Working For Social Justice
When engaging with our Baltimore community, it is important to ground our work in the pursuit of social justice and reciprocal partnerships where we recognize our own agency, privileges and roles in perpetuating systemic injustice. We have to ask ourselves difficult questions and learn how to halt cycles of harm that continue to affect Baltimore communities and our society as a whole. This page is meant to be used as a resource for students, faculty and staff who are seeking answers to some of these questions, searching for tools to use in their community engagement work, or needing guidance on how to conduct specific activities such as critical reflection. Read more below and reach out to [email protected] with any questions.
Learn more about our Core Values, Guiding Principles, and Social Justice Commitments
Explore
Social Justice Event Series
View the schedule of upcoming sessions and find material from past sessions in our Social Justice Event Series
Resource Hub for Students, Faculty, and Staff
Find helpful tools to guide your community engagement work
Talking About Justice: Key Terms
Find definitions of important terms and equip yourself with correct language
SOURCE's Guiding Principles & Social Justice Commitments
Read more about the principles and commitments that root our center's work
Video Library
Watch panel discussions, webinars, and other useful videos for your social justice knowledge
Resources for Students, Faculty and Staff
SOURCE has prepared several resources for use when planning collaborations with community-based partner organizations, engaging in volunteer service, and other activities related to critical service-learning. The following resources are available for download. Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.
Social Justice Workbook
A practical workbook for planning, reflecting, and contextualizing social justice to community engagement in professional health practice.
Critical Reflection Guides
Guidance and sets of prompts for meaningful reflection activities
Do's and Don'ts of Community Engagement
A useful guide which provides a breakdown of best practices for community collaboration and volunteering
Myths/Tips
Previous event videos featuring speakers from community-based partner organizations, students, faculty and alumni
Talking About Justice: Key Terminology
When engaging in critical reflection or other activities in the pursuit of social justice, having the right language matters. Refer to this list as a starting point for exploring the definitions of key terms we often use in our resources and our approach to social justice-oriented work.
Intention
Define and align intention toward the shared vision and values and expectations for the outcomes of the partnership and its impact.
Embodiment
Embrace repeated self-reflection to move service away from performance and toward meaningful change and justice.
Compassion
Recognize and value the humanity of all involved caring directly and indirectly for both the collective group and individual participants.
History
Understand historic systems of oppression and power, how they impact community partners, and the larger context they bring to these relationships.
Recognition
Acknowledge, welcome, and honor the diverse identities and histories of all partners and community members so that diering perspectives are valued, recognized, and can inform all aspects of the collaborative work.
Power
Acknowledge current systems of power between partners, and across society to clearly identify the role that these structures play in creating and maintaining unjust systems.
Ever-changing
Acknowledge that systems of power and marginalization continue to shift, and that such changes will transform how partners value outcomes and how communication strategies must adapt to strengthen collaborative work.
Leadership
All partners should understand their leadership roles and responsibilities, and continuously question whether their roles reflect and actively work toward the ideals of social justice and anti-oppression.
Collective Work
Recognize that solutions do not lie with any single entity, and a culture of collaboration is needed to both strengthen individual assets and uncover potential biases in partnership practices.
Iterative Process
All participants should strive toward justice rather than only meeting a firm goal; and therefore, partners will practice compassion, remain reflective, and be open to collaborative revision.
Action
Accept that anti-oppression work is continuous, requires ongoing motivation, and acts to aid in dismantling injustice.
Video Library
Watch previous events including panel discussions, webinars, and other video highlights with a focus on social justice
Watch the official book launch of “Facing (In)Justice in Health” published in partnership with Transform Mid-Atlantic and The Facing Project. This powerful collection of personal testimonies from across our community brings to light the unjust health disparities in Baltimore City — an issue that touches so many lives in our community yet is often not discussed beyond the numbers. Storytellers, writers, and other project collaborators present selections from this important volume.
Click here for "Storytelling 101" presentation slides from Dr. David Fakunle