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Virtue in Action – How Jourdon Anderson Understood Justice

Philosophers have wrestled with the definition for justice for millennia. Think about ways you can act justly and promote justice.

  • Investigate the ways great thinkers have defined the term from ancient times to today. Create collages of the definitions and principles, and post them around the classroom.
  • At school and in your community, stand for equally-applied rules that respect the rights of all. Help leaders make sure everyone obeys them.
  • When you become aware of unjust laws, work for their repeal by contacting your legislators, writing letters to the editor, assembling with others, and taking informed action.
  • Research non-profits that work against modern-day slavery and bonded labor (e.g., Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, Polaris Project, International Justice Mission). In what practical activities can you engage to be a part of the modern-day anti-slavery movement?

Sources & Further Reading

Berlin, Ira, et al. Slaves No More: Three Essays on Emancipation and the Civil War. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Blight, David W. A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation. Reprint ed. New York: Mariner, 2009.