Don’t dismiss difference

Dominique Chew is a senior English major from Hesston, Kansas.This story originally appeared in the spring/summer 2015 issue of The Bulletin.

“For all of my growing up years, I was the “other.” My youthful outlook on life only allowed me to see that the color of my skin was different than nearly everyone at my school, my home church and in my community. My heightened awareness of the color of my skin didn’t allow for me to accept other parts of my identity. Only recently have I begun to understand what an injustice it is to have dismissed so many other parts of myself.

What’s more of an injustice is the act of dismissing the stories, experiences and varying identities of those different from us. While my experiences of injustice may be racially rooted, someone else’s experience may be rooted in being a gender, sexual or religious minority; a disabled person; a young or elderly person; an international student; a single person; etc. To make our world a more peaceful, just place, we must begin by seeing, honoring and respecting each other’s identities, experiences and stories. To me, this is the path toward justice.”