The video, “Holding Ground,” was motivational and eye-opening to me as a new macro-practitioner. It focused on the history, issues, and effects of revitalization efforts in the Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods in Boston. This documentary chronicled the community building efforts and activities of what would eventually become the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI).
In the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr., brought national attention to the decline of the neighborhoods surrounding Boston, most specifically to both Dorchester and Roxbury, when he called on the city to set an example for other communities around the country in abolishing ghettos and uniting around a creative vision for improving the area. The documentary discusses the problems the area faced over time and pays particular attention to the influx of newcomers after the war. As white, Irish-Americans left the cities to move to the suburbs, blacks from the South, Latin Americans from the Caribbean and Cape Verdeans moved into the area in search of jobs and a better life. Unfortunately, by the 1960s the banks and city government, in an act of racism, had “redlined” the neighborhoods, making it impossible for homeowners to sell their property to the new people moving in. In an attempt to reclaim their investments, many homeowners turned to burning their property to collect on insurance claims. Increasingly, homes were burned, properties were left abandoned and vacant lots dominated the landscape. The vacant lots became dump sites for everyone. Companies would truck in their waste and dump it illegally on the property, much of which was city owned. Residents, many of which were children living below the poverty level, were living in squalor and as a result were getting ill.
Things would begin to change when Ray Flynn became mayor of Boston. In an attempt to win over some of the black vote, Flynn would send in a team to evaluate the area and make recommendations for improvements that would revitalize the area. However, the residents of the neighborhood would not be pushed around. They had witnessed what had been happening in other neighborhoods around the city as improvements were made to bring in revenue for the city, displacing many of the poorer families. They felt the “improvements” that had been completed in some areas served only to benefit the city and the wealthier members of the communities. Nothing was being done to help them. The residents of this neighborhood decided to band together and demand that the mayor and the city listen to them and allow them to participate in the revitalization efforts. They utilized the political activist approach, as mentioned in Fraser and Kick’s article, Understanding Community Building in Urban America (2005). They fought to change the institutional structure that they saw as causing the declining conditions of the neighborhood when they demanded that representatives of each ethnic group living in the community be elected to serve on the board of the DSNI.
The DSNI organized community meetings at St. Patrick’s Church, instituted multi-lingual button campaigns to get the word out, carried out protests and marches to block further dumping on vacant lots, planned cultural street fairs to unite the citizens as a community, held door-to-door surveys and informational campaigns to educate the members of the community. As mentioned in Netting (Chap 5), according to the resource mobilization theory, a social movement needs a collective identity, structure and a strong message. Leaders like Che Madyun, would recognize the need to build a collective identity, uniting all three cultural groups as one in a demand for change. They would eventually consult with city leaders to seek to take back the land that had been abandoned through the use of eminent domain and would buy back the land previously owned by the city. The community building efforts would not be swift, but would need a sustained effort over the course of many years. Today, the DSNI has more than 3600 members, has rehabilitated over 1300 vacant lots in the Dudley St. triangle, built more than 400 new homes and rehabbed another 500. They have been able to build various types of capital for the
community. As Homan discussed in Chapter 2 (2008), a healthy community needs various forms of capital to be successful and continue to thrive. The DSNI built social capital within the community by fostering both horizontal relationships within the community and vertical relationships with government and city agencies outside the community (Netting.) In addition, human capital was developed with the fostering of a youth movement that grooms future leaders, provides scholarship money and incentive to the youngest members of the community and ensures that its youngest members have safe places to play and learn. Political capital was developed as the relationship between community members and city officials grew. The positive interactions between these forms of capital should provide a long-lasting effect that would not have been allowed to happen had the city come in with the original plan of revitalizing this neighborhood without participation by the community.
What I have most noticed through the readings and videos we have watched is that these types of successful changes in communities cannot happen without some form of conflict. As Saul Alinsky said, “Change means movement. Movement means friction.” If there is no conflict, the status quo prevails. But, making change happen requires in-depth planning and a sustained commitment on the part of those involved, AND above all else, participation is key!
Fraser, J., & Kick, E. (2005). Understanding Community Building in Urban America. Journal of Poverty, 9(1), 23-44.
Homan, M. (2011). Promoting community change. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Netting, F. E., Kettner, P. M., McMurtry, S. L., & Thomas, M. L. (n.d.). Social Work Macro Practice (5th ed.).
