“Not everything that’s faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed that is not faced.”
-James Baldwin
In Michael Jackson’s song Man in the Mirror his underlying message is that if we want to make the world a better place we need to look in the mirror and make that change. Essentially everything starts and ends with us. Today’s quote by American novelist and activist James Baldwin serves as that same reminder to us all: although we want anything that we faced in life to go our way and change for our benefit that will not always be the case. However, if we don’t even make the decision to even face that challenge before us, then that is a guarantee that nothing will be changed. This is what we as a society are continually being faced with ensuring that there is equity for all races, genders and creeds.
The equity issue has for far too long been that proverbial elephant in the room that has had pockets of it being faced during certain periods within our history like the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and the current MeToo movement. The one thing that seems to happen is that these movements start fast and furious but seems to lose steam over time. This does not mean that within these “pockets” there aren’t advocates still protesting for equity and for wanting certain policies to be amended or changed. It is just not at the same level of support. So I think sustainability and ensuring that this fight for equity is still in the spotlight until equity truly happens in all walks of life. We need to not look away and maintain focus on what we need and want to change. It is my hope that we will soon move beyond that awareness piece socially and actually turn that awareness into action and call it social action to ensure that something actually gets done for the betterment of everyone’s lives.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards becoming more socially aware?
Becoming The Change 