A Native American woman creates jewelry that is revered in her culture—and is cherished by consumers. In general, it is important for ethnic groups to preserve their cultures.

Cheryl Koenig Morgan/MPI/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Feelings of ethnic superiority within a nation are usually accompanied by the belief that political and economic domination by one’s own group is natural, is morally right, is in the best interest of the nation, and perhaps also is God’s will. Ethnocentrism has been a factor leading to some of the worst atrocities in history, such as the American colonists’ nearly successful attempt to exterminate Native Americans and Adolf Hitler’s mass executions of more than 6 million European Jews, and millions more gypsies, people with disabilities, and other minority group members.

In interactions between nations, ethnocentric beliefs sometimes lead to wars and serve as justifications for foreign conquests. At practically any point in the last several centuries, at least a few wars have occurred between nations in which one society has been seeking to force its culture on another or to eradicate another culture (including genocide). For example, Israel has been involved in bitter struggles with Arab countries in the Middle East for more than four decades over territory ownership. Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds are fighting for domination in Iraq and Syria.

4. The prejudiced discriminator does not believe in the values of freedom and equality and consistently discriminates against other groups in both word and deed.

An example of an unprejudiced discriminator is the unprejudiced owner of a condominium complex in an all-white middle-class suburb who refuses to sell a condominium to an African American family because of fear (founded or unfounded) that the sale would reduce the sale value of the remaining units. An example of a prejudiced nondiscriminator is a personnel director of a fire department who believes Mexican Americans are unreliable and poor firefighters yet complies with affirmative action efforts to hire and train Mexican American firefighters.

It is very difficult to keep personal prejudices from eventually leading to some form of discrimination. Strong laws and firm informal social norms are necessary to break the relationships between prejudice and discrimination.

Discrimination is of two types.  De jure discrimination is legal discrimination. The so-called Jim Crow laws in the South (enacted shortly after the Civil War ended) gave force of law to many discriminatory practices against African Americans, including denial of the right to trial, prohibition against voting, and prohibition against interracial marriage. Today, in the United States, there is no de jure racial discrimination because such laws have been declared unconstitutional.

De facto discrimination refers to discrimination that actually exists, whether legal or not. Most acts of de facto discrimination abide by powerful informal norms that are discriminatory. Cummings (1977) gives an example of this type of discrimination and urges victims to confront it assertively:

Scene: department store. Incident: several people are waiting their turn at a counter. The person next to be served is a black woman; however, the clerk waits on several white customers who arrived later. The black woman finally demands service, after several polite gestures to call the clerk’s attention to her. The clerk proceeds to wait on her after stating, “I did not see you.” The clerk is very discourteous to the black customer, and the lack of courtesy is apparent, because the black customer had the opportunity to observe treatment of the other customers. De facto discrimination is most frustrating …; [after all, say some] the customer was served. Most people would rather just forget the whole incident, but it is important to challenge the practice even though it will possibly put you through more agony. One of the best ways to deal with this type of discrimination is to report it to the manager of the business. If it is at all possible, it is important to involve the clerk in the discussion. (p. 200)

Oppression is the unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power. Members of minority groups in our society are frequently victimized by oppression from segments of the white power structure. Oppression and discrimination are closely related, as all acts of oppression are also acts of discrimination. Oppression is the social act of placing severe restrictions on a group or institution.

5-4 Racial and Ethnic Stereotypes

Stereotypes are generalizations, or assumptions, that people make about the characteristics of all members of a group, based on an image (often wrong) about what people in a group are like.

Racial and ethnic stereotypes involve attributing a fixed and usually inaccurate or unfavorable conception to a racial or ethnic group. Stereotypes are closely related to the way we think, as we seek to perceive and understand things in categories. We need categories to group things that are similar in order to study them and to communicate about them. We have stereotypes about many categories, including mothers, fathers, teenagers, communists, Republicans, schoolteachers, farmers, construction workers, miners, politicians, Mormons, and Italians. These stereotypes may contain some useful and accurate information about a member in any category. Yet each member of any category will have many characteristics that are not suggested by the stereotypes and is apt to have some characteristics that run counter to some of the stereotypes.

5-5 Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Is the Problem of Whites

Myrdal (1944) pointed out that minority problems are actually majority problems. The white majority determines the place of nonwhites and other ethnic groups in our society. The status of different minority groups varies in our society because whites apply different stereotypes to various groups. For example, African Americans are viewed and treated differently from Japanese Americans. E. H. Johnson (1973) noted, “Minority relationships become recognized by the majority as a social problem when the members of the majority disagree as to whether the subjugation of the minority is socially desirable or in the ultimate interest of the majority” (p. 344). Concern about discrimination and segregation has also received increasing national attention because of a rising level of aspiration among minority groups who demand (sometimes militantly) equal opportunities and equal rights.

Our country was founded on the principle of human equality. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution assert equality, justice, and liberty for all. Yet in practice, our society has always discriminated against minorities.

Examples of hate crimes include setting African American churches on fire, defacing a Jewish family’s home with swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti, assaulting a gay college student, burning a cross on the lawn of an African American family, and vandalism against Arab Americans. With hate crimes, judges can impose a higher sentence when they find that a crime was committed with a biased motive.

5-6 Race Is a Social Concept

Ashley Montague (1964) considered the concept of race to be one of the most dangerous and tragic myths in our society. Race is erroneously believed by many to be a biological classification of people. Yet, surprisingly to some, there are no clearly delineating characteristics of any race. Throughout history, the genes of different societies and racial groups have occasionally been intermingled. No racial group has any unique or distinctive genes. In addition, biological differentiations of racial groups have gradually been diluted through various sociocultural factors. These factors include changes in preferences of desirable characteristics in mates, effects of different diets on those who reproduce, and such variables as wars and diseases in selecting those who will live to reproduce (Johnson, 1973).

Despite definitional problems, it is necessary to use racial categories in the social sciences. Race has important (though not necessarily consistent) social meanings for people. In order to have a basis for racial classifications, social scientists have used a social, rather than a biological, definition. A social definition is based on the way in which members of a society classify each other by physical characteristics. For example, a frequently used social definition of an African American is anyone who either displays overt African American physical characteristics or is known to have an African American ancestor (Schaefer, 2015).

A social definitional approach to classifying races sometimes results in different societies’ use of different definitions of race. For example, in the United States anyone who is known to have an African American ancestor is considered to be African American; in Brazil, anyone known to have a white ancestor is considered to be white (Schaefer, 2015).

Ethical Question 5.1

Johnson (1973) summarizes the need for an impartial, objective view of the capacity of different racial groups to achieve:

Race bigots contend that, the cultural achievements of different races being so obviously unlike, it follows that their genetic capacities for achievements must be just as different. Nobody can discover the cultural capacities of any population or race … until there is equality of opportunities to demonstrate the capacities. (p. 50)

Most scientists, both physical and social, now believe that in biological inheritance all races are alike in everything that really makes any difference (such as problem-solving capacities, altruistic tendencies, and communication capacities). With the exception of several very small, inbred, isolated, primitive tribes, all racial groups appear to show a wide distribution of every kind of ability. Any important race differences that have been noted in personality, behavior, and achievement (e.g., high school graduation rates) appear to be due primarily to environmental factors.

Many Americans classify themselves as “mixed-race” or “multiracial,” as they have parents of different races. Tiger Woods (a noted golfer), for example, has a multiracial background, with a Caucasian, African American, Native American, and Asian heritage.

5-7 Institutional Values and Racism: Discrimination in Systems

In the last four decades, institutional racism has become recognized as a major problem.  Institutional racism refers to discriminatory acts and policies against a racial group that pervade the major macro systems of society, including the legal, political, economic, and educational systems. Some of these discriminatory acts and policies are illegal, whereas others are not.

Institutional racism can best be understood through a systems perspective on discrimination. Institutional values form the foundation for macro-system policies. These policies are enacted in organizations and communities. Here, we refer to institutional racism as a prevailing orientation demonstrated in policies and procedures throughout our entire culture. It is an all-encompassing term that envelopes institutional values, communities, and organizational macro systems.

