Peter Dixon

I learned a lot about myself others and how to move about within my communities and others moving forward.

Through our three projects--personal, community, and social change-- I learned that time management is key to meaningful participation as a citizen. Our readings really focused on justice in the broader sense of race, class, gender, and crime.

I gained a vast amount of knowledge on the state of prisons in the US, a vast understanding of the historic marginalizations of black people, and a stronger understanding of lived experiences that are not my own. It was an extraordinary class.

I learned what justice means and examples of structural injustices and inequality in this country. I learned many frameworks to use to examine these injustices and solutions to achieve justice. I also learned how to place myself in a position of action and learn how I can think of ways to solve the problems discussed in our class using those frameworks and the history I learned. I learned a lot about growth and change and how I can see that in myself and in the communities around me.

I was able to use a lot of the readings in this course in other classes and to view the world from a different lens. Three of my favorite concepts learned were the Urie Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems Model, the Culture Models of Poverty, and the Stages of Change. Each of these concepts I used in many other spaces outside the classroom, and was able to connect it to the lived experiences of myself and other people I was around.

I learned what justice should look like and the proper channels or methods for achieving it in terms of correcting our nation's current criminal justice system as well as other systems of oppression that are designed to further hinder marginalized groups from prospering in this country.

I learned about policy and the intended and unintended consequences. I learned about politics and public safety.

My experience in this class taught me about systemic racism, it's origin the cause and effects that still permeates to this very day.

This course equipped me with the skills to be an active and effective Change Agent by fostering a holistic perspective that extends beyond academic settings into broader communities. It explored the systemic challenges and inequities faced by people of color and other marginalized groups, with a particular focus on urban communities in New York City. Through the integration of theories and models from both empirical and qualitative research, the course illuminated the policies and laws that reinforce stigma and systemic barriers As a result, I am now more politically and socially conscious, and more deeply engaged with the issues shaping policy and law in New York City and across the country.

I would recommend this course to any and everyone who wanted to gain a greater understanding on the violence, lack of opportunities for Black and Brown people in this country.