Marian Wright Edelman is an acclaimed author, attorney, activist, speaker, wife, mother and daughter. She was born in 1939 in South Carolina to humble parents. Her father, Arthur Wright was a baptist minister and her mother, the church organist. A philosophy of service was instilled in her as a young girl by both of her parents who taught their five children that service in the world was required of true Christians. She recalls her father saying, “If you don’t like the way the world is, you have an obligation to change it. Just do it one step at a time.” (Shetterly, n.d.) He did not only lead by his words, but by his actions. During segregation in the south, African Americans were banned from entering city parks, so her father built a park behind is church for the African American children of his congregation. (www.thehistorymakers.com) Marian, the youngest of the Wright’s five children went on to attend Spelman College and Yale Law School. Originally drawn to work in foreign policy, the civil rights movement in her own backyard brought her home. She returned to the south during the heart of the civil rights movement as a lawyer working for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Mississippi. It is at this time that she became the first African American woman to be admitted to the Mississippi Bar.
Bearing witness to the hardship of children living in poverty in the south caused Marian to take on the cause of championing children’s rights as she became a prominent activist for the Head Start program. She would eventually move to Washington DC in 1968 where she would meet her husband, Peter Edelman, an aide to Robert Kennedy. While in Washington, she brought national attention to the issue of children suffering from hunger and living in poverty in America. She would work with both Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. for social justice and civil rights in an attempt to level the playing field for the poor. During this time she would become a leading force in the struggle to overhaul the foster care system, support adoption, fight for quality childcare and protect children who were handicapped, homeless, abuse and/or neglected (Shetterly). In 1973, Edelman who found the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) which would become the strongest voice for children and their families in America. The CDF established their “Leave No Child Behind” Mission and works towards championing “policies and programs that lift children out of poverty; protect them from abuse and neglect; and ensure their access to health care, quality education and a moral and spiritual foundation” (childrensdefensefund.org). Much like Saul Alinsky, Edelman has worked to mobilize her community in bringing together parents, religious congregations, schools and other institutions with employers and the government. While she does not believe one institution is solely responsible for the protection of children, she does hold each institution accountable for their part. Just as she believes we need to address the needs of the whole child, she believes that it needs to be done in collaboration as a society. Edelman cites two inspirations for her work as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois (founder of the NAACP.) Edelman dislikes being labeled liberal or radical, but prefers to believe in the values of private charity and personal service in conjunction with public social justice (Atkins, 1992). At the age of 72, Edelman has showed no signs of slowing down her fight for children’s rights or social justice. She continues to advocate for youth pregnancy prevention, funding for childcare, universal healthcare for pregnant women and children and for a greater responsibility of parents in teaching values and monitoring their children’s exposure to violence in the media. Her latest initiative, “The Cradle to Prison Pipeline,” focuses on the disproportionate amount of disadvantaged children, especially boys, who are being swept into the juvenile justice system (Five Questions, 2007). As a true change agent and social activist, Edelman believes we, as a society, have the power to effect changes for these children.
Unlike Edelman, Uraidah Hassani is relatively new to social activism. She is an International Relations graduate of New York University and is currently the Susila Dharma International Associations representative to the United Nations. Susila Dharma is a human rights activism network that promotes worldwide human rights and a sustainable society (SDI, n.d.) As a student in Brooklyn, NY, Hassani mentored inner-city teen girls and upon return to Chicago after graduation, worked with the Chicago Advisory Council on Women. Because of these experiences, Hassani noticed a lack of positive role models for young girls and a need for a worldwide movement to connect, inspire and educate the world’s women and girls.
Hassani explains that traveling to Indonesia, Columbia and Iran opened her eyes to the plight of women and girls in developing countries. She would pack extra of items she always took for granted to give to families and communities she visited (changents.com/uraidah/biography.) Their appreciation and joy for such simple things taught her how easy it could be to help those in need. This lesson remained in her memory throughout her life and in an effort to improve the quality of life for women and girls internationally, the Women Worldwide Initiative (WWI) was born in 2009. The WWI focuses on mentorship programs, social change projects and an online social network for women and girls that seeks to provide inspiration, information and resources to this population. The overall goal is to empower women and girls today so they may develop the confidence to affect changes in their lives. By creating stronger girls today, there is hope they will grow to be the women leaders of tomorrow who can continue to stand up for themselves, their families and provide a voice for changes that our world needs. Hassani lists the work of Mahatma Gandhi as someone who has inspired her to fulfill this need to “be the change (womenworldwideinitiative.org).” Her lasting contribution to the areas of social justice as an activist for women is yet to be seen as she is still only a newcomer to the scene. If the growth of the WWI in its first two years is any indication, Hassani should be able to have an effect on this issue.