In contrast to institutional racism is  individual racism, which Barker (2003) defines as “the negative attitudes one person has about all members of a racial or ethnic group, often resulting in overt acts such as name-calling, social exclusion, or violence” (p. 215). Carmichael and Hamilton (1967) make the following distinction between individual racism and institutional racism:

When white terrorists bomb a black church and kill five black children, that is an act of individual racism, widely deplored by most segments of society. But when in the same city … five hundred black babies die each year because of the lack of proper food, shelter, and medical facilities, and thousands more are destroyed and maimed physically, emotionally, and intellectually because of conditions of poverty and discrimination in the black community, that is a function of institutional racism. (p. 4)

5-7aDiscrimination and Oppression in Organizational Macro Systems

Institutional discrimination is the unfair treatment of an individual that is due to the established operating procedures, policies, laws, or objectives of large organizations (such as governments, corporations, schools, police departments, and banks).

Discrimination is built, often unwittingly, into the very structure and form of our society. It is demonstrated by how organizational macro systems treat clients. The following examples reflect how agencies can engage in institutional discrimination:

· A family counseling agency with branch offices assigns its less skilled counselors and thereby provides lower-quality services to an office located in a minority neighborhood.

· A human services agency takes longer to process the requests of nonwhite for funds and services.

· A police department discriminates against nonwhite staff in terms of work assignments, hiring practices, promotion practices, and pay increases.

· A real estate agency has a pattern of showing white homebuyers houses in white neighborhoods and African American homebuyers houses in mixed or predominantly African American areas.

· A bank and an insurance company engage in so-called red-lining, which involves refusing to make loans or issue insurance in areas with large minority populations.

· A probation and parole agency tends to ignore minor rule violations by white clients but seeks to return nonwhite parolees to prison for similar infractions.

· A mental health agency tends to label nonwhite clients “psychotic” while ascribing a less serious disorder to white clients.

· White staff at a family counseling center are encouraged by the executive board to provide intensive services to clients with whom they have a good relationship and are told to give less attention to clients “they aren’t hitting it off well with,” resulting in fewer services provided to nonwhite clients.

Whether these differences in treatment are undertaken consciously or not, they nevertheless represent institutional discrimination.

5-7bDiscrimination and Oppression in Community Macro Systems

Institutional racism also pervades community life. It is a contributing factor to the following: The unemployment rate for nonwhites has consistently been more than twice that for whites. The infant mortality rate for nonwhites is nearly twice as high as for whites. The life expectancy for nonwhites is several years less than for whites. The average number of years of educational achievement for nonwhites is considerably less than for whites (Schaefer, 2015).

Many examples of institutional racism are found in the educational macro system. Schools in white neighborhoods generally have better facilities and more highly trained teachers than do those in minority neighborhoods. Minority families are, on the average, less able to provide the hidden costs of free education (higher property taxes, transportation, class trips, clothing, and supplies); as a result, their children become less involved in the educational process. History texts in the past concentrated on achievements of white people and gave scant attention to minorities. J. Henry (1967) wrote in the 1960s about the effects of such history on Native American children:

What is the effect upon the student, when he learns that one race, and one alone, is the most, the best, the greatest; when he learns that Indians were mere parts of the landscape and wilderness which had to be cleared out, to make way for the great “movement” of white population across the land; and when he learns that Indians were killed and forcibly removed from their ancient homelands to make way for adventurers (usually called “pioneering gold miners”), for land grabbers (usually called “settlers”), and for illegal squatters on Indian-owned land (usually called “frontiersmen”)? What is the effect upon the young Indian child himself, who is also a student in the school system, when he is told that Columbus discovered America, that Coronado “brought civilization” to the Indian people, and that the Spanish missionaries provided havens of refuge for the Indians? Is it reasonable to assume that the student, of whatever race, will not discover at some time in his life that Indians discovered America thousands of years before Columbus set out upon his voyage; that Coronado brought death and destruction to the native peoples; and that the Spanish missionaries, in all too many cases, forcibly dragged Indians to the missions? (p. 22)

Since the 1960s and the civil rights movement, the true story of minorities and their experiences are being better told.

5-8 Sources of Prejudice and Discrimination

LO 2

No single theory provides a complete picture of why racial and ethnic discrimination occur. By being exposed to a variety of theories, social workers should at least be better sensitized to the nature and sources of discrimination. The sources of discrimination come from inside and outside a person.

5-8aProjection

Projection is a psychological defense mechanism in which one attributes to others characteristics that one is unwilling to recognize in oneself. Many people have personal traits they dislike in themselves. They desire to get rid of such traits, but this is not always possible. Such people may project some of these traits onto others (often to some other group in society), thus displacing the negative feelings they would otherwise direct at themselves. In the process, they then condemn those onto whom they have projected the traits.

For example, a minority group may serve as a projection of a prejudiced person’s fears and lusts. People who view African Americans as lazy or preoccupied with sex may be projecting onto African Americans their own internal concerns about their industriousness or their sexual fantasies. While some whites view African Americans as promiscuous, historically it has generally been white men who forced African American women (particularly slaves) into sexual encounters. It appears many white males felt guilty about these sexual desires and adventures and dealt with their guilt by projecting their own lusts and sexual conduct onto African Americans.

5-8bFrustration-Aggression

Another psychological need satisfied by discrimination is the release of tension and frustration. All of us at times become frustrated when we are unable to achieve or obtain something we desire. Sometimes we strike back at the source of frustration, but many times direct retaliation is not possible. For example, we are reluctant to tell our employers what we think of them when we feel we are being treated unfairly because we fear repercussions.

Some frustrated people displace their anger and aggression onto a  scapegoat. The scapegoat may be a particular person or it may be a group of people. Similar to people who take out their job frustrations at home on their spouses or family pets, some prejudiced people vent their frustrations on minority groups. (The term scapegoat derives from an ancient Hebrew ritual in which the goat was symbolically laden with the sins of the entire community and then chased into the wilderness. It “escaped,” hence the term scapegoat. The term was gradually broadened to apply to anyone who bears the blame for others.)

5-8cCountering Insecurity and Inferiority

Still another psychological need that may be satisfied through discrimination is the desire to counter feelings of insecurity or inferiority. Some insecure people seek to feel better about themselves by putting down another group. They then can tell themselves that they are better than these people.

5-8dAuthoritarianism

5-8eHistory

Historical explanations can also be given for prejudice. Kornblum and Julian (2012) note that the groups now viewed by white prejudiced persons as being second class are groups that have been either conquered, enslaved, or admitted into our society on a subordinate basis. For example, African Americans were imported as slaves during our colonial period and stripped of human dignity. Native Americans were conquered, and their culture was viewed as inferior. Mexican Americans were allowed to enter this country primarily to do seasonal, low-paid farm work.

5-8fCompetition and Exploitation

Our society is highly competitive and materialistic. Individuals and groups compete daily with one another to acquire more of the available goods. These attempts to secure economic goods usually result in a struggle for resources and power. In our society, once whites achieved dominance, they then used (and still are using) their power to exploit nonwhites through cheap labor—for example, as sweatshop factory laborers, migrant farmhands, maids, janitors, and bellhops.

Members of the dominant group know they are treating the subordinate group as inferior and unequal. To justify such discrimination, they develop an  ideology (set of beliefs) that their group is superior, and therefore that it is right and proper that they have more rights, goods, and so on. Sometimes they assert that God selected their group to be dominant. At the same time, they assign inferior traits to the subordinate group and conclude that the minority needs and deserves less because it is biologically inferior. Throughout history in most societies, the dominant group (which has greater power and wealth) has sought to maintain the status quo by keeping those who have the least in an inferior position.

5-8gSocialization Patterns

Prejudice is also a learned phenomenon and is transmitted from generation to generation through socialization processes. Our culture has stereotypes of what different minority group members “ought to be” and the ways they “ought to behave” in relationships with members of the majority group. These stereotypes provide norms against which a child learns to judge persons, things, and ideas. Prejudice, to some extent, is developed through the same processes by which we learn to be religious or patriotic, to appreciate and enjoy art, or to develop our value system. Prejudice, at least in certain segments in our society, is thus a facet of the normative system of our culture.

5-8hBelief in the One True Religion

Young children of groups who are the victims of discrimination are likely to develop low self-esteem at an early age. African American children who have been subjected to discrimination even display a preference for white dolls and white playmates over black (Schaefer, 2015).

