Creativity in Justice
- Amy Valdez Barker
- Jan 23
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 26
A Tribute to MLK - Mandela - and More

This was the private cell of Nelson Mandela during his 18 years on Robben Island, the prison that is just northwest of Cape Town, South Africa. The island was first used to keep political exiles away from being able to influence the people they led and served. Autshumato was the leader of the KhoiKhoi people who had been sent to the island in 1658 by the Dutch settlers so he could not help his people rise against the colonizers. Since then, groups of people with power would send groups of people they didn’t want to disrupt that power to the island to keep them from influencing any of the people they wanted to control.
Interestingly enough, during Mandela’s period, several political exiles had all been sectioned off so they wouldn’t influence the other prisoners to rise against the guards. What the oppressors did not realize, was that they had put the greatest minds who were fighting against the apartheid together in the same hallway and they had nothing but time on their hands. They had time to listen, to learn, and to envision a moment when they no longer had to be held captive because of their beliefs, their values, and their convictions of justice and equality for all people. They had time and that time gave them the opportunity of allowing their creative ideas to marinate into real tangible possibilities and actions for change.
When Mandela was released and revisited Robben Island, he and the leaders who went back to their place of imprisonment, laid down a rock, reminding them and all who came to visit after them about this place, how one little creative idea the size of a small rock, could make a difference and transform the lives of so many people in their country and around the world.

This week, we also remembered a great hero who took his small idea and turned it into a big dream for what equality and justice could look like in the United States. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor who had a dream that resonated with millions of people who were experiencing oppression, segregation, injustice, and fear due to the racist practices of law in this country. Both men were driven to get creative and make a difference. Both of these men inspired others to get creative with them and turn the policies and laws of power-hungry people upside down. They stepped out with faith and hope, believing that their creativity could make a difference.
Sometimes we are forced to get creative in order to achieve the goals, the visions, the dreams we want for our world and our communities. If the current environment you live in doesn’t allow for your creativity to emerge, because there are people who fear your creativity, or they think your creativity will take away their privileges, then I believe your creativity is needed even more! We need more people who see the things of this world that hurt people, oppress people, and maybe even imprison people’s minds, bodies, and spirits. We need these creative souls to unleash the power of their creativity to make a difference in the world for themselves and for the sake of others.
MLK’s creativity with his words got the juices flowing for other people. Mandela’s creativity with his words got the juices flowing for the people who had been imprisoned with him. Maybe you have creative words, creative art, or creative music that will get the juices flowing for people who need and crave the creative visions of others. These people may need you to share your ideas so that their ideas will be unleashed, too.
Where have you used creativity to bring light to ideas of justice, hope, and transformation for others. Don’t stop being creative just because others are trying to hold you back! Unleash your creativity, now! The world needs you to do so!
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