If You See Injustice, Take It On

“Everywhere you go, if you see injustice, you take it on. [Decades ago, as a child,] I went to the local public school. At that time, teachers were allowed to hit students, and I thought that was just wrong. So I was in first or second grade. I’m a Quaker; I believe in nonviolence. There’s no way it should be acceptable for a teacher to hit their students. And so I refused to go to school. My parents said, ‘That’s totally legitimate.’ 

And so my dad took me to the principal’s office, where I got to make my case for why I was not going to participate in a system that was harming children in this way. I don’t think it changed the policy of the school. But it was an example of my parents and the community seeing a truth that I saw and backing me up on it. It was a really important part of my growing up and being taken seriously. When I see something that’s wrong, there’s something I can do about it.”

— Ingrid Lakey, 2023 (source)
Quaker climate justice activist