Pinderhughes (1982) has noted that the history of oppression of African Americans, combined with racism and exclusion, has produced a “victim system.”

A victim system is a circular feedback process that exhibits properties such as stability, predictability, and identity that are common to all systems. This particular system threatens self-esteem and reinforces problematic responses in communities, families, and individuals. The feedback works as follows: Barriers to opportunity and education limit the chance for achievement, employment, and attainment of skills. This limitation can, in turn, lead to poverty or stress in relationships, which interferes with adequate performance of family roles. Strains in family roles cause problems in individual growth and development and limit the opportunities of families to meet their own needs or to organize to improve their communities. Communities limited in resources (jobs, education, housing, etc.) are unable to support families properly and the community all too often becomes an active disorganizing influence, a breeder of crime and other pathology, and a cause of even more powerlessness. (p. 109)

Discrimination also has high costs for the majority group. It impairs intergroup cooperation and communication. Discrimination is also a factor in contributing to social problems among minorities—for example, high crime rates, emotional problems, alcoholism, drug abuse—all of which have cost billions of dollars in social programs. It has been argued that discrimination is a barrier to collective action (e.g., unionization) among whites and nonwhites (particularly people in the lower-income classes), and therefore is a factor in perpetuating low-paying jobs and poverty. Less affluent whites who could benefit from collective action are hurt.

The effects of discrimination are even reflected in life expectancy. The life expectancy of nonwhites is six years less than that of whites in the United States (Schaefer, 2015). The fact is that nonwhites tend to die earlier than whites because they tend to receive inferior health care and because they generally earn less money, which results in a higher probability of a less nutritious diet and of living in deteriorating housing.

Finally, discrimination in the United States undermines some of our nation’s political goals. Many other nations view us as hypocritical when we advocate human rights and equality. In order to make an effective argument for human rights on a worldwide scale, we must first put our own house in order by eliminating racial and ethnic discrimination. Few Americans realize the extent to which racial crimination damages our international reputation. Nonwhite foreign diplomats to America often complain about being victims of discrimination because they are mistaken for being members of American minority groups. With most of the nations of the world being nonwhite, our racist practices severely damage our influence and prestige.

5-10 Stereotyping and Multiculturalism: A Perspective

The National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Ethics (2008) states,

Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical disability.

It is important to note that some social work authorities are now raising questions about whether presenting descriptive information about groups leads to stereotypes and prejudices against these groups (Mor Barak, 2005). For example, if we describe women as being more emotional than men, and men as being more rational than women, such a perception and categorization may steer expectations for an individual or a group. Such perceptions and categorizations are often inaccurate when applied to an individual member of a group, as well as to the group as a whole.

Another example may help further clarify this perspective. There is a perception that Asian Americans are a “model minority” because they are viewed as an “overachieving, supersuccessful ethnic group without significant problems” (Chicago Tribune, 1998). If we perceive Asian Americans as overachieving and supersuccessful, it raises a number of questions that may negatively affect those labeled as Asian Americans. A few of these questions are the following: Will it lead Asian American children to feel undue pressure to be super-successful? Will it lead those Asian Americans who are not supersuccessful to view themselves as “failures”? Will social service agencies and policy makers tend to ignore developing human service programs for Asian Americans because they are already perceived to be “supersuccessful”? Will providers of services (such as dentists, car dealers, plumbers, electricians) tend to charge Asian Americans more because they are apt to be perceived as “wealthy”?

The stereotyping of Asian Americans as being overachieving and supersuccessful misrepresents the diverse experiences of Asian Americans by glossing over huge differences within a group of people who come from more than two dozen countries, most of which have their own distinct language and culture. In this regard, Ziaddlin Sardar (2001, pp. 14–16) notes,

White people … look at me and exclaim: “Surely, you’re Asian.” However, there is no such thing as an Asian. Asia is not a race or identity: it is a continent. Even in Asia, where more than half of the world’s population lives, no one calls him or herself “Asian.” … In the U.S., the Asian label is attached to Koreans, Filipinos, and Chinese. In Britain, we do not use the term Asian to describe our substantial communities of Turks, Iranians, or Indonesians, even though these countries are in Asia.

There is a danger that presenting descriptive information about a group may lead to negative stereotyping and then overt discrimination. For example, descriptive information indicates African Americans tend to have higher rates (compared with whites) of poverty, homelessness, births outside of marriage, dropping out of school, criminal arrests, and criminal convictions (Schaefer, 2015). Does such information lead to the expectation by non-African Americans that African American individuals they meet are apt to “fit” such descriptive information? For example, the poverty rate for African Americans is about 20 percent, whereas for whites it is 10 percent (Schaefer, 2015). Will this lead non-African Americans to expect that African American individuals they encounter are apt to be “poor”? What may be ignored by the non-African American is that most African Americans (80%) are not living in poverty.

This text will continue to use the traditional approach of presenting descriptive information about the diverse categories identified in the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) for two reasons. First, most social work educators deduce that the EPAS was written with the expectation that descriptive information will be presented in the social work curriculum on these categories. Second, the social work authorities who are concerned about the presentation of descriptive information have not arrived at a new definition of diversity that enables us to develop a knowledge base of information about the diverse groups identified in the EPAS who have been victimized in the past (and during the present time) by discrimination. The authors of this text, however, urge readers to be aware of the dangers of stereotypes being generated by descriptive information about the diverse groups identified in this text.

It is impossible in this text to present information on all the types and forms of diversity. If we consider ethnicity alone, there are literally thousands of different populations. For example, there are about 500 different Native American tribes in the United States, each with its distinctive culture. Therefore, we will present descriptive information on only a few illustrative groups.

5-11 Intersectionality of Multiple Factors

Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (Council on Social Work Education, 2015) states,

“The dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including but not limited to age, class, color, culture, disability and ability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, marital status, political ideology, race, religion/spirituality, sex, sexual orientation, and tribal sovereign status.”

Intersectionality holds that the classical models of oppression within society (such as those based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, class, age, or disability) do not act independently of one another; instead, these forms of oppression interrelate, creating a system of oppression that reflects the “intersection” of multiple forms of discrimination. Intersectionality is a theory to analyze how social and cultural categories interwine. For example, intersectionality asserts there are vast differences in the life experiences of an African American male, 57 years old, upper class, and healthy, as compared to an African American female, 75 years old, indigent, and legally blind.

In working with clients, social workers need to view individuals in terms of “intersectionality.”

5-12 The Effects of Discrimination on Human Growth and Development

The effects of discrimination will be illustrated by examining the research conducted on African Americans, the largest racial minority group, composing about 13 percent of the population in the United States. We begin by examining some background material on the history and culture of African Americans in our society.

5-12aHistory and Culture of African Americans

The United States has always been a racist country. Although our country’s founders talked about freedom, dignity, equality, and human rights, our economy before the Civil War depended heavily on slavery.

Many slaves came from cultures that had well-developed art forms, political systems, family patterns, religious beliefs, and economic systems. However, their home culture was not European, and therefore, slaveowners viewed their cultural patterns as being of no consequence. They prohibited slaves from practicing and developing their art, language, religion, and family life. For want of practice, their former culture soon died in America.

The life of a slave was harsh. Slaves were viewed not as human beings but as chattel to be bought and sold. Long, hard days were spent working in the fields, with the profits of their labor going to their white owners. Whippings, mutilations, and hangings were commonly accepted control practices. The impetus to enslave African Americans was not simply racism because many whites believed that it was to their economic advantage to have a cheap supply of labor. Cotton growing, in particular, was thought to require a large labor force that was also cheap and docile. Marriages among slaves were not recognized by law, and slaves were often sold with little regard to the effects on marital and family ties. Throughout the slavery period and even after it, African Americans were discouraged from demonstrating intelligence, initiative, or ambition. For a period of time, it was illegal to teach African Americans to read or write.

Some authorities (Henderson & Kim, 1980) have noted that opposition to the spread of slavery preceding the Civil War was primarily due to northern fears of competition from slave labor and the rapidly increasing migration of African Americans to the North and West, rather than to moral concern for human rights and equality. Few whites at the time understood or believed in the principle of racial equality—not even Abraham Lincoln, who believed that African Americans were inferior to whites.

