Friday, August 6, 2010

II. Organizations, Agencies, Coalitions, Groups, and Institutions

One key issue of postmodern justice is the silencing of the marginalized or less powerful members of the collective society or culture. The work of postmodern justice agents is to expose the “play of power that silences and perpetuates marginalization in the collective” (Johnson, 2008, p. 310). The following organizations, agencies, and coalitions work to ensure the voices of the marginalized are heard. Many work to destabilize unequal distributions of power maintained by law, language, ignorance, or mindset.
  • ACLU http://www.aclu.org/
    “The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.”
  • Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing (LELO) http://www.lelo.org/
    “As an organization led by ordinary workers, we develop the leadership of those most marginalized in our society: people of color, working class women, recent immigrants and LGBTQ (lesbian/ gay/bisexual/ transgender/ queer) workers. Our social change strategy is local organizing, with emphasis on political education and solidarity networks with workers across all borders.”
  • American Friends Service Committee http://afsc.org/office/seattle-wa
    “Over the years AFSC Seattle has advocated for Native American treaty rights, mobilized to end war, organized for education reform and desegregation, promoted a just peace in the Middle East, challenged homophobia, campaigned to end apartheid, and supported workers of color to integrate the construction industry among many other projects.”
  • Gray Panthers http://www.graypanthers.org/
    “Gray Panthers are age and youth in action. We are an intergenerational, multi-issue organization working to create a society that puts the needs of people over profit, responsibility over power, and democracy over institutions. We honor the value and contribution of every person, and foster the concept of aging as growth during the entire life of each individual in terms of personal development, social involvement, and self-fulfillment. We challenge ageism directed against any group.”
  • Equal Rights Washington http://www.equalrightswashington.org/
    “Equal Rights Washington (ERW) works to ensure and promote dignity, safety, and equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Washingtonians.
  • Arab American Community Coalition http://www.theaacc.org/
    “The AACC seeks to: (a) actively reach out to institutions in the Greater Puget Sound area to build partnerships, (b) represent the Arab American community in the State of Washington when meeting with public officials and other personnel in positions of authority, (c) provide speakers and resources that will highlight the Arab and Arab American culture in the Greater Puget Sound area, and (d) provide an avenue for members of the Arab American community to communicate their concerns about their personal safety, report attacks and harassment, and to obtain information about their options for dealing with such incidents.”
  • Northwest Immigrant Rights Project http://www.nwirp.org/
    “NWIRP provides comprehensive immigration legal services and community education to advance the human rights and well-being of low-income immigrants and refugees.”

For postmodernists, another justice issue deals with problem solving. When resolving conflicts, postmodernists do not believe that one of the individuals/groups involved in the conflict should assume the responsibility of solving it nor should an outside expert resolve the problem. Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (2010) suggest that the “problem-solving process should respect alternative perspective and take an eclectic approach, synthesizing ideas of different groups and individuals” (p. 415). Agencies, organizations, and programs that provide mediation services can help resolve conflict in a just way. It is important that these mediators assist with communication and ensure that the voices of all involved are heard but do not judge or decide outcomes (Dinnewind, 2004).
Mediation Services:


In a school setting, it is important for students to know that there are “multiple ways of framing problems and many ways of developing solutions” (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2010, p. 415). Class Meetings, as designed by Donna Styles or the Positive Discipline program, create a setting through which students can share problems, hear one another’s perspectives and opinions, and then creatively develop possible solutions.




Postmodern justice is active justice; it is duty to the other. According to theorist Derrida (Capeheart & Milovanovic, 2007), justice is “a duty we have to the other without repayment; it is a duty to recognize the other” (p. 129). Organizations that promote active justice and giving of finances and services without expecting return include:

  • Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation http://www.gatesfoundation.org
    “Our belief that every life has equal value is at the core of our work at the foundation. We follow 15 guiding principles, which help define our approach to our philanthropic work, and employ an outstanding leadership team to direct our strategies and grantmaking.”
  • The Giving Pledge http://givingpledge.org/
    “The Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.”
  • Jubilee http://www.jubileeusa.org/
    “Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 religious denominations and faith communities, human rights, environmental, labor, and community groups working for the definitive cancellation of crushing debts to fight poverty and injustice in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Jubilee calls for a definitive cancellation of international debts and the restoration of right relationships between nations.”
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