Intro to Social Justice By Yanely Sajche-Godinez

Prior to enrolling in this course, I had a different perspective on life. I didn’t understand what “Social Justice” meant. As time went on, social justice aided me in understanding that it’s to acknowledge, understand, and advocate for those with unequal opportunities, starting with my community. I learned about how situations that I have been put in are not just because “life is unfair” or because those things happen; They are recurring themes talked about in this class and how it is that we are at a disadvantage with the rest of society. When I came up with my questions, I didn’t want to ask random questions. Instead, I decided to ask questions that were relevant to this course. Some of the recurring themes were: racism, classism, sexism, and immigration status.

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The list consists of three friends: Arody, Melissa, and Dominic. We all met at Trenton Central High school and have similar struggles. I interviewed Melissa first and while she was a bit shy throughout the recording, I was able to capture her smile through the pictures I took of her. I remember asking “If a genie granted you 3 wishes right now, what would you wish for?” and she said “economic success for friends and family”. Similarly, when I asked Dominic the same question he said “to pay off all my family’s loans”. Arody wished for a “financially stable home”. Considering the similarities in our situations, I realized that this is something that most people in our communities go through. The theme of social class and lower middle class is constantly shown within the city of Trenton, starting off with my friends and I.

I also realized that racism was correlated to the interviews. I asked my friends “What is your family’s view of race, ethnicity, and difference?” Arody said his father throws racist and sexist comments around. In the interview he mentions his mother is Dominican and his father is Guatemalan. His mother is accustomed to the different skin tones, accents, and traditions because she lived in the caribbean. However, his father wasn’t used to the differences and even though he stated that his father “jokingly” says these comments, it’s demonstrated that it’s still harshful commentary and that it discrimination and racism exists even with other minorities. I always believed that it was minorities vs systematic racism. However, even within my family, I realized that there is racism and discrimination within our own cultures and other races.

Another thing that I asked them was, “who is your hero and what qualities make them your choice?” I found it interesting that Arody said his father. As he was explaining his situation, he talked about his fathers immigration status. His father came to the United States illegally and was deported: this was a struggle to Arody’s family. However, his father committed, decided to risk his life once more and cross the border. His determination to succeed is what motivates Arody and his decisions to prosper in his life. His father now owns a restaurant in Morrisville and has succeeded in maintaining his family stable. The struggle of not having a nine-digit social security number automatically puts you at a disadvantage with the rest of society; the struggle of having to be scared of getting deported back to the country you escaped from due to poverty or dangerous situations. I realized that citizenship is also a big factor in our society and prosperity. Immigrants with no legal documentation settle in lower income populations to avoid being harassed or discriminated against by higher class people. Since their options are limited to jobs due to their lack of documentation, their earning is less than that of a person with a stable job.

The limitations my friends and their families have are connected to what I’ve learned in this course. The reasons as to why their is so much discrimination and disadvantages in society is because of the reoccuring situations throughout our communities. We tend to stick around with those people we feel similar to. That is why Trenton is a community with the same struggles.