Power Privilege Intersectionality and Action in Social Work

Power, Privilege, Intersectionality, and Action in Social Work Education and Practice Michael S. Spencer, Ph. D. Associate Dean of Educational Programs and Professor University of Michigan School of Social Work

Why is Carl Scott’s legacy still important? We have greater equity and opportunity We have more representation in leadership We have laws and policies in place that protect underrepresented individuals from discrimination

Why is Carl Scott’s legacy still important? BUT: We still see evidence of interpersonal and structural inequality Discrimination has evolved from overt to implicit forms Disparities continue to exist in health and access to resources Underrepresentation continues to exist even in our profession

“I’ve been called the N-word so many times this year. One guy told me I was the N-word and said I know N’words can’t play quarterback. And I was like, aren’t we past this? Say what you want about my skill, but come on” Devin Gardner, QB, University of Michigan

Ferguson, Missouri

"I'm not a racist I love people" Donald Sterling

Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Michigan

Figure 1: Differences, Disparities, and Discrimination: Populations with Equal Access to Health Care Clinical Appropriateness and Need Patient Preferences Minority Non-Minority Quality of Health Care Difference Populations with Equal Access to Health Care The Operation of Healthcare Systems and the Legal and Regulatory Climate Discrimination: Biases and Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Uncertainty Disparity

Discrimination as a sociocultural stressor Exposure to discrimination is a major life stressor and has implications for health and mental health. Studies show evidence for association between discrimination and mental health for both African Americans, Latinos, and Asians.

Implicit or Everyday discrimination Studies also show that overt discrimination tends to have a less consistent effect as a stressor compared to implicit discrimination Examples: Microagressions Color blindness Post racial attitudes

Microagressions “Brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults towards people of color. ” Sue et al. (2007)

Microagressions “Often when I have dinner at people’s houses, they ask me if I would prefer chopsticks, regardless of the meal!” “Are you sure you have the right room number? This is the *honors* section. ” “Can’t wait to show all my friends my ghetto-fabulous ride. She needs a name…something like…. Laquisha”

Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity. Modern occurrences of racism are seen as rare aberrations committed by the last few racists in society. Bonilla-Silva (2006)

Colorblindness “We are all human beings” “It’s not race, it’s economics. Classism is the new racism. ” “America is the land of opportunity where everyone can succeed if they work hard enough. ”

Post-Racial America A theoretical environment where the United States is devoid of racial preference, discrimination and prejudice.

Post-Racial Attitudes “We have a black President, we can’t be that racists in the US anymore. ” Pew Research Center found that 8. 4 percent of all current US marriages are interracial, up from 3. 2 percent in 1980. "What? He called you the n-word? I'm sure he didn't mean it in a bad way”

It’s not just race! “How much money would you put on the Boston bombers being Muslim? ” “Are you alright driving a stick shift? ” “Your gay? I have the perfect person for you!” “I wish I could bring my dog to eat with me!”

What perpetuates this?

Defining Power and Privilege Social Power: Access to resources that enhance one’s chance of getting what one needs or influencing others in order to lead a safe, productive, and fulfilling life. Privilege: Unearned access to resources only readily available to some people as a result of their social group membership.

How power and privilege work We assume change for the better, rational, efficient, scientific--make them more like us. We use our reality, our world view, as the basis for this assumption We unconsciously assume that others share this world view --that the costs and benefits of attitudes and behaviors are the same We don’t need to think about it because we are surrounded by others who share this same world view--we assume it is universally available and normal.

So what can we do? Diversity and social justice education should focus on values, attitudes, knowledge, and skills in building awareness and effective communication strategies to our students and practitioners.

Social justice education values Support—professional and personal support to discuss, challenge, and commiserate Passion—commitment, vision, belief in social justice and social change Awareness—learning is lifelong, excitement and humility, self-reflection on identity, access to privilege and prejudice/bias Knowledge—staying current on different manifestations of oppression and models for social justice

Social Justice Education Values Responsibility—each person is responsible for participation Cooperation—work cooperatively to achieve collective goals Honesty—set the tone for expectations of honesty Egalitarianism—each member has something to contribute and is provided a fair opportunity to do so. Skills—leadership, comfort with conflict, listening through the discomfort, modeling behaviors, comfort with disclosure

Non-violent Action or Resistance Not a technique, but a philosophy Ahimsa—I will not harm you and you will not harm the truth that exists within me Historically from religious and stoic teachings, but these do not give us a way to deal with injustice, except endurance Not merely pacifism or the refusal to kill or hit—clear that this was not good enough It’s about action

Basic assumptions Each statement is true - as a part of the truth. None of the statements is true of the whole. We are, each of us, finite beings in a universe which, so far as we can know, is infinite. There is a limit to the time during which we can learn things - and there are far too many things to learn for any of us ever to be sure we are an authority except - at best - in small and limited ways. Our reality are filled with partial truths (partial and incomplete) and thus our opponents also see a part of true reality

Truth is Common Ground Truth can come through observation, listening, dialogue, and research Listen with respect to those with whom you deeply disagree, not as a tactic but because you hope to catch in their remarks some truth that you may have both missed. Nonviolence is many things, but if it is not a search for truth - a search that is never ended - it will fail.

Listening with Ting!

Transforming the battle Gandhi saw nonviolence as the path of loving resistance, of “soul force, ” the search or application of truth- as the way out of the pain of engaging in the slaughter of his people. Yes, he would accept his duty as a warrior, but he would transform the very nature of battle itself For Gandhi, the hope was that if each conflict could be resolved through nonviolence, the next conflict would occur at a “higher level”

Values of Non-violent Action Humility; admitting error can be embarrassing and painful, but can give you credibility Overcome your fears. Be courageous. We do not demonize opponents, we try to see them as human beings (the light within everyone) Our goal is a new society, and that must include those who were yesterday our enemies. The goal of a successful revolution is a reconciliation after the social change. Nonviolence empowers the whole community — it can be used by old and young, weak and strong, educated and those still illiterate

Summary Nonviolence is a theory of managing social conflict in order to achieve social change. It is an effort to bring the full community within the framework of compassion. Nonviolence is a search for truth - not a search for ways to prove your opponent wrong. If you are not ready, as you examine the facts, to realize you may be wrong and your opponent right, you aren’t ready for nonviolence. It is a movement of ordinary people who, sometimes, can behave in extraordinary ways. We need to see ourselves in those we hate.

So what can I do? We need to promote greater awareness of our potential biases, bring them into our consciousness. The contradiction between espoused social principles and lived experience offer one place to begin.

“Activism is not just for heroic individuals, but are embodied in the often overlooked everyday individuals who make a difference in the context of her or his everyday life (Anderson & Hill Collins, 1998). ”