The Collective Work of Building Individual Agency

Ashoka's demand for an "world in which everyone is a changemaker" may seem easy to follow: to succeed in the midst of rapid change, students need to take an active role in the way the world is changing around them. In order for them to be active in creating more sustainable and equitable communities -- and to ensure that they don't risk being marginalized--they must believe that change is achievable and that they play an active and vital part to play in bringing it about.

How do the mental picture of changing grow in each of us? Does one simply decide to bring it to be born? In many groups, people receive messages that aren't important, don't have any power and cannot (or can't) get heard. Could it be self-determination that makes us changemakers?

Being a part of the collective obligation to changemaking involves taking care to respect and encourage every person's capacity to make decisions in the way they express it at their own pace and in their own way. If we do not recognize that this is a collective responsibility we're putting the responsibility of making changes only on those who are most affected by oppressive structures in our society and insecurity, as well as voicelessness. So, becoming changemakers isn't an isolated endeavor and is a highly interconnected one.

This is why changemaking requires us to use our empathy skills and reflection. When we listen with a keen ear we can begin understanding how our experiences affect our feelings and views about "the other," and through reflection , we are able to consider the ways in which our actions and beliefs can be a contributing factor to their reality. Through practicing the art of reflection and empathy as changemakers we are able to contribute to a process that will continue to create transformation by encouraging others to participate in ways that allow everyone to be able to act.

Unintentionally, my initial response at Jacob was to ignore his words and his choice. At that point I underestimated his knowledge of what meant to be a "changemaker.

Luckily, Jacob and I shared an enduring bond, formed by a variety of previous conversations. Silence didn't scare us. In the silence that he began to talk about his feelings, and the details could be made more clear. Jacob spoke regarding personal safety and having to avoid trouble. He recalled his mother's advice to keep away from law enforcement agencies, to make himself unnoticed for safety reasons--and my lens that I perceived the situation was shattered. At that point I could feel his responsibility in juggling multiple roles and obligations against the single concept of race. Agency was not that easy to unravel.

I found that listening to my own thoughts and without judgment has been the very first thing I did to understanding how I could assist Jacob in his work of making new meanings to his past experiences, and to decide on various ways to respond to the current world. The process of forming his agency for change was a joint effort by both of us, the teamwork required for him to be aware of the potential power that he might achieve in an opportunity as Justice Hackathon.