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Is Justice the Deepest Expression of Love?
I came late to feminism. The reasons are quite nuanced and frankly, I am not certain I have a cogent narrative as to why.
From a Western lens, First Wave Feminism arguably began as early as the late 15th century with Italian writer Christine de Pizan. She was an anomaly, though, as most girls and women were illiterate, which severely limited women’s agency and voice. The Wave includes the American Suffragettes, and extended from the 1800s, and ended in the early 20th century. We generally consider Mary Wollstonecraft, an 18th century British philosopher and writer as one of the first radical Western feminists.
In her seminal work, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Wollstonecraft challenged those of her time to consider:
It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world.
I missed 2nd Wave Feminism of the 1960s through the 1980s—think Betty Freidan’s The Feminine Mystique and Alice Walker’s exploration of Black feminism in her work, In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens: Womanist Prose. My youngest child informed me not too many years ago:
You are a 3rd Wave Feminist, Mom.
OK. So, there was that declaration of my last-born child.
What I do know is that all my children, sons included, are feminists. They have a profound respect for what society generally identifies as female, for women activism in civil society, and for women in leadership. They also respect and support those who do not identify with the male-female binary. It does not hurt that their only living experience of their mother is through the lens of my leadership in PK-12 and higher education. My global research on women in leadership is a way to bear witness to their stories—their struggles and triumphs—and to expand our collaborations and cooperation.
I may have come to feminism a bit late, but at least I got there. It was not alone, though, but through the example of women who came before me—women such as Dolores Huerta.
When Dolores Huerta keynoted our 12th Annual Social Justice in Education Conference on Saturday, March 4, she spoke of her commitment to activism and to education, and to a life focused on love by enacting justice. Tireless in her work, she frequently lectures multiple times a day, and on her off days, organizes in her community of Bakersfield to ensure residents are registered to vote. On the eve of her 93rd birthday, Dolores reminds us that we may get older, but we need to get old. The work must continue as long as we have breath.
For justice, always,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth C. Orozco Reilly
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