or spirituality and Christianity and faith, we were not having
these discussions when I was 19 or 20 years old. I think it’ll
help propel the work that you all will do in the future.
What should the term justice mean to us, especially
in a biblical sense?
I’m going to say not equality, but equity. I think my Christianity
should be a platform to advocate for what’s equitable for all
people. There’s this picture [online] I saw of a fence—imagine
a fence being the same height, and you have three people.
They all have footstools of the same size, but one person is six
feet, and one person is four feet tall, another is five feet tall…
So the footstool is equality, but equity is when everyone can
see over the fence. When people have the same opportunities
or resources like everyone else to get ahead, to do things and
not be pigeon-holed or discriminated against because of
socio-economic status, their religion,
their race. That’s what I call equity.
going down the path of toxic masculinity… he had a made
a statement like, “I lost my virginity when I was seven years
old.” I had to say, “Listen, if you lost your virginity when
you were seven years old, you may not see this, but you were
probably sexually assaulted. While you’re bragging about this,
I suggest that you really seek some counseling for it.”
And immediately he said, “Oh no, I didn’t, I’m just joking.”
But I could see he was on this path of toxic masculinity, and I
had to say something. I was the lone person of the men in the
locker room. They were all laughing, thinking it was funny,
but I said no, it’s not funny. I could’ve gotten into a fight, I
could’ve gotten cussed out, but I just wanted him to be aware
of the ramifications of what he was saying—and if he wasn't,
let’s talk about it.
I think my Christianity
should be a platfrom
to advocate for what's
equitable for all people.
What do you think that would look
like in the long-term? Especially
for Christians who feel like they
want to do something, what could be a good starting
point?
I got this from one of my professors—he said in order to change
the world, start with the people who are closest around you.
He took a measuring tape and he said, start with the people
who are within six feet of you. If you can start standing up
and having a voice when you see certain things happen, when
you see micro-aggressions, when you see discrimination, when
you see inequalities, when you see small forms of oppression,
that is a huge start.
Do you feel like you’ve encountered difficulties doing
that? What are some of the hurdles you’ve faced?
Backlash. Being ostracized. Have I experienced difficulties?
Yes, I have. But to me, my moral compass supersedes that.
I’ll tell you, [one time] I was in the gym, and I was listening
to two teenagers boasting about how many “women they’d
had.” In something that he said, I could see one of them was
It’s certain things you know? We [all] know
when something is definitely going wrong,
and something just kicks in. But what about
those times when something may not be
wrong, but something just doesn’t feel right?
The nuanced moments, the murky areas,
where you’re like, should I really step up and say something?
That’s what justice is—speaking up when no one is really
looking, when there may not be blatant acts of discrimination,
but when something just doesn’t feel right.
We’ve talked a lot about the idea of justice, so maybe
we can go onto the theme of renewal now. How do
you see a link between those two things, and how can
those things come together in the university?
Much of the work that I do, it’s tiring—but in the process, I
am renewed. Especially when [I’m] operating in [my] passions
and [I’m] operating in [my] purpose, and it’s practical. I’m
advocating on behalf of the marginalized, for the individuals
who have been left on the outskirts. I’m advocating for things
that people wouldn’t normally advocate for. Yes, it’s tiring.
However, when you see things being moved, it’s refreshing—
it’s like, oh, God, it’s happening.
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