Like Marian Wright Edelman, I have always been drawn to the plight of our children in America. There are so many children in our own country who are in need of assistance and positive role model it both saddens and angers me. These most vulnerable of our citizens often lack their own voice and need strong people to be their voice in securing the resources they will need. I strongly believe that our future lies in the hands of our children and that each child should be afforded the same rights and opportunities needed to achieve and maximize their potential. I also feel that each child should have the support and love of a strong family with positive role models, regardless of the parent’s sexual orientation. It is a disgrace that in many states in our country, families willing to love and care for children are not allowed to because of who they love. It is my hope to live by example and dispel the idea that gays and lesbians are not fit to love and raise a child. Another social issue concerning children that I am passionate about is the struggles faced by LGBT teens and young adults. The visibility of LGBT role models in our society and their acceptance is increasing, yet the numbers of children being bullied or taking their own lives as a result of their sexual orientation continues to rise at an alarming rate. It has always been my goal to lead by example, however, I am beginning to realize that leading by example is not enough for me. It is time for me, in developing my new role as an activist and change agent to become more involved in this fight on a macro level.
In choosing to highlight Uraidah Hassani, I have learned that it is possible for ordinary people, like myself, to make changes in the world. It may be necessary to start on a smaller scale but important to have the vision of making a large-scale, global impact. While she may someday be talked about in history books as having an impact on the human rights movement, right now she is a simple citizen trying to affect change. In studying Marian Wright Edelman for this assignment, I have come to learn that the change I would like to see may not happen unless I do something about it. Edelman has been quoted as saying that, “A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back - but they are gone. We are it. It is up to us (biography.com).” I may be just one person, but I can have an impact.
Sources
Atkins, N. (1992). Marian Wright Edelman. Rolling Stone, (645/646), 126.
Changents: Connecting the people who help the world to the people who help
Shetterly, Robert. (n.d.) Americans Who Tell The Truth. Retrieved February 9, 2012 from http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/pgs/portraits/Marian_Wright_Edelman.php
After reading through various pages of the Community Toolbox I have selected to focus on three potential problems associated with working from a macro perspective that I feel could have an impact on our specific community intervention project.
The first potential problem involves communication, both internally within the parameters of the group and externally, between the group and the target audience. This particular section of the Community Toolbox discusses the need for developing a plan to ensure your word gets out. A clear and detailed plan will help to target your audience more accurately, increase both effectiveness and efficiency and give structure to your group. The planning stage allows for members of the group to brainstorm creative ways to get the message out, establish clear channels of communication so that members don’t feel excluded and instills a sense of ownership of the project for each of the members. One important strategy for ensuring that communication channels remain open and there is a clean flow of information is to address problems immediately as they arise. By tackling a problem as a cohesive team rumors can be forestalled and respect for everyone is maintained. Of course, none of this is possible if feedback from the group is not solicited and acknowledged. It is not enough to ask members for feedback about communication if the response is not addressed and responded to quickly. I find there is an incredible potential for this problem to arise within our own class semester, but especially between the three classes involved in the project. For this reason it is imperative that we meet in the early stages of the project to establish a clear plan for communication. I think we have a good beginning plan in place, but that plan will need to be continued to be assessed and reevaluated to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. We will need to solicit feedback, both positive and negative, from members of all three classes and use that feedback to keep the channels open without alienating any members.