A rigid caste system in the South hardened into a system of oppression known as Jim Crow laws. The system prescribed how African Americans were supposed to act in the presence of whites, asserted white supremacy, embraced racial segregation, and denied political and legal rights to African Americans. African Americans who opposed Jim Crow laws were subjected to burnings, beatings, and lynchings. Jim Crow laws were used to teach African Americans to view themselves as inferior and to be servile and passive in interactions with whites.

World War II opened up new employment opportunities for African Americans. A large migration of African Americans from the South began. Greater mobility afforded by wartime conditions led to upheavals in the traditional caste system. Many African Americans served in the armed forces during this war, fought and died for their country, and yet their country maintained segregated facilities. Awareness of the disparity between the ideal and reality led many people to try to improve race relations, not only for domestic justice and peace, but to answer criticism from abroad. With each gain in race relations, more African Americans were encouraged to press for their rights.

A major turning point in African American history was the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Since 1954, numerous organized efforts have been made by both African Americans and certain segments of the white population to secure equal rights and opportunities for African Americans. Attempts to change deeply entrenched racist attitudes and practices have produced much turmoil: the burning of many inner cities in the late 1960s, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, and clashes between African American militant groups and the police. There have also been significant advances. Wide-ranging civil rights legislation protecting rights in areas such as housing, voting, employment, and use of public transportation and facilities has been passed. During the riots in 1968, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (Gelman, 1988) warned that our society was careening “toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal” (p. 19).

The United States today is not the bitterly segregated society that the riot commission envisioned. African Americans and whites now more often work together and lunch together—yet few really count the other as friends.

We, as a nation, have come a long way since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 1954. The election of Barack Obama as president in 2008 is a clear example of increased respect that African Americans are receiving in the United States. But we still have a long way to go before we eliminate African American poverty and oppression. Living conditions in some African American communities remain as bleak as they were when our inner cities erupted in the late 1960s.

Two developments have characterized the socioeconomic circumstances of African Americans in recent years. A middle class has emerged that is better educated, better paid, and better housed than any group of African Americans that has gone before it. However, as middle-class African Americans move to better neighborhoods, they leave behind those who are living in poverty. The group that has been left behind generates a disproportionate share of the social pathology that is associated with a deteriorating urban neighborhood—including high rates of crime, unemployment, drug abuse, school dropouts, births outside of marriage, and families receiving public assistance.

More than half of all African American children are being raised in single-parent families (Schaefer, 2015). However, many of the children living in single-parent families are living in family structures composed of some variation of the extended family. Many single-parent families move in with relatives during adversity, including economic adversity. In addition, African American families of all levels rely on relatives to care for their children while they work.

Schaefer (2015) summarizes five strengths identified by the National Urban League that allow African American families to function effectively in a racist society:

1. Strong kinship bonds. Blacks are more likely than whites to care for children and the elderly in an extended family network.

3. Adaptability of family roles. In two-parent families, the egalitarian pattern of decision making is the most common. The self-reliance of black women who are the primary wage earners best illustrates this adaptability.

4. Strong achievement orientation. Working-class blacks indicate a greater desire for their children to attend college than working-class whites. Even a majority of low-income African Americans desire to attend college.

5. A strong religious orientation. Black churches since the time of slavery have been the source of many significant grassroots organizations.

While it is a reality that many African American families are headed by single mothers, it would be a serious error to view such family structures as inherently pathological. A single parent with good parenting skills, along with a supportive extended family, can lead to healthy family functioning.

Many African Americans have had the historical experience of being subjected to negative evaluations by school systems, social welfare agencies, health-care institutions, and the justice system. Because of their past experiences, African Americans are likely to view such institutions with apprehension. Schools, for example, have erroneously perceived African Americans as being less capable of developing cognitive skills. Such perceptions about school failure are often a self-fulfilling prophecy. If African American children are expected to fail in school systems, teachers are likely to put forth less effort in challenging them to learn, and African American children may then put forth less effort to learn, resulting in a lower level of achievement.

Some of the attitudes and behaviors exhibited by African Americans who seek services from white social agencies are often labeled resistant. However, the attitudes and behaviors are better viewed as attempts at coping with powerlessness and racism. For example, if there are delays in the provision of services, African Americans may convey apathy or disparage the agency because they interpret the delay as being due to racism; they then respond in ways they have learned in the past to handle discrimination.

In the summer of 2013, after George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida, the “Black Lives Matter (BLM)” movement began. BLM campaigns against violence toward black people. It regularly organizes protests around the deaths of black people in killings by law enforcement officers, and broader issues of police brutality, racial profiling, and racial inequality in the U.S. criminal justice system. BLM claims inspiration from the African American civil rights movement, the Black Power movement, the 1980s Black Feminist movement, the anti-Apartheid movement, LGBTQ social movements, Occupy Wall Street, and hip hop.

5-12bEffects of Discrimination on Development of Self-Concept

The term  self-concept refers to the positive and negative thoughts and feelings that one has toward oneself. It is often used interchangeably with such terms as self-image, sense of self, self-esteem, and identity. A positive self-concept is a key element in school achievement, in positive social interactions with others, and in emotional, social, and intellectual growth (Santrock, 2008).

Solomon (1983) notes that if African American adults accept society’s label of inferiority, they are likely to convey such thoughts and feelings to their children. The children are likely not only to develop a negative self-concept but also to put less effort into developing cognitive skills and school achievement. Because of low self-esteem and underdeveloped cognitive skills they are less likely to develop interpersonal and technical skills, which then results in having difficulties in social interactions and to being restricted in adulthood to low-paying, low-skill jobs. The vicious circle is then completed when such difficulties confirm and reinforce feelings of inferiority and of negative value, feelings that are then passed on to their children.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the extent to which discrimination adversely affects self-concept development in African American children. Very significantly, these studies indicate that the African American child’s concept of self does not necessarily have to be impaired by racism. Concludes Powell (1983),

Given the pervasiveness of racism and discrimination in our society, why is it that many African American children overcome these obstacles to self-concept development and develop a fairly positive sense of self-esteem? The reason appears to be that every person is embedded simultaneously in at least two systems: One is the larger society, and the other is one’s immediate social and physical environment.

The latter environment includes family members, other relatives, peers, friends, and neighbors. One’s immediate environment appears to be the predominant system in shaping one’s self-concept. It appears that the child who is loved, accepted, and supported in his or her immediate environment comes to love and respect himself or herself as someone worthy of love.

African American children, as they grow older, learn of the larger society’s devaluation. Practically all African American children are aware by age 7 or 8 of the social devaluation placed on their racial group (Schaefer, 2015). But awareness of this devaluation does not necessarily extend to the African American child’s self-evaluation. The sense of self developed in the immediate environment acts as a buffer against the potential devaluation by the larger society.

The Afrocentric perspective has been used to provide explanations of the origins of specific social problems. For example, violent crimes by youths are thought to be a result of the limited options and choices they have to advance themselves economically. Youths seek a life of street crime as a logical means to cope with, and protest against, a society that practices pervasive employment discrimination. These youths mentally calculate that they can make more money from street crime than from attending college or starting a legitimate business. Turning to a life of crime is also thought more likely to occur in a society with a worldview that deemphasizes spiritual and moral development.

The Afrocentric perspective values a more holistic, spiritual, and optimistic view of human beings. It supports the strengths perspective and empowerment concepts of social work practice, which are described later in this chapter.

5-13 Suggest Strategies for Advancing Social and Economic Justice

LO 4

We will begin this section by reviewing traditional and contemporary models of community change. These models apply to practically all areas of community change in social work; a subset of which are strategies to advance social and economic justice in racial and ethnic relationships.

5-13aTraditional Models of Community Change

Various approaches have been developed for community practitioners to bring about community change. Traditionally, they have been categorized into three conceptual frameworks:  locality development,  social planning, and  social action (Rothman, 2001). These models are “ideal types.” Actual approaches to community change have tendencies or emphases that categorize them in one of the three models; yet most approaches also have components characteristic of one or both of the other models. Advocates of the social planning model, for example, may at times use community change techniques (such as wide discussion and participation by a variety of groups) that are characteristic of the other two models. We will not deal with the mixed forms, but for analytical purposes will instead view the three models as “pure” forms.

