A Prayer Built by 20 Years of Learning Together

Human Rights Day – December 10th, 2025

Dr. Oleksandr (Sasha) Kondrashov

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Over the past twenty years, I have had the privilege of teaching more than 7,000 students across five Canadian universities—from the University of Manitoba where my Canadian journey began, to Dalhousie, Wilfrid Laurier, the University of Northern British Columbia, and Thompson Rivers University. Each of you has left a mark on how I understand the world.

Today, on Human Rights Day, I want to say something I do not say often enough: thank you.

Thank you for your reflections that made me see familiar ideas in new ways. Thank you for your research papers that introduced me to scholarship I had never encountered. Thank you for the questions you asked in class and on Zoom that I could not answer—those taught me the most. Thank you for sharing your lived experiences when it was hard to do so, trusting me and your classmates with stories that mattered.

You have been building something with me, even if you did not know it.

Years ago, I began developing what I call the Social G*R*A*C*E*S* framework—a way of understanding how social identity shapes every aspect of human experience. It started modestly. But with each semester, each cohort of students, each conversation and reflection, the framework grew. Your insights revealed dimensions I had overlooked. Your challenges pushed me to think more carefully. Your courage in naming your own experiences of privilege and oppression showed me what was missing.

In 2026, the Social G*R*A*C*E*S* framework will encompass 105 dimensions of human identity and experience, organized through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—from basic survival to self-actualization. This expansion exists because of you. Every dimension carries echoes of students who helped me see it.

A few years ago, during a visit to Fatima, Portugal, I began writing prayers drawn from what I was learning in the classroom. I called one the Discrimination Elimination Social Justice Prayer—or simply the “-isms prayer”—because it names the many forms of oppression we study together. As the framework expanded to 105 dimensions, so did the prayer. It has become my way of honouring what you have taught me.

Throughout this journey, candles have been my companions in reflection. Birthday candles marking another year of learning. The стрітенська свічка—the Candlemas candle—we make together in my Ukrainian community, connecting us to ancestral tradition. Memorial candles honouring those who came before us. The candle I place in my window each November during Holodomor commemoration, bearing witness to genocide and resilience. The candles I encountered across Europe during my sabbatical travels, documenting Stand with Ukraine solidarity movements in Vienna, Prague, Innsbruck, and beyond.

Each flame reminds me that light persists in darkness, that memory fuels action, and that we are connected across time and distance to all who have struggled for dignity.

So today, I share this prayer with all of you—past students and present, those I remember by name and those whose names I have forgotten but whose words remain with me. This prayer belongs to you as much as it belongs to me. It is a living document, and it will keep growing as I keep learning and unlearning.

On this Human Rights Day, I invite you to light a candle if you wish, hold the Social G*R*A*C*E*S* in your heart, and keep sharing your passion for justice. Your voice matters. Your experience matters. You have already changed how we understand the world—and you will keep changing it.

Thank you for twenty years of teaching me.

With respect,

Sasha

Dr. Oleksandr Kondrashov

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Discrimination Elimination Social Justice Prayer

Honoring All 105 Dimensions of the Social G*R*A*C*E*S* Framework

(The “-isms Prayer”)

Level 1: Physiological Needs (Dimensions 1–21)

Even basic survival is shaped by social identity and oppression

For bodies hungering while others feast, may food security reach every table

For those without shelter weathering elements, may housing become a human right

For sleep rhythms disrupted by society’s demands, may rest be honored as sacred

For those depleted by chronic fatigue and invisible conditions, may energy be restored

For those dependent on assistive devices denied, may life-sustaining tools be accessible

For reproductive bodies facing barriers, may fertility and menstrual health be supported

For those carrying genetic conditions and hereditary stigma, may they participate fully

For those living with chronic pain dismissed as invisible, may their suffering be validated

For sexual expression constrained by shame, may bodily autonomy be affirmed

For physical functions limited by impairment, may accessibility remove all barriers

For sensory systems overwhelmed by hostile environments, may accommodation become standard

For minds affected by seasonal challenges, may light and support reach through

For communities poisoned by environmental injustice, may clean air and water flow to all

For those displaced by climate catastrophe, may environmental refugees find sanctuary

For those isolated by geography from resources, may distance no longer determine destiny

For those surviving on public assistance, may the safety net hold with dignity

For parents burdened without childcare support, may the village return to raise our children

For bodies broken by exploitative shift work, may humane schedules prevail

For voices unheard due to speech differences, may all communication be embraced

For those denied emergency response, may first responders serve every neighborhood

For those separated from service animals, may animal partnership be protected

Level 2: Safety Needs (Dimensions 22–42)

Security and protection vary dramatically based on social position

For those trapped in poverty while others accumulate, may economic security spread

For workers in precarious employment, may job stability become the norm

For those denied credit and financial standing, may capital flow more justly

For those without papers fearing deportation, may legal status bring safety

For those criminalized by policing systems, may justice be truly blind

For those navigating danger based on gender perception, may safe movement be universal

For those perceived as threats by their mere presence, may assumption of safety extend to all

For those repeatedly exposed to disaster, may crisis protection reach the vulnerable

For those carrying war’s intergenerational wounds, may peace heal across generations

For refugees forcibly displaced from homelands, may sanctuary doors open wide

For children traumatized by welfare systems, may family support replace surveillance

