Social justice is when society gives individuals and groups fair treatment in the world. It’s a movement that makes me think of Martin Luther King, Jr. or Gandhi. It’s a term that is being used in some schools to educate children that while we may look different, we are one and the same. The issue of social justice is at the forefront of warring nations.
Apparently, Don Imus must have missed the bus on this one, and if he had boarded the bus, he’d probably would have sat in the back. But I’m not here to douse Don Imus with shame and slander (he’s got enough of that already); I’m here to give props to some fine young women who decided to be bigger than they already are and stand up for themselves—as women, as athletes, and as citizens.
When I listened to the Rutgers players’ news conference in response to Imus’ “nappy-headed hos” comment, I wanted to give them a standing ovation right there in the lobby of my office. Many citizens, when attacked with racial slurs, act out in defense. Hate usually breeds hate. In some cases, they act out in violence, particularly when it comes from someone who has been known for similarly bad judgment in the past (and Imus has had his fair share)—but not these women. This talented team, which began the season with two wins and four losses before finding themselves in the NCAA championship game, did what my mother always taught me to do: they killed us with kindness.
One-by-one, each member of the team held the microphone and took a turn explaining the plight of fighting for social justice. They didn’t slur back or hit Imus below the belt. They simply relayed what it’s like to be on the other side of the coin, when the slurs are directed at you. They calmly explained that, in this culture, we need to know better. Some journalists, who may have never been oppressed, interpreted the team as acting like victims, but what I witnessed was something entirely different. What I saw were intelligent women looking to create a conversation—not a conversation of good and bad, but a conversation of right and wrong, because there is a difference. What Imus said is not right. What men say in rap videos is not right. But they will meet with Imus to start that conversation, and then who knows what may come of that?
If we are going to grow and prosper as a society, it might just take issues like this—the ones that challenge what we have known and what we should know now—to make a change for the better.
