Discussion Post: Diversity, Human Rights, and Social Justice
How often do you reflect upon the influence class has had on your life? Do you take your way of life for granted and assume others face the same opportunities or lack of opportunities that you face or are you keenly aware of the disparities that exist between the economic classes on a day-to-day basis? Your past personal experiences with classism likely vary from that of your colleagues as do your other cultural experiences. However, you now share in common the responsibility and identity of a social worker.
You meet the Hernandez family. As you observe the Hernandez family's daily successes and challenges, reflect on how issues of privilege, power, and inequality converge into classism. As you get to know the Hernandez family this week, analyze your personal experiences with classism and identify the role of classism in working with social work clients.
Learning Objectives
o Analyze personal experiences with classism
o Apply social work skills to address the impact of classism on clients
o Analyze social work case studies related to classism from a multicultural social work perspective
Part I: Classism
Income and wages are measurable indicators of how prosperity is distributed amongst social class. Wealth, often determined by an individual's net worth (assets minus liabilities), is another indicator that is used to determine class. Wealth for working class families is measured by their cars, savings, and home. As people improve their social and economic standing, wealth may include things like stocks and bonds, commercial real estate, and expensive jewelry.
Wealth is an important indicator because it spans past, present, and future generations. For example, compare the children of parents who can save money and leave an inheritance with children of parents who economically struggle and have few assets to pass on to the next generation.
Historically, the creation and accumulation of wealth provides evidence of the legacy of racism, sexism, and discrimination and their role in determining class. Black/African Americans, women, and Hispanic/Latinos have historically been denied the means to obtain assets and grow wealth. Consider the impact of chronic marginalization on the Black/African American community's ability to build wealth. While the income gaps between various ethnic groups may be decreasing, the gap between assets remains wide.
Data from the Pew Research center show that the median wealth of Caucasian households is 20 times that of Black/African American households and 18 times that of Hispanic/Latinos households in the U.S. (Pew Research Center, 2011).
Class extends beyond wealth and other financial indicators. Class also includes details like the amount of free time you enjoy (because you are not working three jobs to make ends meet) or feeling like there is a "right" way to speak and act in order to be heard. For this Discussion, analyze how classism has impacted your life.
Task
Post an analysis of how classism has factored into your life. Then, explain a strategy you might use as a social worker to address the impact of class and class differences on the lives of your clients.
Part II: Power, Privilege, and Classism
Power, privilege, and classism are interconnected. The more privilege you enjoy, the more power you have to access opportunities that build wealth. The more wealth you can amass, the higher your social standing. It is important to note that having wealth is not an indictment. However, the privileges that have often led to inequalities in wealth distribution are real. As a social worker, you may find yourself working with clients who do not enjoy the privileges you knowingly or unknowingly enjoy. The more you understand your own relationship to power, privilege, and class, the better you will understand your clients' realities. For this Discussion, review how classism is represented in the Hernandez family.
Task
1) An explanation of how classism is demonstrated in the Hernandez video.
2) Identify specific barriers to social services that the Hernandez family experiences because of their class status (e.g., working poor).
3) Explain how the intersection of class (e.g., working poor), ethnicity (e.g., Hispanic), and migration history (e.g., move from Puerto Rico to mainland) may further impact the Hernandez's experience.
4) Identity 2-3 strengths in the Hernandez family.
5) Provide recommendations for how social workers might address issues of classism present in the Hernandez case.
6) Explain how recommendations would address class issues.
The response must include a reference list. One-inch margins, double-space, Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font and APA style of writing and citations.