Social justice has always been so important to me, which is why I took this class because it includes two of my passions: dance and social issues. I have always been determined to make a change, as I hope to be a human rights attorney in the future, but often I ask myself: How do I do this now? Dance has always been a powerful form of expression to me, and this is exactly how it can be done. I can share a message through my work and educate an audience through movement and expression. Economic inequality, which is the unequal distribution of income and opportunity between different groups in society, is a huge social justice issue in our country today, especially when we look at the effects of the pandemic. It is important to understand because it creates a significant imbalance in how people are able to live. While the wealthiest have more money than they know what to do with, there are people struggling to even provide food, shelter, and other necessities of life for themselves and their families everyday. If we do not all have the equal opportunity to live a happy, fulfilled life due to the fact that poverty in our country is so difficult to escape from, it is clear we need to make a change and find new ways for economic equality to be achieved. Everyone deserves to be valued equally, and because I am someone who is passionate about equity and social justice change, this topic is extremely important to me. I also think it is important because we see this issue in the community surrounding us in Bridgeport. Bridgeport lacks lots of funds and is a food desert, meaning there is a not a lot of healthy food resources and most grocery stores are outrageously expensive, leading many people to have to travel to other towns in order to get their groceries. Bridgeport schools also receive much less funding from the state, which hinders their students learning and growth tremendously. We may think economic inequality is far away, but it is right in our backyard, and these people deserve the same opportunity as those living in places like Stamford or Fairfield. Dance can be a powerful catalyst for social change, which is something that has become clear throughout this class. I plan to explore this in my piece in a few ways. I chose a tight, indoor space to show the confinement of the people who suffer from the consequences of economic inequality. I also chose to use the song "People Help the People" by Birdy, which is about helping those who are suffering and showing kindness and empathy towards other human beings. It also talks about that idea that people are greedy and will do whatever is possible in order to get ahead, but we must put this mindset aside and prioritize the common good rather than our own personal gain. This directly correlates to economic inequality; We cannot be greedy about money because so many people have absolutely nothing and are struggling. Money is power and a privilege, meaning not everyone is able to benefit from it, and this is so clear in our society today when we look at the high rates of poverty and homelessness. You can have a full time job and still struggle to make enough to support yourself, let alone your entire family. In order to encourage inclusion and empower participants who might otherwise be excluded, I would suggest an action plan that allows workers to have more protection and benefits under their contracts. This might sound minimal, but this is an issue that cannot be directly resolved at once. Firstly, everyone who is employed should be given health insurance as well as paid sick days. Without these things, people often neglect their illness out of fear that they cannot afford to treat their illness or that they will miss a day of pay and therefore be struggling even harder to support themselves. All people who work are contributing to society and deserve the same rights and protections in order to live happy, healthy lives. I think we also need to educate employers on the economic inequality and ensure that they are treating everyone equally under the law, being more strict with how some businesses are run because so many individuals are under payed and treated neglectfully in the work place. I see potential for this plan being implemented, but I think the first step in making change is educating and informing the people in our country, as many are blind to the severity of poverty and economic inequality in the United States. Many individuals believe ignorance is bliss, but I don't find this to be the case at all. We owe it to other human beings to use whatever power and voice we have to ensure everyone can live a happy life, and absolutely no one deserves to be discriminated against.