The second potential problem that I thought could affect our project concerns the evaluation of our interventions. The Community Toolbox addresses the need for ongoing and accurate program evaluation. It is mentioned that you have to know what you are trying to measure and the method you will use to determine if a program is working effectively or not. Not only can the group learn from any failures or negative results of the evaluation, but it could also serve to empower the group when the assessment results are positive. Both positive and negative results will help to spur further action, adjust the program as necessary, and motivate the team to continue working towards a common goal. Some reasons which are mentioned for groups choosing not to evaluate and measure program progress are the fear of revealing negative results, lack of time to see an evaluation through, fear of the evaluation process itself and a lack of awareness as to how to carry out an accurate and comprehensive assessment. It is argued however, that a thorough evaluation can allow for a better perspective of the problem, encourage participant ownership and responsibility and uncover strategies that did or did not work. If we can get the participants to “buy-in” to the project and commit to it, then the analysis can be used to celebrate the positives. I believe for our project, an ongoing evaluation, even if an informal one, will help us to adjust our strategies, discarding those that don’t work and building upon the ones that do. It will not work if we don’t buy into the project and commit to see it through to the end. Imagine the feeling of accomplishment we will experience when the event goes off smoothly and awareness of the problem grows.
The third and final problem area I choose to examine was facing opposition or conflict. There is again a need to develop a plan for addressing any potential opposition to our project. We cannot just go into this project blindly believing that we will win everyone over to our cause. There will always be some degree of opposition, and having a plan to counter it will be beneficial. By addressing the resistance and responding effectively to potential barriers we will be better able to build collaborative partnerships with those who might otherwise oppose our project. Waiting to address any opposition and then developing an intervention to that opposition would be counterproductive and waste time and resources. However, establishing a plan to deal with any resistance will allow us to prevent it form occurring and be a more efficient use of out time and resources. By responding to any potential attacks in a positive manner, we will be able to strengthen our group and develop a more favorable public opinion of our project. I found it interesting when the Community Toolbox listed the “Ten D’s” to avoid: Deflection, Delays, Denials, Discounting, Deception, Dividing, Dulcifying, Discrediting, Destroy and Deal. If we can avoid falling victim to all of these practices we should be able to enjoy a positive result from our project.
I didn't realize we were posting the results of our strengths assessment here.....just a little unnerving because as everyone else has noted the Strengthsquest was eerily accurate - here are my results......
Another observation I have made after reading everyone's results is how different we all are and how we complement each other well as a class.
Learner
You love to learn. The subject matter that interests you most will be determined by your other themes and experiences, but whatever the subject, you will always be drawn to the process of learning. The process, more than the content or the result, is especially exciting for you. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence. The thrill of the first few facts, the early efforts to recite or practice what you have learned, the growing confidence of a skill mastered—this is the process that entices you. Your excitement leads you to engage in adult learning experiences—yoga or piano lessons or graduate classes. It enables you to thrive in dynamic work environments where you are asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one. This Learner theme does not necessarily mean that you seek to become the subject matter expert, or that you are striving for the respect that accompanies a professional or academic credential. The outcome of the learning is less significant than the “getting there.”
Achiever
Your Achiever theme helps explain your drive. Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by “every day” you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passeswithout some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more. After each accomplishment is reached, the fire dwindles for a moment, but very soon it rekindles itself, forcing you toward the next accomplishment. Your relentless need for achievement might not be logical. It might not even be focused. But it will always be with you. As an Achiever you must learn to live with this whisper of discontent. It does have its benefits. It brings you the energy you need to work long hours without burning out. It is the jolt you can always count on to get you started on new tasks, new challenges. It is the power supply that causes you to set the pace and define the levels of productivity for your work group. It is the theme that keeps you moving.
Responsibility
Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.
Connectedness
Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The exact articles of your faith will depend on your upbringing and your culture, but your faith is strong. It sustains you and your close friends in the face of life’s mysteries.
Relator
Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know. You do not necessarily shy away from meeting new people—in fact, you may have other themes that cause you to enjoy the thrill of turning strangers into friends—but you do derive a great deal of pleasure and strength from being around your close friends. You are comfortable with intimacy. Once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship. You want to understand their feelings, their goals, their fears, and their dreams; and you want them to understand yours. You know that this kind of closeness implies a certain amount of risk—you might be taken advantage of—but you are willing to accept that risk. For you a relationship has value only if it is genuine. And the only way to know that is to entrust yourself to the other person. The more you share with each other, the more you risk together. The more you risk together, the more each of you proves your caring is genuine. These are your steps toward real friendship, and you take them willingly.
