“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.” – Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day’s life (1897-1980) bore witness to her firm conviction that, even in the face of overwhelming need and injustice, individuals have the power to affect change in the world. This belief is reflected in a quote from one of her autobiographies Loaves and Fishes, from a section in which she claimed that a sense of futility is one of the greatest evils of our day. As she reflected on her life’s work fighting for social justice, Day said:
“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”
Born to a middle-class family in New York City in November of 1897, Day’s two greatest passions from a young age were writing and social justice. Her father was a journalist, and in 1904, when he accepted a position with a newspaper in San Francisco, the family moved to Oakland, California. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed her father’s newspaper facility, and he lost his job, forcing the family to relocate again—this time to Chicago. It was during the aftermath of the earthquake, however, that Day first realized the importance of individual action.
Starting in 1914, Day attended the University of Illinois for two years before moving to New York to pursue a career in journalism like her father. Throughout her life, she used the written word to advance her mission of social justice.
In 1927, after much indecision and doubt, Day converted to Catholicism. Then, in 1932, at the height of the Great Depression, she met fellow Catholic Peter Maurin, and together they founded the Catholic Worker Movement, which included establishing “houses of hospitality” to provide food and shelter for those in need. The movement also included a monthly newspaper, The Catholic Worker, which Day used to advocate fiercely against exclusion, poverty, and social and racial inequality. Within three years, the newspaper’s circulation grew to 150,000, and more hospitality houses were opened.
This success was not enough for Day, who continued fighting for justice throughout her life, both through her writings and her actions. A firm pacifist, she participated in non-violent protests, joining the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the United Farm Workers.
By the time she passed away in 1980, Day had left behind a lasting legacy and inspired countless others to take individual action against social injustices in their communities. Day believed that each of us must cast our pebble into the pond of injustice and inequality, trusting that the ripples will spread across the world. Her commitment to individual action and her conviction that no one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless when so much work remains to be done resonates deeply with the Human Trafficking Institute‘s work in combating modern-day slavery. In the face of the overwhelming problem of human trafficking, it’s easy to feel like any efforts to fight it are futile. The Human Trafficking Institute’s dedicated team, committed to fighting trafficking, provides tangible hope that our efforts are not futile and that we can decimate trafficking. Like the life of Dorothy Day, the Human Trafficking Institute’s work sends ripples of change across the world.
