Catalysts for Social Justice

These messages provide portrayals of those who fought to ensure everyone is treated fairly.

    • A Transition in Consciousness

      Virginia Durr was born in Birmingham Alabama. Raised by an African-American nanny, she was raised to believe that the Ku Klux Klan was the protection of the white way of life. It wasn’t until she attended Wellesley College that she began to challenge her own racist...

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    • A Transition in Consciousness

      Virginia Durr was born in Birmingham Alabama. Raised by an African-American nanny, she was raised to believe that the Ku Klux Klan was the protection of the white way of life. It wasn’t until she attended Wellesley College that she began to challenge her own racist...

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    • Chemical Baths

      Just imagine the following: you are on your way to work riding on the local transit system. An official enters the transit system and orders you to get off. You are taken to a facility where you are ordered to remove all of your clothes. You are then doused with a...

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    • Choosing the Moral Path

      He grew up in an all-white community in South Dakota. When he was 11 years old, he met his first person with black skin. His father had developed his ability to appreciate everyone, and that meeting became a pivotal moment in his life. Studying at LSU in the Jim Crow...

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    • Purposeful Influencing

      The term purposeful influencing probably conveys a negative image since we are inundated by such crass commercial influence today. We might think of influencers starting with social media, but the use of endorsements began in 1760 when Queen Charlotte of England...

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    • The Road Not Taken

      Ona was born into slavery. Her mother was owned by the estate of her mistress’ deceased husband. When her mistress remarried, Ona and 85 other slaves were relocated to the home of her mistress’ new husband. Ona became an excellent seamstress by learning from her...

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    • A Message that Needed to Be Heard

      Marie Cruz was born in 1946 in California. Her father was of Native American heritage (Apache and Yaqui) while her mother was of French, German, and Dutch heritage. She has had health issues from an early age when she was raised by her grandparents. Marie studied...

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    • Ripples of Justice

      Vincent Chin was adopted from a Chinese orphanage by his parents. His father had fought for the U.S. during World War II and had the right to bring his Chinese wife to the U.S. Vincent went to school in the U.S. and had a technical education. He was employed by an...

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    • A Starvation of Imagination

      Jerry was a truck driver. He owned his own truck and carried food products from the midwest states to cities on both coasts. As an independent driver, he could set his own delivery schedule. Throughout his travels, he would often be dismayed at the forgotten places...

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    • Fighting for Voting Rights

      George Washington Lee was born to a mother who was illiterate. His stepfather was abusive. When his mother died, Lee was raised by his sister. Against all odds, Lee graduated from high school. Lee became a Baptist preacher of four churches. He was also an entrepreneur...

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