In many societies certain groups possess more resources and hold more power than other groups. In some of these societies, racial discrimination and racial tension also exist. While members of the societies may openly acknowledge that unequal distribution of power and racism are present in their society, many fail to examine the complex relationships between privilege and racism. Social workers must understand this complex relationship so they can educate and empower their clients. Empowerment is the cornerstone of social work practice.

 

In the book Black Empowerment, the author,Barbara Solomon, writes, “Empowerment refers to a process whereby persons who belong to a stigmatized social category throughout their lives can be assisted to develop and increase skills in the exercise of interpersonal influence and the performance of valued social roles” (p. 6).

Empowerment practice is based on a collaborative relationship between worker and client, initiated to promote the client’s power through self-actualization, self-determination, and the fulfillment of personal goals (Gutierrez, Parsons, & Cox, 1998). Further, this process includes increasing your clients’ awareness of the structural oppression that exists and its impact on them. It is the role of social workers to empower clients and to bring about awareness of the inequalities that exist in society. This is done two fold—through work with clients on the micro and mezzo levels and on a macro level through work in organizations and communities.

Social workers cannot effectively empower clients without first understanding the mechanisms of oppression and how they impact their day-to-day work. Then social workers can recognize the impact on their clients’ lives and apply the appropriate skills.

To prepare: Review the case study “Working With Individuals: The Case of Mary.”

Post an explanation of the relationship between racism and privilege. Furthermore, explain how the concepts of racism and privilege relate to “Working With Individuals: The Case of Mary.” Explain the impact of racism and privilege on social work practice. Provide recommendations for how you as a social worker might use an empowerment perspective when responding to Mary. Be specific and provide examples from the case. Also, identify specific skills social workers might employ. Racism and Privilege Essay Paper

 

 

ADDITIONAL DETAILS 

Racism and Privilege

Introduction

You’ve probably heard the term “privilege” thrown around a lot lately. You might even have used it yourself, but it’s hard to know exactly what it means and how to use it. So today we’re going to explore what this term means and how you can use it as an activist or just as someone who cares about issues of racism and discrimination.

Racism, discrimination and privilege aren’t just issues of black and white.

Racist, classist and sexist beliefs are not just a matter of black and white.

Privilege is the invisible diversity that exists in our society. It’s the idea that some people have more opportunities than others due to their race, gender or sexual orientation. It’s also about how we view our own experiences as a result of those privileges—and how even if you don’t think you have any advantages over others because of them, you still might be benefiting from them!

For example: If someone who is cisgender (identifies with their biological sex) has never experienced gender dysphoria (disorder where one feels they were born into the wrong body), it may feel impossible for them to understand what it means to live as someone who experiences gender dysphoria every day—even though they themselves haven’t had any personal experience with this condition yet! This can make things difficult when trying to understand other people’s perspectives on these issues because there isn’t much information available about trans* people living out their lives openly without being forced into hiding away behind closed doors until death do us part.”

There are ways to challenge power structures and oppression without having a clear diagnosis of the problem.

It’s important to be aware of your privilege and the ways you can challenge power structures and oppression. This can be done through awareness, education, and action.

You don’t have to be an expert on racism or about how race affects people in general for this work—you just need to take a step back from your own feelings about being white or male or whatever else might come up as part of this conversation with other people who might not understand where you’re coming from because they don’t share those experiences with you.

You don’t have to be on the front lines to create change.

You don’t have to be on the front lines to create change. You can support people who are on the front lines, provide them with resources and support, educate yourself about issues and share that knowledge with others, or simply be a role model for other people who want to make a difference in their community.

Activism isn’t always about big groups marching for change.

Activism isn’t always about big groups marching for change.

If you want to make a difference, stand up for your beliefs, be an ally to those who are being oppressed and educate yourself by learning as much as you can about the issues that affect others. Show up for the people who need you by being there when they need support—and don’t forget that sometimes it’s just enough to lend an ear or lend a hand!

You can’t only care about issues that directly affect you or the people close to you.

You can’t only care about issues that directly affect you or the people close to you.

Privilege is invisible

The first thing that needs to be understood is that privilege is not just about race, it’s also about gender and sexuality. It’s also about other factors such as class and ethnicity. For example, if someone has lived in a poor neighborhood for their whole life but then moves into an affluent neighborhood where everyone is well-educated and wealthy (e.g., Silicon Valley), they might still experience discrimination because of their background even though they now have access to more resources than before (which should be the goal). In addition to this example above, imagine if one day your dad had cancer and needed surgery but could not afford it—wouldn’t it suck? Wouldn’t there be plenty more people who would help him out financially so he didn’t have to worry about money at all? Well guess what: those same people won’t take care of themselves either! They don’t worry about how many meals they eat every day; they don’t pay attention when trying something new like cooking dinner or learning how math works because those things aren’t important enough yet…or ever really will be because society values certain types over others based on superficial traits such as skin color/hair texture etcetera…

A lot of privilege is invisible.

Privilege is the opposite of oppression. It’s when a person benefits from social systems that benefit others, but they don’t realize they’re doing so or see the results on their own lives. Privilege can be invisible because it’s not always obvious to the person who has it, but still affects them in some way—like how you might have been born with a certain color skin and go through life without ever noticing anything different about yourself compared to someone else whose color was closer to yours (or maybe even less so).

You might think I’m talking about race here, which I am—but this concept also extends beyond racial lines into other forms of discrimination like gender identity and sexual orientation; even socioeconomic status plays into whether someone personally experiences privilege or oppression at any given moment throughout their life!

Standing up against racism and discrimination can take so many forms, even if you think it doesn’t apply to you.

As a person of color, it’s easy to feel like your life doesn’t matter. You might think, “I’m not racist.” Or “I don’t see race.” Or even “I’m not privileged.”

But regardless of what you’ve been told about yourself and your experiences in this country, there are still ways that privilege plays into our lives today. Privilege is invisible; it’s not something we can see or measure on paper—it’s more than just skin color or gender expression. And while we may think that racism isn’t as prevalent now as it was during Jim Crow laws in the south during slavery times (and maybe even worse), I would argue otherwise based on my own personal experience growing up under different forms of oppression: white supremacy ideology has been passed down through generations since then until now!

It’s important for us all—whether people consider themselves victims or not—to understand how these systems work so we can fight harder against them together instead of leaving them unchallenged because they feel too overwhelming at first glance without any context given beyond one person’s perspective only looking through their own lens instead everyone else needs help understanding what needs changing around them too before taking action towards change #justsayin

Conclusion

There are so many different ways that people can be complicit in systems of oppression, even if they don’t know it. You don’t have to be on the front lines of an activist movement to make change; you just have to take action against what’s happening around you and think about others too.