Sometimes a simple visual metaphor can help bring home some of these concepts. Of course, sometimes it can also reinforce some of the underlying problems. This activity is about deconstructing a common illustration used to distinguish between equality and equity. You may have seen it before:
On the left, everyone is treated equally - they all get one box to stand on to look over the fence. On the right, the boxes are allocated according to need and all three people get to enjoy the baseball game. A simple, visual point that is widely used in training, but this illustration has also been criticised for perpetuating white supremacy and oppressive narratives.
The Center for Story-Based Strategy and the Interaction Institute for Social Change, which developed this illustration, actually see it as the starting point for digging deeper and have added a 3rd panel in which the fence has been removed to evoke liberation:
They also are inviting other people to reimagine the scene through a campaign called #the4thbox. If you were to adapt the image, would you change the slope of the ground or shape of the fence to reflect systemic racism and privilege? Or would you create a scene of cooperation or participation?
Please take a moment to envision a 4th panel in this cartoon. You can also download the image to print it out and draw in the 4th panel. If you do, please take a photo and share with us as part of the reflection in this lesson.
