Introduction Imagine living in a town that was once thriving with successful businesses to a community that barely exist. As you travel down the deserted roads of your community you are surrounded by boarded up memorable buildings, deteriorating homes, and empty storefronts. The water tower that stands tall for all to see is now covered by rust. While the streets in which you are traveling on show signs of frequent patchwork in an effort to salvage the road. As you pass by what once was your favorite mom and pop’s restaurant you began to reminisce on the time you spent there with loved ones. This has become the story of residents in Boley, Oklahoma; one of the first all black towns in the state. History In 1903 the community of Boley was established on 160 acres of land belonging to a woman named Abigail Barnett; who inherited the land from her Creek freedman father James Barnett. At that time Boley, Oklahoma was considered one of the largest thriving black towns in America. However, it was not incorporated until 1905 after a petition was signed by citizens of Boley. This petition was lead by attorney Lake Moore, entrepreneur Thomas M. Haynes, and J. B. Boley, a Caucasian railroad worker of the Fort Smith and Western Railway (O'Dell, 2007). After being incorporated the town began circulating advertisement to encourage blacks to settle in Boley. As a result of their efforts the town experienced a rapid growth in the number of blacks who viewed Boley as a safe haven from southern states. Over the year’s prominent people all across the country traveled to the town of Boley, Oklahoma. For instance, on two separate occasions the legendary Booker T. Washington visited the town of Boley. During his second visit Booker T. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ich individuals and systems respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and other diversity factors (including, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and family status) in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, and communities and protects and preserves the dignity of each (National Association of Social Workers, 2007). The entire population of non-incarcerated individuals in Boley is African American but cultural diversity can be seen in the different ages, religions, and gender. At the John Lilley Correctional Center located in Boley, Oklahoma there is a lack of gender diversity because the prison is an all male’s facility. However, the population is still very diverse ranging from different ages and races.
Ideas of community, social progress, and culture are an ever-evolving social work issue. How do we as social workers choose to approach needs of groups and communities at the macro level? In order to grasp an understanding of true helping systems it is important for one to have a range of knowledge to justly participate within the formal helping structures an models that comprise of the social work field. In attempt to create our identity as active justice based social workers it is essential for one to conceptualize the framework of intersectionality. According to Kirsten-Ashmen, “Intersectionality involves the idea that people are complex and can belong to multiple, overlapping diverse groups “The intersectional perspective acknowledge the breath of the human experience, instead of conceptualizing social relationships and identities separately in terms of either race or class or gender or age or sexual orientation”; rather an intersectional approach focuses on the “interactional affects” of belonging to multiple groups (p. 48).” In order to remain committed to intersectionality I will apply theories and models to a progressing community in the city of Boston. A critical analysis of the strengths and weakness within each theory related to the specific community will be discussed. I will expose the intersecting layers, allowing for identity development through the lens of the macro social worker. I will begin by discussing my experience through the research process with my team members. After giving a detailed description of the project we can further explore the empowerment theory and systems theory to better explain the development of Dudley Street. The two theories are able to give an understanding of Roxbury’s forward progre...
While whites lived comfortable lives in their extravagant mansions and driving their fancy cars blacks had to live in a disease infested neighborhood with no electricity or in door plumbing. Approximately one thousand people lived in shacks that were squeezed together in a one-mile zone. The alleys were filled with dirt, rats, human wasted and diseases. Blacks lived in houses made of “old whitewash, a leaking ceiling of rusted Inx propped up by a thin wall of crumbling adobe bricks, two tiny windows made of cardboard and pieces of glass, a creaky, termite-eaten door low for a person of average height to pass through...and a floor made of patches of cement earth”(31). Living in such a degrading environment kills self-esteem, lowers work ethic and leaves no hope for the future.
With there being several areas in the human service field that sparks my interest, the one that is more important to me is equality/ human rights. I believe that all people should be treated equally and allowed the opportunity to succeed in life without any type of discrimination. Therefore, similar to my own thoughts and beliefs I must say that culture influences this area of the human services field a lot. Emphasis ...
