design for Social Justice and Sustainability (2019, Routledge), a book that integrates 25 years of developing curriculum with partners including major universities, PBS Kids, and the United Nations. Susan is now developing fiction- and nonfiction works for children, ranging from a YA fantasy novel to picture books. An active member of SCBWI-MI, she was runner-up for the 2019 and 2020 mentorship contests for fiction and non-fiction, respectively. Follow her on Twitter (@SusanSantone) and Instagram (SantoneSusan).

Coming up on the Mitten blog:

Book birthdays, mentor interviews, picture book inspiration, a new Featured Illustrator, and more! 

Our SCBWI-MI spring conference is next weekend, April 23-25th! Since it's virtual, registration is still open! Everything you need to know is here: https://michigan.scbwi.org/2020/05/01/spring-conference-2021/