• OVC Social Justice Resource Page
As part of the
#OVCforChange initiative, OVC student-athletes, coaches and administrators will engage in dialogue to help shape a course of action and invoke change on a variety of social issues impacting their lives.
Our first feature is with Tennessee State track and field alum
Amani Taylor. Taylor finished her degree in health sciences earlier this year and is now enrolled at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, where she is working on her doctorate of physical therapy.
Why is it important to be an advocate for social change/justice?
"It is important to be an advocate for social change because complacency and turning a blind eye is wrong. Just because it is not affecting us personally does not make it normal. This country has done nowhere near enough to repair the damages that it has inflicted on the oppressed groups since its founding and it is time for that to change. Nothing will change if we continue to just let everything slide or ‘get over it.’"
What are the responsibilities of the individual in regard to issues of social justice?
"It is important for individuals to become educated about the situation at hand. To stay knowledgeable about what social injustices are going on, not only in their area but across the nation. They are also responsible for informing others (those who will and will not listen to them) on what they have to say.
"To take it a step further, they could be responsible for learning about their state officials and even contacting them in hopes of informing them of what is going on and how they could become an advocate of change as well. Even though you are just one person, there is a lot you can do if you put your mind to it."
What should we be doing as a society to combat social inequality?
"As a society, we should establish a unity over combating social inequality. Everyone should have a sense of responsibility towards this because some people are either experiencing social inequality or seeing it happen to others. That common ground should be enough to create an understanding in the community of what is right and what is wrong and continue forward as a group to not only do better but to also strive for change."
What other emotions would you like to express about the current state of our society?
"As an African American woman, I am not only angered, but also surprised and disappointed. I am angered because African Americans have been killed for years on end and it took the recent killing of George Floyd to get everyone riled up about social injustices towards African Americans.
"I am disappointed because a few months earlier Breonna Taylor was killed in her own home and there was not much of an uproar about that. There is a disconnect when it comes to caring for women in this society, especially African American women and that is probably due to the stigma and the stereotypes we have been labeled with.
"Unfortunately when dealing with this society, it seems like dealing with one thing at a time is how things tend to change, so I will have to settle for what gets done at this time. I was surprised when the riots and protesting began because there were a lot of non-African Americans walking the streets and protesting on our behalf and that was extremely comforting knowing that there are other like-minded people that know when 'enough is enough.'"