Locality Development Model

The  locality development model (also called  community development) asserts that community change can best be brought about through broad participation of a wide spectrum of people at the local community level. The model seeks to involve a broad cross section of people (including the disadvantaged and the power structure) in identifying and solving their problems. Some themes emphasized in this model are democratic procedures, a consensus approach, voluntary cooperation, development of indigenous leadership, and self-help.

The roles of the community practitioner in this approach include enabler, catalyst, coordinator, and teacher of problem-solving skills and ethical values. The approach assumes that conflicts that arise between various interest groups can be creatively and constructively handled. It encourages people to express their differences but assumes people will put aside their self-interests to further the interests of their community. The basic theme of this approach is “Together we can figure out what to do and then do it.” The approach seeks to use discussion and communication between different factions to reach consensus about the problems to focus on and the strategies to resolve these problems. A few examples of locality development efforts include neighborhood work programs conducted by community-based agencies; Volunteers in Service to America; village-level work in some overseas community development programs, including the Peace Corps; and a variety of activities performed by self-help groups. A case example of the locality development model is the following.

Mr. McKearn contacted the community mental health center, the self-help organization Parents Without Partners, the pupil services department of the public school system, the county social services department, some members of the clergy, and the community mental health center in the area. Nearly everyone he contacted saw an emerging need to better serve children in single-parent families. The pupil services department mentioned that such children were performing less well academically and tended to display more serious disciplinary problems.

Mr. McKearn arranged a meeting of representatives from the groups and organizations that he contacted.

At the initial meeting a number of concerns were expressed about the problematic behaviors being displayed by children who had single parents. The school system considered these children to be at risk for higher rates of truancy, dropping out of school, delinquent activities, suicide, emotional problems, and unwanted pregnancies. Although numerous problems were identified, no one at this initial meeting was able to suggest a viable strategy to better serve single parents and their children. The community was undergoing an economic recession; therefore, funds were unavailable for an expensive new program.

Three more meetings were held. At the first two, numerous suggestions for providing services were discussed, but all were viewed as either too expensive or impractical. At the fourth meeting of the group, a single parent representing Parents Without Partners mentioned that she was aware that Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs in some communities were of substantial benefit to children in single-parent families. This idea seemed to energize the group. Suggestions began to piggyback. The group, however, determined that funds were unavailable to hire staff to run a Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. However, Rhona Quint, a social worker in the pupil services department, noted that she was willing to identify at-risk younger children in single-parent families and that she would be willing to supervise qualified volunteers in a “Big Buddy” program.

Mr. McKearn mentioned that he was currently supervising a student in an undergraduate field placement for an accredited social work program from a college in a nearby community. He noted that perhaps arrangements could be made for undergraduate social work students to be Big Buddies for their required volunteer experience. Rhona Quint said she would approve of the suggestion if she could have the freedom to screen the applicants for Big Buddies. Arrangements were made over the next two months for social work students to be Big Buddies for at-risk younger children from single-parent families. After a two-year experimental period, the school system found the program sufficiently successful that it assigned Ms. Quint half-time to supervise the program, which included selecting at-risk children, screening volunteer applicants, matching children with Big Buddies, monitoring the progress of each matched pair, and conducting follow-up to ascertain the outcome of each pairing.

In summary, locality development focuses on communities helping themselves. It stresses participation by as many community residents as possible, who work together to solve problems and achieve mutually beneficial goals. Social workers tend to serve as catalysts, facilitators, coordinators, and teachers of problem-solving skills.

The mayor and city council of a medium-sized midwestern city became increasingly concerned about the deterioration of community living in the northeast area of the city. The mayor and city council passed a resolution directing the City Planning Department to develop an approach to combat a variety of social ills (including rising rates of crime, racial conflict, and a lack of recreational resources for children and adults) in this section of the city. The planning department assigned Jose Cruz (an MSW social worker with 11 years of social planning experience) to develop a proposal to improve the community.

Mr. Cruz first contacted and introduced himself to community leaders in this neighborhood: city aldermen, county board supervisors, members of the clergy, administrators of community service agencies, and business leaders. He then arranged and led five focus groups in this neighborhood with these community leaders. (Focus groups provide one method for gathering data. A  focus group is a gathering of people who meet to discuss a specific topic or issue, evaluate it in depth, share information, and when appropriate, propose solutions or plans of action. They typically include 6 to 12 members who meet to discuss and brainstorm about an issue and are usually led by a moderator who keeps the group on task.) Mr. Cruz’s first focal topic was “What do you see as the major problems in this community?” Common responses were a deteriorating community, high rates of crime, lack of community resources, racial conflict, and lack of a sense of community among the residents. Mr. Cruz also led several focus groups of citizens in the community who were invited to the meetings by members of the clergy in the neighborhood. Responses of the citizens were similar to those identified by community leaders.

Mr. Cruz then urged interested community leaders and citizens to form a Neighborhood Center Planning Committee. Thirty-three community residents agreed to be on this committee. Mr. Cruz worked with the committee to prepare an architectural design for the Center. This committee, with Mr. Cruz’s assistance, then prepared a budget to build and operate the Center, with funding from a variety of sources—federal funding, city funding, neighborhood fundraising, and a contribution from the United Way. Mr. Cruz and the Neighborhood Center Planning Committee then presented the proposal to the City Planning Department, which rapidly approved it. The proposal was then presented to the mayor and the city council, who deliberated about it for 14 months but eventually approved it. Groundbreaking for the Center will soon begin.

In summary, social planning involves the use of experts to assist communities in solving problems. Such experts gather facts and apply skills to propose and implement solutions that benefit community residents. Social work roles in social planning, include expert planner, fact gatherer, program developer, and implementer.

Social Action Model

The third model, the  social action approach, assumes there is a disadvantaged (often oppressed) segment of the population that needs to be organized, perhaps in alliance with others, in order to pressure the power structure for increased resources or for treatment more in accordance with democracy or social justice. Social action approaches at times seek basic changes in major institutions or seek changes in basic policies of formal organizations. Such approaches often seek redistribution of power and resources. Whereas locality developers envision a unified community, social action advocates see the power structure as the opposition—the target of action.

Perhaps the best-known social activist was Saul Alinsky (1972), who advised, “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it” (p. 130).

The roles of the community practitioner in this approach include advocate, agitator, activist, partisan, broker, and negotiator. Tactics used in social action projects include protests, boycotts, confrontation, and negotiation. The change strategy is “Let’s organize to overpower our oppressor” (Alinsky, 1969, p. 72). The client population is viewed as being “victims” of the oppressive power structure. Examples of the social action approach include boycotts during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, strikes by unions, protests by antiabortion groups, and protests by African American and Native American groups.

The Black Lives Matter movement started as a response to the Trayvon Martin case in 2013 and has since become a global phenomenon.

Saul Alinsky (1972) provides the following example of a creative social action effort:

I was lecturing at a college run by a very conservative, almost fundamentalist Protestant denomination. Afterward some of the students came to my motel to talk to me. Their problem was that they couldn’t have any fun on campus. They weren’t permitted to dance or smoke or have a can of beer. I had been talking about the strategy of effecting change in a society and they wanted to know what tactics they could use to change their situation. I reminded them that a tactic is doing what you can with what you’ve got. “Now, what have you got?” I asked. “What do they permit you to do?” “Practically nothing,” they said, “except—you know—we can chew gum.” I said, “Fine. Gum becomes the weapon. You get 200 or 300 students to get two packs of gum each, which is quite a wad. Then you have them drop it on the campus walks. This will cause absolute chaos. Why, with 500 wads of gum I could paralyze Chicago, stop all the traffic in the Loop.” They looked at me as though I was some kind of nut. But about two weeks later I got an ecstatic letter saying, “It worked! It worked! Now we can do just about anything so long as we don’t chew gum.” (pp. 145–146)

In summary, social action involves pressuring the power structure to provide resources or improve the treatment of oppressed populations who are victims. In the pursuit of social justice, the power structure is viewed as the adversary, so conflict, confrontation, and direct action are often used. Social workers pursuing social action often serve as advocates, activities, brokers, and negotiators, all social work roles described later in the chapter.