Blacks in the Tulsa area lived a life much greater than what most of their color experienced. They lived in a racially segregated section of the city known as Greenwood (Brophy 4). Most African Americans were
Although Boston was perceived to be a free and racially balanced state, the people of Boston never welcomed diversity. The city of Bos...
The purpose of this book is to educate. The facts of what mass incarceration has done particularly to African American communities are astounding
Between 1882 and 1952 Mississippi was the home to 534 reported lynchings’ more than any other state in the nation (Mills, 1992, p. 18). Jim Crow Laws or ‘Black Codes’ allowed for the legalization of racism and enforced a ‘black way’ of life. Throughout the deep-south, especially in rural communities segr...
Mozell C. Hill, “The All-Negro Communities of Oklahoma: The Natural History of a Social Movement,” Journal of Negro History 31 (July 1946), 254-68.
Grant and Jefferson are on a journey. Though they have vastly different educational backgrounds, their commonality of being black men who have lost hope brings them together in the search for the meaning of their lives. In the 1940’s small Cajun town of Bayonne, Louisiana, blacks may have legally been emancipated, but they were still enslaved by the antebellum myth of the place of black people in society. Customs established during the years of slavery negated the laws meant to give black people equal rights and the chains of tradition prevailed leaving both Grant and Jefferson trapped in mental slavery in their communities.
A client may expect a social worker of the same gender to agree with their own perspective. For example, in a couple going to marriage counseling with a female social worker, the wife may expect the social worker to take her side, while the husband may expect to receive little support. A social worker could also push how they feel about their gender on a client. For example, a female social worker may not approve of how a female client dresses and expect the client to dress the way she does or did at that client’s age. A client who is from the same culture as the social worker may expect the social worker to follow cultural norms, even if those norms are not in line with the NASW’s Code of Ethics. A social worker with a similar cultural background as a client may only offer certain resources, assuming the client will only accept resources that fit into the culture. Clients in the same age bracket as a social worker may feel the social worker is more of a friend and the social worker may find it difficult to earn the respect of a
A social worker must present themselves as a learner and understand clients from all experts of their own experiences. To show your respect to the clients as a social worker you must be able to show that you understand complexity of cultural identity. Cultural competence targets social workers knowledge of development, focusing on culturally specific demographics, characteristics, values, and intravenous technique. When dealing with cultural sensitivity a worker’s genuine appreciation of the client’s uniqueness and universalistic respect for the client’s humanness is needed. To have success in multicultural practice, cultural responsiveness come in to play, which means to be culturally responsive, social workers use dialogue skills that place the client’s construction of reality at the center of the
One must consider the nature of oppression and how it is present within social work. The nature of oppression infiltrates all aspects of life. Social work theorist, defines oppression as “relations that divide people into dominant or superior groups and subordinate or inferior ones. These relations of domination consist of the systematic devaluing of the attributes and contributions of those deemed inferior, and their exclusion from the social resources available to those in the dominant group”. When humans experience a perceived threat to their personal identities and lack the ability to maintain and affirm a unique identity, they exclude others by contrasting themselves against a constructed, and inferior, identity of the other. To better
In social work, a social worker has to come to the client’s level and start from there. The client does not have to come to the social workers level. In order for this to happen the social worker has to know the importance of culture, race, gender, sexual, diversity and other forms of diversity to make the best decision for choosing a type of intervention. Understanding the client’s culture, race, gender, sexual diversity and other form of diversity is important because they affect each person differently. An example, Roberto is Latino and in their culture they believe in machomism, so this is something his social worker needs to know when addressing Roberto or someone of the Latino culture. Hispanic women bring machomism
Ethnic minorities seeking services should have access to culturally sensitive social workers, who acknowledge and confront practical dilemmas when working with increasing numbers of culturally diverse people in the community. Professionals working with minority groups, “must provoke moral sensibility, political consciousness, and social action” (Aponte, Rivers, & Wohl, 1995, p. ix). It is imperative f...
Social Workers shall develop an understanding of their own personal and cultural values and beliefs as a first step in appreciating the importance of multicultural identities in the lives of people…Cultural competence includes knowing and acknowledging how fears, ignorance, and the “isms” (racism, sexism, ethnocentrism, heterosexism, ageism, classism) have influenced their attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. (citation)