From “Dropout to Doctorate: Breaking the Chains of Educational Injustice” By Terrence Lester, PhD
When I finally realized how trauma and poverty in my own life were so indelibly linked, I broke down in tears, but it also became the step toward healing that I needed. What if we created a world where more people could heal without shame? This understanding of the emotional journey that I had endured to feel safe, to believe in myself, and to pursue higher education despite poverty making me feel inadequate, was a long and hard-fought journey. Can you recall your own journey if you’ve experienced this? The depth, the resilience, and the barriers that still exist?
We need to pause and reflect on poverty as violence and challenge ourselves on how we can view poverty not only with more compassion but also as a multilayered stack of barriers that are difficult, but not impossible, to overcome. Only by recognizing these complexities can we begin to dismantle the structures and systems that perpetuate poverty and support those striving to break free from its grasp and from educational injustice.
Consider how many challenges a person must navigate in their environment to achieve emotional stability. Think about the barriers some face in the community before even leaving home. How do these experiences shape a person’s outlook on life, aspirations, and resilience in the face of adversity? Were these systemic barriers intentionally designed to hold people back from achieving all they could become?
But more importantly, what role could you play in responding to these inequities and altering these sad trajectories? What might you, your institution, or your community do to help address these conditions?