While the name Saul Alinsky was somewhat familiar to me, I could not recall in what context I had heard of him before watching, "The Democratic Promise." After watching, I remembered that it was probably during the last presidential election when conservative Republicans were being critical of his community organizing movement during some news show (probably on FOXNews.)
BIOGRAPHY & SUMMARY
Saul Alinsky
"Prophet of Power to the People"
TIME Magazine
Saul Alinsky was born in 1909 in Chicago to Russian immigrant parents. He grew up in a Jewish ghetto in the slums of Chicago, witness to the squalor and suffering of the Great Depression. He managed to be one of the few who made it out of the ghetto and received an education, as he earned a master's degree in criminology. After graduating he worked with many youth organizations and infiltrated himself into the Chicago mafia alongside the infamous Al Capone, to study the connections between criminal behavior, poverty and power. The first portion of the documentary focuses on the work that Alinsky was able to accomplish both in Chicago and Rochester, NY. The story is told about how he helped to form the Back of the Yard Neighborhood Council (1939) and The Woodlawn Organization (T.W.O., 1959) in Chicago, to address first, the labor conditions in Chicago's stockyards and later challenge Mayor Daly's political machine in bringing the civil rights movement to the north. The formation of FIGHT in Rochester, New York (mid 1960's) addressed race relations at the Eastman Kodak plant. Alinsky's philosophy that a true democracy is one characterized by the participation of its citizens and his efforts to call on the most oppressed people to reorganize and reclaim their own destiny are at the root of his legacy. The second portion of the documentary focused on this legacy and how it continues in America today. With the formation of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) Alinsky was able to lay the groundwork for his vision of creating an "organization of organizations." The IAF continues to work to train future organizers as demonstrated in the second half of the film chronicling the work of the East Brooklyn Congregations and the Dallas Area Interfaith Council. It is shown how Alinsky's philosophy and techniques are still being utilized in contemporary America to achieve change by the groups of citizen's.
ANALYSIS OF ALINSKY'S CAMPAIGNS, PHILOSOPHY AND TECHNIQUES
Alinsky's campaigns began with the effort to gather together all sectors of the community to work on their own collective destiny. He was able to convince labor unions to work with the catholic church in Chicago to make changes in the working conditions in the meat packing district of the back of the yard district. He felt poverty had historically been unaddressed and that the inattention to this social problem was at the root of the problems with achieving social justice. He also worked from the perspective that the government would listen to its people if the people caused enough friction or controversy. He explained that change would never occur if there were no controversy or friction between people and those holding the power. Twenty years after making changes in the Chicago meat-packing district, Alinsky helped form the Woodlawn Organization in Chicago in an effort to challenge the Democratic machine of Mayor Richard Daly in bringing the civil rights movement to the North. Alinsky organized a voter registration drive that substantially increased the voter rolls among blacks, shaking up the balance of power in the city. This brought the power back to the people allowing changes to occur. Finally, Alinsky was asked to travel to Rochester, NY and to assist in the race relations problems occurring at Eastman Kodak. All of these campaigns stem from the influence Alinsky's mother had on him. According to his son, David, Alinsky's mother, Sarah Rice instilled the ethic in Saul that when you see someone in need, you shouldn't simply turn and walk away. It is your civic duty and obligation as a human to take responsibility for that person in empowering them to organize and mobilize to attempt to regain power in determining their destiny.
NOTABLE QUOTES:
"To hell with charity, the only thing you'll get is what you're strong enough to get."
"It becomes a contest of power: those that have money and those that have people. We have nothing but people."
"We'll see it when we believe it."
"Individuals must be responsible for other individuals and that you can't just walk away when you see something that's not right."
MY THOUGHTS
In my opinion, the documentary was well done. It was enlightening and informative. It should serve to remind people what happens when we all become complacent and forget that America is supposed to be governed by the people and for the people. Alinsky's philosophy that change cannot happen without controversy. It also made a strong case for Alinsky as the founder of the community organization movement. It is very difficult to find a leading community activist today who hasn't been influenced by Saul Alinsky's philosophy and techniques for affecting change.
For this blog, I interviewed three ongoing workers at my internship at DCF in Taunton. Their thoughts and responses are documented below.
