Critical Analysis Paper

Faith Eden

Professor…

Class: Global Search Justice (GSJ) Core – 3990-W03

March 19th, 2026

Critical Reflection on Justice and Anti-Racist Action: Insights from Heitzeg, Young, and the Social Change Wheel 2.0

The struggle for justice in the United States has always been intertwined with the fight against racism. While many recognize the indispensability of justice, far fewer understand that achieving it requires sustained, genuine empathy and intentional action at multiple levels of society. Nancy Heitzeg’s “There is No Justice without Action” and Iris Marion Young’s “The Five Faces of Oppression,” alongside the Social Change Wheel 2.0, provide a fundamental framework for understanding and enacting anti-racist change. This paper will critically reflect on these texts, exploring their visions of justice and action, analyzing their connections, and identifying anti-racist action options at the individual, institutional, and systemic levels.

Justice and Action: Insights from Heitzeg and Young

Both Heitzeg and Young contend that justice is not a passive ideal but an active process. In “There is No Justice without Action,” Heitzeg challenges the tendency to equate justice with rhetoric, symbolic gestures, or passive solidarity. She argues, “Justice is not something that happens simply because we wish for it, talk about it, or even believe in it. Justice requires action—deliberate, persistent, uncomfortable action” (Heitzeg). For Heitzeg, genuine justice is inseparable from the work of dismantling racist systems and confronting privilege. She critiques performative allyship, insisting that meaningful change can only come from direct engagement and intervention.

Similarly, Young frames justice as the elimination of oppression, rather than merely the fair distribution of resources. In “The Five Faces of Oppression,” she identifies five interlocking systems: exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence (Young 15-20). Young insists that justice demands not only the recognition of these forms of oppression but also their active dismantling. “Justice,” she writes, “demands the transformation of institutions and social practices so that oppression is eliminated” (Young 39). Both authors agree that justice cannot be achieved without challenging the status quo and engaging in intentional, collective action.

Key Connections between Heitzeg, Young, and the Social Change Wheel 2.0

Heitzeg and Young’s arguments intersect on the principle that justice is achieved through collective struggle against systems of oppression. Both emphasize that individual good intentions are insufficient without action that challenges the structures enabling racism. The Social Change Wheel 2.0, developed by the University of Minnesota, complements these insights by outlining a variety of strategies for effecting change, from direct service to policy advocacy. The Wheel illustrates that social change is multi-faceted and that individuals and groups can intervene at many points in the system.

Together, these readings suggest that anti-racist action must be multi-level and sustained. Individual awareness is essential, but without institutional and systemic transformation, justice remains out of reach. The Social Change Wheel 2.0 provides a map for this work, showing that social change can be pursued through a variety of roles, including educator, advocate, policymaker, organizer, and more.

Anti-Racist Action Options at the Individual, Institutional, and Systemic Levels

By synthesizing the insights from Heitzeg, Young, and the Social Change Wheel 2.0, it becomes clear that anti-racist action must occur at multiple levels:

Individual Level:

At the individual level, anti-racist action begins with self-education and critical self-reflection. Heitzeg underscores the importance of moving beyond passive support to active engagement, urging individuals to “educate themselves about racism, challenge their own biases, and speak out against everyday acts of discrimination” (Heitzeg). Young similarly advocates for personal responsibility in recognizing and resisting the “cultural imperialism” that normalizes white experiences and marginalizes others (Young 23). Concrete actions include reading works by scholars of color, participating in anti-racism workshops, and calling out racist language or microaggressions in one’s social circle. According to the Social Change Wheel 2.0, this aligns with roles such as community education and facilitation of dialogue.

Institutional Level:

At the institutional level, anti-racist action involves changing organizational policies and practices. Young emphasizes the need for institutions to address power imbalances and ensure equitable participation (Young 25). This could include advocating for anti-racist hiring and promotion practices, supporting diversity and inclusion training, and establishing clear protocols for addressing discrimination. Heitzeg highlights the role of educational and criminal justice institutions in perpetuating inequality, urging those within these systems to “push for reforms that challenge the status quo and redistribute power” (Heitzeg). The Social Change Wheel 2.0 identifies this as organizational change and program development.

Systemic Level:

At the systemic or societal level, anti-racist action requires engaging in broader advocacy, policy change, and movement-building. Both Young and Heitzeg recognize that the roots of oppression are embedded in societal structures. Heitzeg calls for “collective action to dismantle the policies and practices that sustain racial injustice” (Heitzeg). This may involve supporting legislation for criminal justice reform, participating in social movements such as Black Lives Matter, or lobbying for changes in public policy. The Social Change Wheel 2.0 highlights roles such as policy advocacy, coalition building, and grassroots organizing as essential for systemic transformation.

Conclusion

Justice, as articulated by Heitzeg and Young, is not a static concept but a continuous, collective endeavor. Through the combined lens of these theorists and the Social Change Wheel 2.0, it is clear that anti-racist action requires more than awareness or intent—it demands deliberate action at the individual, institutional, and systemic levels. By embracing this multi-level approach, we move closer to a society where justice is not just an aspiration, but a lived reality.

Works Cited

Heitzeg, Nancy A. “There is No Justice without Action.”

Young, Iris Marion. “The Five Faces of Oppression.” Justice and the Politics of Difference, Princeton University Press, 1990, pp. 15-39.

“Social Change Wheel 2.0.” University of Minnesota, https://leadership.umn.edu/sites/leadership.umn.edu/files/2020-09/social-change-wheel-2.0.pdf.

About my memoir and what inspired me to write:

Never the Names, Never the Shames

I Confronted Privilege in the Mill District, Minneapolis

I moved to the Mill District, Minneapolis, MN in August 2024, full of optimism and hoping to find a sense of belonging and community. Instead, within a few months, I was met with racism, gender bias, and exclusion from certain individuals—most notably at the infamous 205 Bark, the community dog park named after the Vicinity apartments. The catalyst for a particularly insurmountably painful chapter in my life was a woman named Danna, (evil Danna) whose actions toward me were not only harmful but also indicative of a glaring lack of emotional intelligence and cultural competence. In short, her behavior led to her departure from the Mill District community, which was further compounded by her own personal struggles, including a divorce.

Through these unpleasant experiences, I have learned firsthand how privilege operates in seemingly progressive spaces and how silence and inaction can be simply as harmful as overt prejudice. While some residents in the Mill District felt genuine shame for what happened to me, others failed to understand that empathy without meaningful action is utterly empty. My memoir is a testament to the necessity of confronting privilege, demanding accountability, supporting moral responsibility, and nurturing an authentic community—one built on both empathy and tangible action. In a society where moral and personal responsibility often seem absent, I have chosen in my story to defend myself with honesty, respect, and integrity, standing against ignorance and stupidity.  

Leave a comment