Rothman (2007) provides an example of a person undertaking policy advocacy to improve policies that affect groups at risk of harm:

Wilbur Cohen, a former secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, vividly exemplifies a policy advocate who spent a lifetime in public service. During the Depression-era administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal he helped draft the 1936 act that established the Social Security System … In 1956 he was instrumental in instituting disability insurance. Continuing as a prime designer of America’s “welfare state,” under the Johnson administration in 1965 he set up the Medicare system … Johnson described him as the “planner, architect, builder, and repairman” for most of the social legislation of “The Great Society” [the period during Johnson’s presidency that referred to major social welfare initiatives aimed at pursuing a War on Poverty (Barker, 2003)]. (p. 20)

5-13cCommunity Strategies to Promote Social and Economic Justice

Widely ranging strategies have been developed to reduce racial and ethnic discrimination and oppression. These strategies include mass media appeals, strategies to increase interaction among racial and ethnic groups, civil rights laws, activism, affirmative action programs, confrontation of racist and ethnic remarks and actions, minority-owned businesses, confrontation of the problems in inner cities, and asset-based community development. Because racism is a more serious problem in our society than ethnocentrism, most of the strategies against discrimination primarily focus on curtailing racial discrimination and oppression.

5-13dMass Media Appeals: Striving to Change Institutional Values

The mass media are able to reach large numbers of people simultaneously. By expanding public awareness of the existence of discrimination and its consequences, the media may strengthen control over racial and ethnic extremists. But newspapers, radio, and television have limitations in changing prejudiced attitudes and behaviors; they are primarily providers of information and seldom have a lasting effect in changing deep-seated prejudices through propaganda. Highly prejudiced persons are often unaware of their own prejudices. Even if they are aware of their prejudices, they generally ignore mass media appeals as irrelevant to them or dismiss the appeals as propaganda.

However, the media probably have had a significant impact in reducing discrimination through showing nonwhites and whites harmoniously working together in commercials, on news teams, and on TV shows. These settings provide at least one avenue for changing institutional values rooted in racism and discrimination.

5-13eGreater Interaction between Minority Groups and the Majority Group

Increased contact between minority groups and the majority group is not in itself sufficient to alleviate prejudice. In fact, increased contact may, in some instances, highlight the differences between groups and increase suspicions and fear. Prejudice is likely to be increased when contacts are tension-laden or involuntary (Schaefer, 2015). Prejudice is likely to subside when individuals are placed in situations in which they share characteristics in nonracial and nonethnic matters—for example, as coworkers, fellow soldiers, or classmates. Equal-status contacts, rather than inferior-superior status contacts, are also more apt to reduce prejudices (Schaefer, 2015).

5-13fCivil Rights Laws: Changing the Legal Macro System

In the past 60 years, equal rights have been legislated in areas of employment, voting, housing, public accommodation, and education. A key question is, how effective are laws in changing prejudice?

Proponents of civil rights legislation make certain assumptions. The first is that new laws will reduce discriminatory behavior patterns. The laws define what was once normal behavior (discrimination) as now being deviant behavior. Through time, it is expected that attitudes will change and become more consistent with the forced nondiscriminatory behavior patterns.

A second assumption is that the laws will be used. Civil rights laws were enacted after the Civil War but were seldom enforced and gradually were eroded. It is also unfortunately true that some officials will find ways of evading the intent of the law by eliminating only the extreme, overt symbols of discrimination, without changing other practices. Thus, the enactment of a law is only the first step in the process of changing prejudiced attitudes and practices. However, as Martin Luther King Jr. noted, “The law may not make a man love me, but it can restrain him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.”

5-13gActivism

The strategy of activism attempts to change the structure of race relations through direct confrontations of discrimination and segregation policies. Activism has three types of politics: the politics of creative disorder, the politics of disorder, and the politics of escape.

Supporters of affirmative action contend that as long as businesses rely on personal recommendations, informal social networks, and family ties, white men will have a distinct advantage (in filling job/position vacancies) built on generations of being in positions of power.

Affirmative action programs raise delicate and complex questions about achieving equality through giving preferences in hiring and admissions to minorities. Yet no other means has been found to end subtle discrimination in hiring and admissions.

Critics of affirmative action assert that it is a highly politicized and painful remedy that has stigmatized many of those it was meant to help. Affirmative action is now perceived by many in our society as a system of preferences for the unqualified. Critics further assert that while affirmative action may have been necessary 60 years ago to make sure that minority candidates received fair treatment to counter the social barriers to hiring and admission that stemmed from centuries of unequal treatment, such programs are no longer needed. They assert that it is wrong to discriminate against white males for the sole purpose of making up for an injustice that somebody’s great-grandfather may have done to somebody else’s great-grandfather. They assert that it is wrong for the daughter of a wealthy African American couple, for example, to be given preference in employment over the son of a homeless alcoholic who happens to be white.

In 1996, voters in California passed Proposition 209, which explicitly rejects the idea that women and other minority group members could get special consideration when applying for jobs, government contracts, or university admission. This affirmative action ban became law in California in August 1997. In addition, numerous lawsuits have been filed objecting to reverse discrimination. If the courts rule in favor of those filing the lawsuits, the power of affirmative action programs will be sharply reduced. In November 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the California law that ended racial and gender preferences in that state. This Supreme Court action clears the way for other states and cities to ban affirmative action. Michigan is another state that has banned affirmative action programs.

Supporters of affirmative action believe that if we abandon affirmative action, we return to the “old-boy” network. They assert that affirmative action has helped many women and people of color to attain a good education and higher-paying positions, and thereby to remove themselves from the ranks of the poor. They assert that in a society in which racist and sexist attitudes remain, it is necessary to have affirmative action in order to give women and people of color a fair opportunity at attaining a quality education and well-paying jobs.

A number of authorities are now proposing race-blind policies that will not create reverse discrimination but will address past patterns of racism and the inequalities engendered by racism. Such policies would deal with the needs of people on a class basis rather than in terms of race of ethnic status. An example of a race-blind social policy in the interests of increasing equality of opportunity is the practice recently established by Harvard University and other private universities of awarding full scholarships to accepted students whose families earn less than $50,000 per year (Kornblum & Julian, p. 255).

Ethical Question 5.3

An area reduced to rubble in Syria

Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Ethical Question 5.4

Are Native American Casinos a Benefit or a Detriment?

In 1988, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which recognized the right of Native American tribes in the United States to establish gambling and gaming facilities on their reservations as long as the states in which they are located have some form of legalized gambling. A majority of states have now made arrangements with Native American tribes to have casinos. Gambling operations vary, but may include offtrack betting, casino tables such as blackjack and roulette, sports betting, video games of chance, telephone betting, slot machines, and high-stakes bingo. The vast majority of gamblers are non–Native Americans. The actual casinos are a form of tribal government enterprises as opposed to private business operations.

The economic impact on some reservations has been enormous. Many casinos take in millions of dollars in profits annually. Schaefer (2015) notes that about one-third of the recognized Native American tribes have casinos. Tribes that have opened casinos have greatly reduced their rate of unemployment, as the casinos tend to hire a number of members of the tribe. (They also employ non–Native Americans.) The revenues generated have helped spur economic development on land owned by the tribes. Welfare rates on reservations with casinos have dropped. Tribes are using their profits for the betterment of the reservation and its people. They are building schools and colleges and community centers, setting up education trust funds and scholarships, investing in alcohol and drug treatment programs, financing new business enterprises (entrepreneurships), and putting in water and sewer systems on the reservations. The national prominence of tribal casinos has also given Native American leaders potential political clout with federal, state, and local governments.

There are also some drawbacks. One negative effect is gambling addiction. Many communities where casinos have been built have seen dramatic increases in the number of people addicted to gambling. Such an addiction may lead to higher rates of domestic violence and alcoholism. Another negative aspect of gambling is that those who can least afford to gamble usually are the most affected. The poor spend a greater percentage of their income on gambling than the wealthy, giving gambling the same effect on income as regressive taxes, with the poor being hit the hardest.