Definition of Macro Practice: SW1: For me, when I think of macro practice I think of work within and between agencies. It's more large scale work. Sometimes it involves trying to change policies, but most of the time we try to work around policies that can't be changed.
SW2: Macro practice involves being an activist or at least an advocate for your client. You have to be good at working with larger systems and how each sub-system interacts and reacts to the other sub-systems.
SW3: Macro practice to me isn't much different than the micro practice we do here. While we are working with one family or child at a time, we can't be effective without looking at the family alone, we have to look at everyone within their system too. We also have to involve other agencies and services, so I think that adds a macro element to our work.
Examples of macro involved practice: SW1: I think when I write up an assessment or service plan, and I put services in place, like a parent aide or therapeutic mentor or support group in the community I am completing macro tasks. Also, when I go out into the community to attend meetings at schools and review meetings here that is kind of macro level work too.
SW2: I think almost everything we do involves some type of macro element. Whether it's advocating for more services to be put into place for our families at a review meeting, a change of placement for one of our kids if they are not in a good place or even requesting a daycare voucher for a parent who is struggling to find a job. The micro stuff we do is working with the individual families to learn to advocate for themselves and secure their own services and supports. But most of the time this can't happen until we have walked with them while navigating the channels of bureaucracy.
SW3: Some examples would be speaking up at a meeting when a decision is being made that I don't agree with. I used to be really quiet and just listen and then do what I'm told, but now I am pretty comfortable speaking up for what I feel is best for the child or even the family. Sometimes, you might hear that there isn't any funding for something, but if you are persistent enough and have enough conviction in your beliefs they will find the funds somewhere.
Percentage of Macro base work performed each week: SW1: 50%
SW2: 80%
SW3: fluctuates, but about 30-40% .....some weeks more and some less.
Leadership skills necessary for successful practice:
SW1: Good communicator, attention to details, motivator
SW2: Organized, knowledgeable about resources, good writer
SW3: Reliable, engaging and determined
I think a lot of what Hardina talks about in her article applies to the work I have been engaged in at DCF. When she discusses the need to develop a "critical consciousness" in order to begin a discussion and identify the problem, reflecting and exploring the ways our clients experience oppression and then deciding what action to take to attempt to solve the problem parallels the work we do when working with our families. We don't just begin and end with a problem though. We explore other parts of their family and community systems to explore the supports that could be useful to them. Hardina also points to the need to work in true partnership with the client and the particular systems involved (2003). In addition, in the Netting article, the integration of macro and micro practice is focused upon when she makes the point that an individual (or family) should always be examined in the context of their environment (2005).
While many people think the history of macro social work practice in America began with the settlement house movement and Jane Addams, I would suggest that the roots go back even earlier. In Pre-Civil War America, cities were beginning to grow in the northeast and an insurmountable economic divide was widening in the south between wealthy plantation owners and the slaves who worked the land. "Friendly visitors" in the north became interested in social problems such as poverty and urbanization, women in Seneca Falls, New York began to fight for women's rights, while abolitionists in the south fought for an end to slavery For me, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner truth, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman and John Brown were among the first social activists - long before Jane Addams and Mary Richmond began their work. After the conclusion of the Civil War, the creation of the Freedmen's Bureau and the American Red Cross worked to provide relief to oppressed population (University of Michigan, 2001.)
