Over the previous decade, MSW@USC has graduated 1000’s of social employees who’ve got down to create change on the native, nationwide and international ranges. Rep. Karen Bass, a California Democrat who earned her MSW on the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck College of Social Work in 2015, is amongst USC’s rising community for good that has taken the strategy of advocating for change by way of coverage.
In November 2020, Bass was re-elected to her sixth time period representing the 37th Congressional District. She serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs the place she is the chair of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights. As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in 2019 and 2020, she advocated for extra focused assist to handle the wants of communities of colour through the COVID-19 pandemic and launched the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (PDF, 345 KB), which handed the Home of Representatives in March.
Renee Smith-Maddox, scientific professor and variety liaison on the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck College of Social Work, talked with Bass about coverage affecting communities of colour. Bass’ message was clear: Social employees can play a useful function in selling fairness and justice at micro, mezzo and macro ranges.
“Irrespective of which stage you’re, irrespective of which space you go into in social work, I simply can’t let you know how a lot you’re wanted,”
-Karen Bass
How can social employees assist to advance practices and insurance policies that create change? Because the MSW@USC program celebrates 10 years of training the following era of social employees, let’s replicate on the teachings Bass shared that may proceed to evolve the follow.
1. Working with folks of assorted cultures and ethnicities requires immersion of their communities.
Whereas working at an company offers worthwhile expertise and coaching for social employees, college students shouldn’t restrict their interactions with the group to the company setting. Bass encourages social work college students to place within the effort to be taught concerning the communities the place their businesses are based mostly and to construct genuine relationships with group members by way of direct interactions.
“It’s not about studying one thing. It’s not about simply working towards inside the company,” Bass mentioned. “It’s about going out and studying the neighborhoods, studying the surroundings [and] studying the historical past.”
2. Advancing racial fairness begins with acknowledging our historical past and studying how to talk about it truthfully.
Bass defined that many individuals don’t have an correct understanding of historical past, particularly the historical past of race in America, as a result of our techniques of educating historical past focus solely on the constructive tales.
“The common American has no concept that enslavement lasted for 256 years and [does not] perceive why Black folks nonetheless discuss it, or that for 100 years after the interval of enslavement there was apartheid by Jim Crow, [or] the truth that affirmative motion lasted for a nanosecond earlier than it was attacked and nearly eradicated.”
-Karen Bass
Social employees should be proactive in educating themselves concerning the racial historical past of the nation to raised perceive what they’re combating for.
“We’ve by no means discovered a approach to discuss race and be snug with it,” Bass mentioned. “I feel it’s a must to perceive that your self earlier than and when you’re out selling racial fairness.”
3. Tackling racism contains analyzing societal constructions.
When most individuals discuss race on this nation, they have an inclination to take an individualistic lens, Bass defined. Quite than constructions in society, they concentrate on particular person beliefs, emotions and points.
“So long as we discuss it like that versus analyzing the constructions of society, folks really feel responsible. They really feel like, ‘Oh, my God. Did I do one thing? Did I say the precise factor?’” she mentioned. “That’s at all times necessary, however it’s secondary to the boundaries that exist in society.”
Bass pointed to the tutorial achievement hole for example. The COVID-19 pandemic is simply exacerbating present inequalities in training. Many mother and father who’re important employees or who can not afford to take off work aren’t in a position to keep house with their kids to work by way of a Zoom lesson. The repercussions of that can require consideration.
“That’s nobody particular person’s fault, so there’s no motive so that you can really feel responsible about it,” she mentioned. “However that’s structural racism.”
4. Participating lawmakers is a vital part to advocating to your purchasers.
There are only a few social employees in Congress, or on the Metropolis Council or Board of Supervisors, which leaves lawmakers to make vital choices in a vacuum, Bass defined.
“When you don’t converse up and get entangled on behalf of your purchasers and also you don’t work together, then you’ll primarily be in a passive mode whereas we make choices about you and about what you’re doing and about your purchasers. So your voice is completely vital.”
-Karen Bass
Bass encourages social employees to achieve out on to their members of Congress and work with places of work to arrange conferences the place they’ll share suggestions on coverage. They will additionally work by way of congressional places of work to attach with different elected officers concerned in sure coverage points. Nonetheless, she reminds everybody to do their homework about what suggestions apply to their metropolis, county or state or the federal authorities to make sure they’re assembly with the right officers.
5. Storytelling will help to maneuver the needle on coverage.
Information is a crucial part of advocacy work. However social employees shouldn’t underestimate the significance of sharing the tales of their purchasers with policymakers. Tales can seize the eye of busy elected officers and have an effect on them emotionally. Bass reminded social employees that they’re the consultants in coverage as a result of they’re residing it, and the perception they supply will be priceless.
“What you’re doing is simply so necessary, and typically within the work that you simply do day-to-day, you don’t essentially really feel valued,” she mentioned. “However know that we worth you. We’d like you to be on the market. I desperately want your tales to again up what I’d know in my intestine.”
Advocacy and Racial Fairness Assets for Social Staff
The USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work is committed to dismantling racism and promoting racial justice. The college has assembled assets for college kids who wish to be taught extra about how to engage in practices that work toward equity and inclusion.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the most important skilled group for social employees, promotes racial fairness by way of its coverage agenda in addition to coaching {and professional} improvement alternatives for these within the area. Go to the online pages beneath to be taught extra about how the group and its California chapter are serving to social employees create change.
- NASW Advocacy page highlights the affiliation’s advocacy priorities with alternatives to affix sign-on letters and obtain legislative alerts.
- NASW Policy Issues page options key coverage points for the affiliation and federal social coverage suggestions for the brand new administration and Congress.
- NASW Social Justice page highlights the group’s social justice priorities with briefs on particular points comparable to policing, refugee resettlement and gun violence.
- NASW Racial Equity page offers coaching and assets from numerous NASW chapters designed to advertise anti-racism efforts.
- NASW-CA Advocacy and Political Action page options the California chapter’s 2021 coverage agenda and has tips about how you can have interaction lawmakers instantly and thru the media.
- NASW-CA Racism and Social Justice page offers anti-racism assets with persevering with training programs associated to race.
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) homes the Center for Diversity and Social & Economic Justice, which affords assets for educators, college students, practitioners and policymakers to raised have interaction with and advocate for numerous populations and deal with techniques that perpetuate inequity. The Middle’s Educator|Useful resource of the Month affords steering for educators on how to teach competencies related to diversity and social justice.
Quotation for this content material: The MSW@USC, the online Master of Social Work program on the College of Southern California.
