A Collective Journey
True liberation is not about helping from a distance or maintaining the status quo. It’s about deeply understanding that our freedom is interconnected. To stand in genuine solidarity with those who are marginalized or oppressed, we must move beyond our comfort zones and privileged positions. Authentic solidarity involves a pilgrimage of voluntary displacement from our position(s) of privilege—whether that be class, race, gender, physical ability, nationality, religion—and appreciation for traits that our culture deems not 'normal' or valuable. It requires building real relationships, listening, and learning from one another, rather than assuming we know best.
When we resist the urge to play the savior, we open ourselves to transformative experiences that challenge our assumptions and broaden our perspectives. Only through relationships can we discern what kind of service is really needed, if we are the one to offer it, and whose needs we are meeting. Our role is not to dictate solutions but to join hands in the struggle, understanding that the liberation of one is tied to the liberation of all. Movements like Campaign Nonviolence and the Poor People’s Campaign demonstrate that true change comes from centering the voices and experiences of those who suffer most.
Our history shows us that even our heroes were flawed and had much to learn through their journeys. The fight for justice has evolved. Now, fifty plus years after the Civil Rights Movement, another approach is needed, and justice movements are updating the art of contemplative confrontation and noncompliance with the status quo. Today, disruption is used as a tool for transformation. The courage to challenge “business as usual” is not about destruction but about demanding a new way of being that honors the dignity and worth of every human being.
This approach may be uncomfortable, especially for those who benefit from the current order. But we must ask ourselves what suffering 'business as usual' has caused many humans. True order is found not in maintaining what is familiar, but in dismantling structures that harm and rebuilding with compassion and justice at the center. Liberation is a collective journey, and it calls us all to be active participants in the work of transformation.