An Analysis Of Injustice In To Kill A Mockingbird, By Harper Lee

At a weekly Scout meeting, a boy in my troop - around 12 years old - pointed out my shoes to me, desire in his eyes. For the next few weeks, he subtly mentioned them, and in a month he had his own pair - a birthday present. He wanted them because he looked up to me, and he hoped that those shoes alone could hide the challenges he was faced with. The boy’s family had become unable to care for him, so he was placed in foster care, at the mercy of an underfunded bureaucracy. The boy was gone a few weeks later, forced to move hours away. None of this was his choice. I tried to write him, but I doubt the letter was ever delivered. The situation we’re each born into is random, yet its effects are too often formative.

“Justice is sweet and
In looking to solve them, I’ve discovered an integral part of my identity: I’m gay. I’d probably known for a while, but it had been - and sometimes still is - easier to fool myself into disbelief. Looking back, I had found my pair of shoes, and I chose to put them on for years, hiding behind a facade of myself no matter how much it hurt. It’s crazy to realize that, though I’ve been willing to fight injustice on multiple levels, I’m sometimes still afraid to confront who I am. Nevertheless, I’m grateful for people like Harvey Milk and the Stonewall rioters - those who with great sacrifice have ensured my experience will be far less challenging than theirs were. To further what others have begun, I’m currently engaged in supporting the adoption of LGBTQ-protection legislation in my hometown. Fighting for human rights in a politically conservative, economically depressed area is gritty work which can quickly become all too personal. Late nights working with members of the city council and Human Rights Campaign demonstrate how complex and controversial these issues are, but achieving success will have palpable effects on the lives of others. There could be no greater