6 Easy Lifestyle Changes You Can Make Today to Fight for Social Justice -

Take your action beyond the hashtag. Implement these 6 basic things into your daily life to be a better ally for social justice!

Posted on June 16, 2020

*Disclosure: There are affiliate links in the following article, meaning that, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links, I will receive a small commission.

Anyone else feel super liberated by 2020?

No, seriously, hear me out.

A month or so ago, in my blog post, “A Protest for Returning to Business as Usual, Now or Anytime in the Future,” I wrote the following:

“We, as a community, have lost our empathy, or perhaps it never existed in the first place. Maybe we were designed to be narcissistic creatures of habit and convenience.”

As I wrote these words, I was thinking of everyone who had protested to reopen the country prematurely, everyone who had traveled or hung out with their friends during quarantine, and everyone who had made these behaviors known on social media.

Facebook and Instagram were placing these posts and headlines at the top of my newsfeed. People’s careless behavior felt like a personal attack, and my mood and attitude about the world as a whole took a severe hit.

To be clear, I still stand by everything I wrote in my post, including my negative stance on empathy and the human race.

Empathy is a learned behavior that needs to be nurtured, and our current system doesn’t flourish with growth opportunities.

So, instead, we must feel something else first.

Anger

It’s not particularly pleasant, but it is very effective.

Look at our current world. People came to life after George Floyd’s murder. It may have started with anger and disgust, but it transitioned into something much bigger.

Unfortunately, the #BlackLivesMatter movement is already starting to see a decline in media coverage. The initial thrill of leaving your house for the first time in months is fading. Your ability to donate is dwindling. You’ve signed every petition you’ve come across.

Now what?

In order for this movement to transcend the month of June, people around the world need to make some serious changes to their daily life.

A black and white photo of a protest where a white young man holds a sign saying "with privilege comes responsibility."

Below, I have outlined 6 easy steps you can implement into your life today that will help you fight for black lives, trans lives, disabled lives, and all other marginalized groups moving forward.

1. Read a variety of news sources

Every weekday morning, I receive an email from TheSkimm. It gives me a bite-sized taste of what the day has prepared on an international level.

I receive breaking news notifications to my cell phone from certain news organizations throughout the day, including The New York Times and CNN.

Beyond that, a large portion of my daily news intake comes from social media scrolling and what my friends are sharing.

It’s not a perfect system, but because I have Facebook friends who have many different viewpoints, it does help ensure that my news intake is not too biased.

Bias is almost impossible to avoid, especially in the media.

That said, when it comes to stories about social injustice, it is vitally important that you read information from a variety of sources so that you don’t only see things from one perspective.

Human rights should not be up for political debate, but unfortunately, they still are. So, knowing all sides of the argument will only help ensure that your stance is as strong as it can be.

June Book of the Month

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel)

2. Diversify your feed

I feel like I talk about this all the time, but diversifying your social media feed is one of the quickest and easiest things you can do to educate yourself on social issues daily.

Following even 2 people for each minority category will give you valuable insight into different people’s lived experiences. Of course, I would recommend that you follow hundreds of accounts to get the most out of these platforms. But, if you want to start slowly, I understand.

I wrote a post entitled, “11 Disabled People of Color’s Instagrams You Need to Follow Right Now,” if you’re looking for a place to start.

3. Train your mind

You can be the most woke person on the planet and still fall back on conscious and unconscious stereotyping and bias. Simply being aware that it is there is only the beginning. You must actively work at correcting it.

One way I like to work through what’s going on inside my head is through journaling. I have spent hours mindlessly writing, trying to understand and fix the way I think about a plethora of issues.

If you’d like a more structured approach that includes thoughtful readings and prompts, I recommend you buy Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor. This book covers topics of white privilege, allyship, and racial bias and helps you develop a personal plan with how to deal with all of those things.

4. Don’t participate in or accept discriminatory language

Confronting family and friends about their language choices can be very scary, and in some cases, dangerous. Please, use this step with caution, especially if you’re in a situation you cannot remove yourself from easily.

Racial slurs, ableist slurs, homophobic slurs; they all exist and they’re all very harmful. When people use them, power is given to the oppressor and taken away from the oppressed.

I am guilty of not only using negative language in the past, but not questioning others for doing the same. I’m working on it, and I implore you to do so too.

These harmful words aren’t always easy to spot. Here is a shortlist of some of the words that should be on your radar moving forward.

5. Learn about national and local leaders and organizations

It’s an election year, which means that we have the opportunity to instigate real change very quickly.

Being an informed voter is your social responsibility to our nation. Do you know how much power you have when you walk into a polling station knowing each candidate’s policy goals? The correct answer is a lot.

Beyond politics, this is the perfect time to do some soul searching and discover what organizations at the local and national levels you really stand behind. Knowing this will not only help you cast your vote, but it will help you prioritize goals for your own future donations and volunteer work.

Not registered to vote yet? Do so here: https://vote.gov/

6. Question the things that surround you

The Harry Potter book series will always be one of my favorites. I have a deep, personal history with the story that will not be tainted, even by a horribly transphobic author. That said, I understand the series’ limitations.

How many of the TV shows you love to watch on Wednesday nights after a long day at work are fully inclusive?

Of the shows that pass that first question, how many avoid feeding into racial and cultural stereotypes?

I bet the list is dwindling.

It’s not wrong to consume entertainment that is flawed. It is wrong not to question those flaws.

Be vocal with your questions. Help others question things too. Lead conversations, or at least ignite them.

The more people that are talking about it, the more pressure companies feel and more apt they are to respond.