“But I think we can never eradicate
racism. We can educate ourselves about the inequities. Social workers can play
a primary role and look at the structural inequalities. The purpose of social
work is to enhance social functioning, remediate social ills, and alleviate
oppression. I don’t think you can change the world, but you can change one
person at a time.”
As
the powerful quote from “Racism: The Challenge for Social Workers” highlights
above, being in the Masters of Social Work program at UNE, has given me hope in
helping to bridge the gaps of racism. I
have certainly learned that I do not have a magical cape and I cannot swoop in
and save the world from all injustice and inequality; but, I can network and
build connections, such as with the group of youth engaged within our social
inclusion project. I have also learned
that it is not enough to just educate myself about inequities through
conferences that highlight “all you need to know about cultural competency,”
but rather, I need to work with those diverse cultures and learn their morals
and values first hand- listen to those individuals, rather than think I am in
expert. For I am certainly no expert in
a culture I have never lived, and who am I to pretend I am? It becomes too easy in the professional world
to think we are skilled because of certificates of completion or educational
levels achieved. Cultural competency
learning, can only truly come from that first-hand connection with those living
the inequities and injustice.
During this week’s group, the incredible
youth and young adults participated in developing a “plan of action” to be
carried out addressing the cultural gaps identified in previous focus
groups. The group collaboratively
decided to design a plan of action which focuses on providing a training to educators
teaching at the high school and college level.
This training would be inclusive of the youth themselves presenting the holes
that exist for minority groups in the educational system and ideas for teachers
and administrators in closing in those holes to create equality for all
students. The energy in the room while
brainstorming this plan of action was impressive- you could feel the excitement
and dedication each youth and young adult brought forth!
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