For those institutionalized against their will, may care return to communities

For those marked by incarceration history, may rehabilitation replace punishment

For those whose boundaries are violated, may consent become inviolable

For those devastated by pandemic inequities, may public health serve everyone

For those crushed under consumer debt, may financial relief bring freedom

For those bearing residential school trauma, may reconciliation bring truth and healing

For survivors whose testimony is questioned, may belief become the default

For those struggling with addiction without support, may comprehensive recovery be accessible

For those born in regions of instability, may birthplace no longer determine fate

For those vulnerable due to age, may protection extend across the lifespan

Level 3: Love & Belonging Needs (Dimensions 43–63)

Acceptance is conditional on social identity and inclusion

For those rejected by their communities, may belonging embrace every person

For gender identities unrecognized, may all expressions be honored

For orientations condemned as deviant, may love conquer fear in all its forms

For those racialized and marked by skin color, may inclusion transcend appearance

For faiths persecuted and beliefs maligned, may spiritual diversity be celebrated

For ethnicities erased from dominant narratives, may heritage be reclaimed

For those severed from ancestral knowledge, may cultural roots be restored

For relationships deemed non-normative, may all family structures be respected

For those lacking social networks, may connection reach the isolated

For those without extended family support, may chosen families flourish

For those disadvantaged by birth order, may sibling bonds strengthen

For those carrying attachment wounds, may secure relationships heal

For those excluded by language barriers, may multilingual access open doors

For neurodivergent minds seeking community, may acceptance replace pathology

For those marginalized by cultural dominance, may all traditions be honored

For spiritual practices dismissed as fringe, may meaning-making be supported

For generations divided by cohort stereotypes, may wisdom flow across ages

For those isolated by rural distance, may geographic belonging expand

For political beliefs ostracized, may civic participation welcome all voices

For those unable to be authentic online, may digital spaces become safe

For caregivers bearing invisible burdens, may care work be valued and shared

Level 4: Esteem Needs (Dimensions 64–84)

Recognition and respect are socially constructed and unequally distributed

For strengths suppressed and talents hidden, may gifts be discovered and celebrated

For those rendered socially invisible, may recognition honor every person

For professions devalued as lesser, may all vocations be dignified

For those denied academic credentials, may education open to everyone

For career advancement blocked by barriers, may promotion pathways clear

For entrepreneurs facing capital gatekeepers, may opportunity democratize

For economic mobility frozen, may class ceilings shatter

For artisan skills dismissed as common, may craftsmanship be honored

For knowledge systems marginalized, may epistemic justice prevail

For those lacking representation, may visibility affirm all identities

For bodies judged by beauty hierarchies, may appearance cease to determine worth

For size diversity stigmatized, may body acceptance rule

For those without capital access, may wealth-building reach every community

For gendered labor devalued, may care work command respect

For cognitive capacity questioned, may decision-making rights be protected

For those unable to self-advocate safely, may collective voice amplify

For communities awaiting historical redress, may reparative justice come

For those stigmatized after system involvement, may reintegration succeed

For those excluded by digital divides, may technology literacy empower

For those isolated from global awareness, may interconnection educate

For those without control of their time, may schedule autonomy return

Level 5: Self-Actualization Needs (Dimensions 85–105)

Authentic living requires freedom from oppression and systemic support

For creative expression censored, may artistic freedom flourish

For authenticity punished, may genuine selfhood be celebrated

For gender expression policed, may presentation liberate

For bodily autonomy denied, may self-determination over our bodies prevail

For reproductive choices coerced, may reproductive justice dawn

For traditional healing criminalized, may alternative medicine be respected

For cognitive differences pathologized, may neurodiversity be embraced

For personal beliefs persecuted, may philosophical freedom expand

For those blocked from healing, may recovery pathways open

For emotional regulation unsupported, may mental health resources reach all

For death with dignity denied, may end-of-life autonomy be honored

For grief disenfranchised, may mourning be witnessed and held

For those overwhelmed by climate despair, may ecological hope sustain action

For trauma histories unprocessed, may healing integration come

For substance use criminalized rather than treated, may compassionate care replace punishment

For those denied education, may learning opportunities multiply

For households in economic crisis, may stability support families

For those constrained by gender role expectations, may liberation from rigid categories come

For guardians overwhelmed by caregiving, may support systems strengthen

For learners with unaccommodated differences, may education adapt

For those burdened by remittance expectations, may transnational obligations find balance

Closing Invocation

May we who hold privilege in any dimension use it to dismantle the systems that harm.

May we who experience oppression in any dimension find solidarity and resistance.

May intersectionality guide our understanding that identities do not exist in isolation.

May the 105 dimensions of human experience remind us how deeply social location shapes life.

May human rights become not aspiration but reality for every person.

May we keep learning and unlearning together.

Amen. Ase. And so it is.

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Light a candle. Remember the Social G*R*A*C*E*S*. Keep sharing your passion for justice—on Human Rights Day, and always.

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Join the Conversation

This prayer is a living document. It will continue to grow as I continue to learn—and as you continue to teach me.

If you are a former student, a current student, or a colleague in this work, I invite you to share the dimensions of identity and oppression that matter to you. What is missing? What should be named? Your voice may shape the next version.

Please feel free to use this prayer in your own teaching, advocacy, and reflection. Add to it. Adapt it. Make it yours.

And if our paths have crossed in a classroom somewhere over these twenty years—know that you are remembered, and you are thanked.