My perspective

WHAT INJUSTICE LOOKS LIKE TO ME

This project is not a claim that every unfair outcome has the same cause. It is my way of describing the pattern I care about: people should not be treated as less human, less believable, less deserving, or less protected.

My definition

Injustice is unfairness backed by harm, power, or a lack of accountability.

Sometimes injustice comes from one person's prejudice. Sometimes it comes from a policy, an institution, or a system that produces unequal treatment. Sometimes it happens when the truth is ignored because admitting it would be inconvenient.

When identity changes the rulesIf race, disability, sex, religion, national origin, or another characteristic causes someone to receive worse treatment, I see injustice.

When power has no accountabilityAuthority should come with stricter responsibility, not permission to ignore rights.

When people are punished without fairnessConsequences matter, but evidence, due process, consistency, and proportionality matter too.

When a victim is treated like the problemSpeaking up should not automatically make a person a target for ridicule, retaliation, or silence.

Fairness does not mean pretending everyone has the exact same life. It means refusing to decide someone’s worth before you know them.

— Youba Bathily

Accountability

What justice looks like in a serious crime.

If a person commits murder, justice is not revenge or a rushed assumption. It is a careful investigation, reliable evidence, a fair trial, a lawful verdict, and a punishment that the law allows. It also means recognizing the victim and the harm done to the victim’s family. Accountability matters most when it is based on truth.

Read the poem