It was the rapid industrialization and urbanization following the conclusion of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery that brought about the need for the Settlement House Movement in the northeast and midwest. The birth of social work was a result of this turn in focus from the charity organizations of the time immediately following the civil war, to more of a social justice focus as evidenced by the settlement house movement (Netting, 2005.) This need was compounded by the waves of immigrants landing on America's shores in search of a better life. The establishment of Hull House (1888) in Chicago by Jane Addams and other such settlement houses across the north provided a place for people to not only access services, but to also meet with others, share ideas and concerns and gather their collective resources in a collaborative effort to improve social conditions. While Addams and others were working on the totality of the problems of the time, preventing disease, problems with housing and child labor laws on a larger scale, social workers like Mary Richmond were working with the individuals to empower them to become advocates for themselves - Richmond brought the focus from the individual to place an emphasis on the greater social concerns. This would later be considered the root of the systems theory as Richmond examined the interaction between the person and their environment. These early settlement leaders and pioneers in social work would have a lasting impact on major social issues like women's suffrage, civil rights, labor laws, housing and child welfare (socialworkers.org, NASW)
In the early 1930's, following the Great Depression (1929), there was a move to focus on social problems. Franklin Delanore Roosevelt with Frances Perkins authored the policies and legislation that became known as the New Deal. This New Deal established the Social Security Act giving protections to the elderly, the disabled, children and the unemployed. There was also a move towards the establishment of self-help groups, beginning with the birth of Alcoholics Anonymous, founded by Robert Holbrook Smith and Bill Wilson. This particular self-help group, and the hundreds more which have since sprung forth form their model, typify the empowerment approach and the need for consumer participation which evolves after the conclusion of World War II (Hardina.) Also happening as a result of government's involvement in addressing social problems was the beginning of the community organization movement. Of course this attention to social problems and government's attention to them, brought about much criticism as some political leaders (think McCarthyism), made claims that social programs were communist or socialist in nature. These community organizations would however, continue to play an important role in macro social work throughout the 1960's and 70's. During the Kennedy administration and later during Johnson's "War on Poverty" the social justice and civil rights movements would become pivotal events in the evolution of macro practice as we know it today. Johnson's War on Poverty gave birth to organizations such as Head Start, JobCorps, Upward Bound and Legal Aid through the Equal Opportunity Act and social welfare programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Housing and Urban Development (HUD.) Unfortunately, the country would once again face difficult times and the "Reaganomics" of the 1980's would wreak havoc on social programs. Attacks by the Reagan administration on the welfare system would abound as the income gap between the socio-economic classes in America would continue to widen. A look to Americans to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" placed the responsibility for one's situation squarely on their own shoulders, removing blame or responsibility from our government. The "War on Terror" that began after the attacks of September 11th would see more cuts in social programs as America's financial resources were diverted to our nation's defense. This would make it even more difficult for social workers to find the services and programs to assist their clients. These cumulative cuts would continue to burden the disappearing middle and ever-growing lower class leading to where we are today. The income gap has never been as wide as it is. For macro social workers, the need to partner with our community members and neighbors for social change and self-advocacy is apparent. The recent "Occupy" movement has swept the country and is already showing the power citizens can achieve when they organize collaboratively for a common goal.
This 1964 Johnson campaign ad could easily apply to the economic situation in America today.
In the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr., brought national attention to the decline of the neighborhoods surrounding Boston, most specifically to both Dorchester and Roxbury, when he called on the city to set an example for other communities around the country in abolishing ghettos and uniting around a creative vision for improving the area. The documentary discusses the problems the area faced over time and pays particular attention to the influx of newcomers after the war. As white, Irish-Americans left the cities to move to the suburbs, blacks from the South, Latin Americans from the Caribbean and Cape Verdeans moved into the area in search of jobs and a better life. Unfortunately, by the 1960s the banks and city government, in an act of racism, had “redlined” the neighborhoods, making it impossible for homeowners to sell their property to the new people moving in. In an attempt to reclaim their investments, many homeowners turned to burning their property to collect on insurance claims. Increasingly, homes were burned, properties were left abandoned and vacant lots dominated the landscape. The vacant lots became dump sites for everyone. Companies would truck in their waste and dump it illegally on the property, much of which was city owned. Residents, many of which were children living below the poverty level, were living in squalor and as a result were getting ill.
community. As Homan discussed in Chapter 2 (2008), a healthy community needs various forms of capital to be successful and continue to thrive. The DSNI built social capital within the community by fostering both horizontal relationships within the community and vertical relationships with government and city agencies outside the community (Netting.) In addition, human capital was developed with the fostering of a youth movement that grooms future leaders, provides scholarship money and incentive to the youngest members of the community and ensures that its youngest members have safe places to play and learn. Political capital was developed as the relationship between community members and city officials grew. The positive interactions between these forms of capital should provide a long-lasting effect that would not have been allowed to happen had the city come in with the original plan of revitalizing this neighborhood without participation by the community.
What I have most noticed through the readings and videos we have watched is that these types of successful changes in communities cannot happen without some form of conflict. As Saul Alinsky said, “Change means movement. Movement means friction.” If there is no conflict, the status quo prevails. But, making change happen requires in-depth planning and a sustained commitment on the part of those involved, AND above all else, participation is key!
