Within ethical engagement, the awareness of community perspectives and the factors that influence them should be highly sought. Communities should always be at the center of programs; thus, the center is where the power lies.
One cannot execute ethical engagement, especially in disadvantaged communities, without acknowledging the social justice component. Acknowledging the social justice component of a community-engaged learning experience cannot occur by just adding the term to a program's title. Kiesha Warren-Gordon's, Ph. D. workshop, Social Justice, emphasized the need to incorporate social justice in critical service-learning programs. As a practitioner and scholar, she feels it is important to educate students on the correlation between systemic issues and negative perspectives held against members of marginalized communities, especially Black communities.
As a result, students can help educate community members about resources and, if possible, preventive measures instead of over-whelming them with information about the problem. Problems in disadvantaged communities funnel into more problems. All problems are the result of multiple systemic failures. The powers needed to address systemic failures extend beyond community members' reach, which can make solutions harder to enact.
Members of marginalized communities aren't privileged to be viewed as byproducts of systemic issues initially, however with the correct education perspectives can change. Social justice allows community members to be viewed as byproducts of systemic failures versus being viewed as inhumane and at fault for the issues they experience.
Note the significant difference in perspectives. How can one work alongside a community and consider its members inhumane? The definition of community proves such a perspective is contradicting. Effective social justice requires the disruption of normal ideology about marginalized communities. Disrupting normal ideology requires a foundation in working with the community.
Disrupting normal ideology can range from teachers of marginalized backgrounds, literature, activities and more. Warren-Gordon has disrupted normal ideology in one of her criminology courses by being a Black woman.
In a criminology course, she has allowed formerly incarcerated people to be the experts where they:
Achieving effective social justice abroad as an outsider is more challenging. It requires knowledge of communities, cultures and complexities. Before a program's start, Warren-Gordon recommends spending a year with the desired community. During this time, it is critical to get to know the community by serving on committees, attending meetings and being an available person for the community to use.
As a result, a relationship built on trust should emerge. This type of relationship is especially important in laboratory communities, communities that institutions and companies constantly rely on for research.
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