“In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction.”-Audre Lorde

We live in a world that thrives on difference. Difference of race, difference of gender, difference of thought, difference of family structure, difference of experience, etc. Difference defines us. Recognizing this allows us to view others as their whole selves and work towards a society that honors those differences at the intersection various identities.

During the Fall 2013 semester, I attended a Social Justice Dinner Dialogue hosted by my Resident Director, Aaron Hood. This discussion brought together a group of students that live in George Mason Housing to discuss privilege, identities, and systemic oppression. While I had been involved in conversations like these before, this was the first one that brought me to a new understanding of social justice and the reality of inequalities based on race, gender, sexuality, and various other identities. At first, I left the conversation feeling frustrated, confused, and lost. I met with Aaron a week later to reflect and debrief on the conversation in order to come to a better understanding of the feelings I had and what it all meant.

Over the past few years, I have devoted myself to learning more about social justice and understanding the privileges that I have and how to challenge them. I challenge myself to look at situations through a social justice lens and maintain an awareness of how identities intersect and how I show up as a white, cis-gender, able-bodied woman, to name just a few identities. Since that first conversation, Aaron has served as a mentor in my personal identity development and understanding of privilege. I have been inspired to continue these conversations with my peers and often encourage others to consider how programs, conversations, initiatives, or policies may be excluding or harming certain individuals and groups.

There are several other books, articles, and documentaries have played a huge role in my efforts to understand white privilege, microagressions, privilege discomfort, respectability politics, and more. Continuing to read the work of scholars who study and research these subjects allows me to develop a theoretical understanding of social justice alongside the observations of lived experiences.

My development in the understanding of these matters has contributed to my performance as a member of my community and the work that I do in the LEAD Office. Within the office, I have been able to work on various programs that exist to celebrate and acknowledge the diversity on our campus in ways that create a more inclusive and just campus climate. Some of these programs include:

• Identity and Leadership Brown Bag Lunch

• Gender and Leadership Brown Bag Lunch

• Leadership in Black Social Movements Brown Bag Lunch

• Ability to Lead Brown Bag Lunch

• Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration Service Committee

Beyond the programs that are meant to promote social justice, I have been able to look at leadership with a critical lens and provide feedback on how I feel like different individuals are left out of conversations, unrepresented in organizations, or affected by words or actions.

One program that relies heavily on this understanding of social and cultural dynamics is the Godwin Middle School Leadership Program. The school’s population is majority low-income and students of color. Being aware of how that impacts the work we do in the school and the volunteer facilitators that we bring to the school is extremely important in regards to creating a safe space for the students’ leadership development. At the 3rd Annual InCredAble Conference, our volunteers facilitated a conversation about stereotypes and microagressions with the students, most of whom mentioned that they had heard many of these directed towards them or friends. Being able to have these discussions with the students gave them the space to discuss the experiences they have had and how those experiences have impacted them while simultaneously encouraging them to address them in the future.

When it comes to understanding the pervasive systems of oppression in our society, the learning will never be over. I am constantly working to understand the experiences of those who hold different identities than myself by understanding my own personal identities and the roles they play in my interactions with others. I see my responsibility as a white ally to speak up (and not for) the student communities that I support, including undocumented students, students of color, first generation students, and many more. I have understood that this journey will never be over, but it will always be worth it, and I will continue to learn as long as these realities exist.