Opposition to gambling on reservations has arisen from both Native Americans and non–Native Americans. Some Native Americans fear losing their traditional values to corruption and organized crime. Others fear that as more and more casinos are built, the gambling market will become saturated with casinos competing with one another “for the same dollar.” As a result, the tribes may be left with empty casinos and high unemployment rates. Some tribal members feel that casinos trivialize and cheapen their heritage. The issue of who shares in gambling profits has led in some tribal communities to healed conflicts over who is a member of the tribe.

Non–Native American critics sharply question the special economic status given to Native Americans in operating casinos and demand an even playing field. It should be noted that less than half of the Native American tribes have casinos. Indeed, the rural and unpopulated locations of many tribes prevent them from having profitable casinos; therefore many Naive Americans do not profit from gaming.

5-14 Asset-Based Community Development

Furthermore, service providers are under funding pressure to provide annual evidence that problems continue to intensify—in order for funding to be renewed. All of these factors tend to lead to the deepening of the cycle of dependence.

The asset-based model focuses on the development of policies and activities based on the assets, skills, and capacities of lower-income people and their neighborhoods (Kretzmann & McKnight, 1993). The asset-based approach believes that significant community development only occurs when local community people are committed to investing themselves and their resources in improving the community. This approach believes sustainable development of a community must start from within the community—rather than waiting for significant help to arrive from outside the community. Instead of viewing the residents of a deteriorated neighborhood as being “clients,” this model views residents as being “citizens”—who have untapped resources, assets, capabilities, and potential. The focus is on the community’s assets, capacities, and abilities. In addition, every community has a number of citizen’s associations—where the citizens assemble to share common interests and activities, and to solve problems. (Every community has associations with religious, athletic, cultural, and recreational purposes.) These associations are key instruments in having the potential for community development.

Additional assets in a community include the following: private businesses; public institutions such as police and fire stations, parks, schools, and libraries; social service agencies; hospitals; and medical clinics.

The key to asset-based community development is mobilizing the assets of individuals, associations, businesses, and public institutions to build a community from inside out.

How can this mobilization be accomplished? Mathie and Cunningham (2008) edited a text that summarizes a number of successful efforts in many countries—in Egypt, Brazil, the United States, Ecuador, Vietnam, Canada, Morocco, India, South Africa, Kenya, and the Philippines. The mobilization of one of these efforts, Building the Mercado Central in Minneapolis, will be summarized (Sheehan, 2008).

The Mercado Central is located on Minneapolis’s Lake Street. Historically this area was a commerce center. However, in the 1960s, the area experienced serious deterioration. Established businesses began to close their doors. Homeowners fled this area. City services no longer were sufficient to upgrade the aging infrastructure. By 1970, this area was a “seedy” district with pawn shops, liquor stores, bars, and adult sex businesses.

Today, the Mercado Central is a thriving retail business cooperative that was developed by the Latino immigrant community in Minneapolis. More than 40 established businesses are located in this area. It is the hub of this community. It is a place of pride and culture for Latinos, and for non-Latinos.

The Mercado Central is a central market place where people gather to socialize, shop, celebrate, share news, and share concerns. Traditional mercados in Latin American cities are in the center of a city and are designed to be an informal place for families to shop, socialize, and dine.

What led to the transformation of this “seedy area” in the 1970s to a thriving central market area that Latinos and non-Latinos now cherish?

According to Sheehan (2008), it began in 1990 when five Salvadoran immigrants asked Juan Linares, a social worker for Catholic Charities, to make St. Stephen’s (the local Catholic church) available to community access during the week. The immigrants wanted a place to pray, and gather, during the week. (The church had been locked during the week.) Juan Linares had moved to the United States from Mexico City. Juan Linares’s request that this church be opened during the week was granted. The Salvadoran immigrants then requested some church masses be held in Spanish. With the assistance of Isaiah (a multi-denominational, congregation-based community organizing coalition in Minneapolis) the first Spanish mass was conducted at St. Stephen’s in 1991. The deacon, Carl Valdez, in this area (at the request of Juan Linares) then arranged for 12 bilingual priests to commit to a weekly rotation at St. Stephen’s.

(From the 1970s to the 1990s, this area of the city increasingly saw Latino immigrants settle in this neighborhood. These Latino immigrants were from Mexico, Central and South America, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.)

From these church families, a “sponsoring team” of community members was formed to develop an action plan that addressed the community’s concerns about what the community believed were unfair immigration practices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). This team wanted the INS to transform its interactions with Latino residents in ways that respected language barriers and other concerns.

Juan Linares and Salvador Miranda (one of Isaiah’s community organizers) then began working with congregation members to develop a “Community Talent Inventory” (CTI) that was focused on developing entrepreneurial skills within the community and building relationships among community members. This CTI identified a desire for targeted entrepreneurial training.

Since an entrepreneurial training program in Spanish was already offered in the neighboring city of St. Paul, the provider of this training, Neighborhood Development Center, agreed to offer this training to this geographic area in Minneapolis.

During this 16-week entrepreneurial training, the participants began to discuss how they could develop individual businesses that would be profitable, without competing with one another. The participants agreed to develop a “cooperative” that would allow each business owner to make a profit, while working together and supporting each other’s efforts.

Reflecting on their assets and cultures, this cooperative decided to build the Mercado Central, which is a central marketplace for people to gather, shop, and socialize.

The plan that emerged from the coordinating committee was fairly complex. A plan was developed for the Mercado Central. Land was purchased. A business development plan was formulated for the business start-ups. In addition, financing for the Mercado Central was obtained from about 25 sources—including banks, the city of Minneapolis, foundations, local corporations, nonprofit development organizations, and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

Many residents of this geographic area contributed their time, talents, capabilities, and assets to transform this geographic area from a “seedy district” into a thriving community that is a source of pride and a cultural treasure.

An asset-based community development has the potential to turn other deteriorated neighborhoods into communities that will prosper and flourish.

5-15 Human Rights and Social Justice

In recent years, the Council on Social Work Education has placed increased emphasis on human rights. Its 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) declare the following:

Social workers understand that every person regardless of position in society has fundamental human rights such as freedom, safety, privacy, an adequate standard of living, health care, and education. Social workers understand the global interconnections of oppression and human rights violations, and are knowledgeable about theories of human need and social justice and strategies to promote social and economic justice and human rights. Social workers understand strategies designed to eliminate oppressive structural barriers to ensure that social goods, rights, and responsibilities are distributed equitably and that civil, political, environmental, economic, social, and cultural human rights are protected.

Reichert (2007), however, points out that “human rights” has received very limited attention in social work curriculum, course materials, and lectures. Often, a human rights focus is “invisible” in social work curriculum. Social work literature continually prefers the term “social justice” in analyzing core values relevant to the social work profession.

Social justice is an “ideal” in which all members of a society have the same opportunities, basic rights, obligations, and social benefits. Integral to this value, social workers have an obligation to engage in advocacy to confront institutional inequities, prejudice, discrimination, and oppression.

Reichert (2007, p. 4) compares the concepts of “human rights” and “social justice”:

Human rights provide the social work profession with a global and contemporary set of guidelines, whereas social justice tends to be defined in vague terminology such as fairness versus unfairness of equality versus inequality … This distinction gives human rights an authority that social justice lacks. Human rights can elicit discussion of common issues by people from all walks of life and every comer of the world.

What are basic “human rights”? A clear specification of basic human rights has not been agreed upon. A key starting point in articulating such rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDR; United Nations, 1948). The rights identified in this document are as follows:

· All humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights

· Everyone is entitled to all of the rights in the UNDR, regardless of any distinction

· The right to life, liberty, and the security of the person

· Prohibition of slavery

· Prohibition of torture

· Right to recognition as a person before the law

· All must be treated equally under the law

· Right to a remedy of any violation of these rights

· Prohibition of arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile

· Right to a fair trial

· People shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty

· Right to freedom from arbitrary interference with private life

· Right to freedom of movement

· Right to seek asylum

· Right to a nationality

· Right to many; marriage must be consented to by both parties; the family is entitled to protection from the state

· Right to property

· Right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion

· Right to freedom of opinion and expression

· Right to freedom of assembly and association

· Right to participate in the government of one’s country

· Right to economic, social, and cultural rights necessary for dignity and free development of personality

· Right to work and equitable compensation

· Right to rest and leisure from work

· Right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care

· Right to education

· Right to participate in cultural activities and to share in scientific achievements

· Right to a world order in which these rights can be realized

· Each has duties to their community; rights shall be limited only in regard to respecting the rights of others

· None of the rights may be interpreted as allowing any action to destroy these rights

Every member nation of the United Nations has approved this Declaration. Yet it is not legally binding on any nation. Because this Declaration articulates human rights in somewhat vague terms, it is sometimes difficult to determine when (or if) a country/government is violating basic human rights.

