The word activism is such a controversial term. When people think of activists, the first think that comes to mind is people holding up signs, loudly protesting things they think are wrong. People think of marches and getting arrested and Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. Most of us probably don’t think of ourselves as activists. Truthfully, activism means something different to everyone. When one person becomes an activist, when they believe that they themselves are an activist, varies greatly from person to person. We talked at length about the necessity of activism and when activism can stop – my personal opinion is that it will never stop. Humans are essentially different. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t have our differences. But people will always be dissatisfied with being different. It is human nature. Differences lead to preferences, and preferences lead to prejudices. Prejudices lead to social injustice, and this injustice lays seeds for activism. As we overcome each prejudice and each inequality, there will always be new reasons for activism.

Even after a movement has “won,” it is important for that movement to continue to remind the people of what once happened, and to continue to work to change the minds of those who are still resistant to change. One such example is gay marriage – just because it is now legal doesn’t mean that we don’t still have a host of issues in jobs, business, and general bias against those who do not identify as straight. Another example is the civil rights movement – many of us think of the movement as over. But racial bias is still rampant in America and around the world. Women’s suffrage – we got the vote but we can’t have equal pay. These movements are never over, and we all have a responsibility to work towards equality.