Most countries now recognize that safeguarding, human rights has evolved into a major, worldwide goal. Yet identifying violations is currently an imprecise science. It is common for a government to accuse other governments of violating human rights while at the same time “overlooking” its own violations. Reichert (2007, p. 8) states the following:

The United States, compared to many other countries, fails to fulfill its obligation to promote human rights for all … The infant mortality rate is higher in the United States than in any other industrialized nation … and, within the U.S. itself, infant mortality rates are disparate among racial groups, with African American infants suffering a mortality rate more than twice that of non-Hispanic whites.

It is hoped that greater attention to articulating basic human rights will lead countries to initiate programs that safeguard such rights for all citizens. Increased attention to articulating and protecting basic human rights has the promise of being a key countervailing force in curbing discrimination against people of color, women, persons with a disabilities, gays and lesbians, and other groups that are currently victimized by discrimination.

5-16 Social Work Practice with Racial and Ethnic Groups

LO 5

Social workers and other helping persons have many of the prejudices, stereotypes, and misperceptions of the general society. There is a danger that a social worker will use her or his own cultural, social, or economic values in assessing and providing services to clients.

The problematic nature of cross-cultural social work does not preclude its effectiveness. While many white practitioners can establish productive working relationships with minority clients, others cannot. In other instances, minority practitioners are sometimes effective and sometimes not with others of the same race or ethnic group.

5-16aEthnic-Sensitive Practice

Traditionally, professional social work practice has used the medical model for the delivery of services. The medical model is a deficit model that focuses on identifying problems or deficits within a person. The medical model largely ignores environmental factors that impact the person-in-situation. A major shortcoming of a deficit model is that it focuses on the deficits of a person or a group while ignoring strengths and resources. Emphasizing people’s shortcomings is apt to have a severe negative effect on their self-esteem—they may define themselves in terms of shortcomings and, in the process, overlook strengths and resources.

A better model is ethnic-sensitive practice, which seeks to incorporate understanding of diverse ethnic, cultural, and minority groups into the theories and principles that guide social work practice (Devore & Schlesinger, 1996). Ethnic-sensitive practice is based on the view that practice must be attuned to the values and dispositions related to clients’ ethnic group membership and social-class position. Ethnic-sensitive practice requires that social workers have an in-depth understanding of the effects of oppression on racial and ethnic groups.

5-16cStrengths Perspective

Social workers need to do the following:

1. Be aware of culture and its pervasive influence.

2. Learn about their own culture.

3. Learn about other cultures, particularly of the major client groups they serve.

4. Adapt social work skills and intervention approaches to best serve clients of diverse groups.

5. Function in accordance with the ethics, values, and standards of the profession.

7. Be aware of the impacts of social policies and programs on diverse client populations, and advocate for improvements in these programs.

8. Advocate for personnel practices (in hiring, admissions, and retention) in social work agencies and educational programs that facilitate diversity within the social work profession.

9. Participate in training and educational programs that advance cultural competence in social work practice.

10. Provide or advocate for the conveying of information and services (including using interpreters) in language that clients comprehend.

5-16eCultural Humility

In recent years the social work profession has been advocating the adoption of the construct of “Cultural humility” into social work practice. Cultural humility is somewhat related to cultural competence. The two will be contrasted. The goal of cultural competence is to build an understanding of diverse cultures in order to better and more appropriately provide services. The goal of cultural humility is to encourage personal reflection and growth around culture in order to increase the cultural awareness of service providers.

Three factors are involved in a worker progressing toward cultural humility. The first factor is a lifelong commitment to self-evaluation and self-critique. This factor encourages lifelong learning with no end goal, but with and appreciation of the journey of growth and understanding. We never arrive at a point where we are done learning!

5-16fSocial Work Roles for Countering Discrimination

Social workers have an obligation to work vigorously to end racial discrimination as well as other forms of discrimination. The major professional social work organizations have, over the years, taken strong positions aimed at ending racial discrimination. The National Association of Social Workers, for example, has lobbied for the passage of civil rights legislation. The NASW Code of Ethics (1999) has the following explicit statement about discrimination:

Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical disability. (p. 24)

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), in its Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) (2015), requires that baccalaureate and master’s programs in social work include content on racism in the social work curriculum. The EPAS also requires that accredited programs provide considerable content on diversity and on the promotion of social and economic justice. Professional social work education is committed to preparing social work students to understand and appreciate cultural and social diversity. Students are taught to understand the dynamics and consequences of oppression, and they learn to use intervention strategies to combat social injustice, oppression, and their effects. There is an Association of Black Social Workers that has been very active in combating racial prejudice and discrimination.

In working to end racial and other forms of discrimination, social workers can take on a variety of roles. They can be  advocates for equal treatment for those who are being oppressed or discriminated against. They can be  analysts of societal conditions that result in institutional racism and then be advocates for the development of programs to counter such racism. They can be  initiators of action by seeking to inform social service systems and the political systems of social injustices and then advocating for changes in policies and programs. At times, they can fulfill an  educator role by giving information on options to counter oppression and by conveying information on how to organize and advocate for change. If several organizations are working somewhat independently to counter related forms of discrimination and oppression, social workers can serve as  integrators/coordinators by seeking to have these organizations form a coalition in which they work together in some organized manner to effect change. At times, social workers may, in the role of counselor, work with oppressed individuals and small groups to problem-solve personal concerns related to being victimized by oppression and discrimination. Social workers may also be  brokers, by linking oppressed client systems with needed resources.

5-17 The Future of U.S. Race and Ethnic Relations

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It is clear that minorities such as African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans will assertively, and sometimes aggressively, pursue a variety of strategies to change racist prejudices and actions. Counteractions by certain segments of the white dominant group are also likely to occur. (Even in the social sciences, every action elicits a reaction.) For example, organizations that advocate white supremacy, such as the Ku Klux Klan, continue to attract new members.

Minorities have been given hope of achieving equality of opportunity and justice. Their hope has been kindled, and they will no longer submit to a subordinate status. Struggles to achieve racial equality will continue.

What will be the pattern of race relations in the future? M. Gordon (1961) outlined three possible patterns of intergroup relations: Anglo-conformity, melting pot, and cultural pluralism.

Anglo-conformity assumes the desirability of maintaining modified English institutions, language, and culture as the dominant standard in American life. In practice, “assimilation” in America has always meant Anglo-conformity, and the groups that have been most readily assimilated have been those that are ethnically and culturally most similar to the Anglo-Saxon group [early British colonists].

Cultural pluralism implies a series of coexisting groups, each preserving its own tradition and culture but each loyal to an overarching American nation. Although the cultural enclaves of some immigrant groups, such as the Germans, have declined in importance in the past, many other groups, such as the Italians, have retained a strong sense of ethnic identity and have resisted both Anglo-conformity and inclusion in the melting pot. (pp. 363–365)

Members of some European ethnic groups such as the British, French, and Dutch formed the dominant culture of the United States. Other European ethnic groups such as the Irish, Italians, Polish, Germans, Scandinavians, Greeks, and Hungarians are now nearly fully assimilated and integrated.

Cultural pluralism appears to be the form that race and ethnic relations are presently taking. Renewed interest on the part of a number of ethnic European Americans in expressing their pride in their own customs, religions, and linguistic and cultural traditions is evident. Slogans on buttons and signs say, “Kiss me, I’m Italian,” “Irish Power,” and “Polish and Proud.” African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans are demanding entry into mainstream America but are not demanding assimilation. They want coexistence in a pluralistic society while seeking to preserve their own traditions and cultures. They are finding a source of identity and pride in their own cultural backgrounds and histories.

Some progress has been made toward ending discrimination since the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. Yet equal opportunity for all people in the United States is still only a dream.

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