Introduction Oppression and resilience of people have been in practice since the beginning of human existence. Oppression can be defined as a person or group of people weighted down by a dominant force. This force has the power to define and label groups. They control societal ideologies of every aspect of our lives including sexuality, family relationships, and self respect. Those who have this power hold it sacred and dear. Their fear of a power shift from the dominant to the subordinate or the majority to the minority continues to guide them in enforcing ideas and laws within society that a particular gender or race has little or no value. Resilience is the ability of those oppressed to continue surviving after being compressed by such a powerful force. It is the oppressive forces of the majority group that have smothered minority groups (women and people of color) for hundreds of years and it is the resilience of those oppressed who continue to inspire change throughout history.
Historical Oppressive Forces The Noel Hypothesis is a social learning theory that explains the development of a minority group. It suggest that if two or more groups come together characterized by a differential in power, ethnocentrism, and competition the result will be ethnic/racial stratification (Guadalupe lecture notes, 2008). This theory can also be used to explain the development of gender stratification as well. The majority group in relationship to this paper would be white males especially those who are wealthy and the minority groups, women and people of color. The act of oppressing a particular group begins with pointing out what is different and labeling those differences with negative attributes. Women and people of color were viewed as childlike and needing protection from the world and themselves. They were powerless and uneducated, and keeping them oppressed and ignorant ensured their continued subordinate role in society. White males were assured little competition in the home as head of the house or in the work force and competing for jobs. Historically the oppression of women and their sexuality has been based on the ideas of the Bible. It is written that women are inferior to men and should be submissive and obedient. In the late 1700’s women and girls of all ages were viewed as ornaments of society and the property of men (Wollstonecraft, 1792). Women were traded from their father to their husband and thus did not require education beyond domestic work and caring for their family. This idea continued into the 1800’s and although women were in the public workforce, they were still denied the same rights as men. Women were fighting for the right to vote, pursue an education and define their own careers. They were also fighting for their right to sexual autonomy. Women had very little control over their sexual thoughts or bodies. Freedom within sexuality remained a privilege to white men alone and they protected their rights by passing laws that denied the rights of women. Offenses such as sexual promiscuity, prostitution, being an unwed mother and in some states rape labeled women as deviant and dangerous. These behaviors challenged the dominant group’s ideas of womanhood, and women who disobeyed suffered societal consequences. Young girls were sent to reformatories and women to various houses of corrections, including confinement to homes for the “feebleminded” (Wahab, 2002). In 1965 contraceptives were illegal and before 1970 abortion was viewed as a criminal act. The dominant group felt that if women were able to protect themselves against pregnancies and able to obtain abortions, they were more likely to engage in illicit sexual conduct. In 1970 Roe vs. Wade gave women the right to make decisions about their bodies. In 2008 Proposition 4 challenged that right, disguised as a concern for parental notification when in reality it was an attempt to remove the rights of females in making choices. Today women continue to suffer from the same oppressive ideas that portray them as needing protection from their own sexual depravity. Throughout history women have struggled with defining their roles within their own oppression. They have internalized the ideas of the dominant group and have played a major role in oppressing each other. For instance, in the early 1800’s women groups organized various chartable organizations headed by evangelist who wanted to help “fallen” women find their proper place in society. Agencies such as The Female Moral Reform Society were established to end prostitution, monitor appropriate dress, and to monitor the behavior of women. Women and people of color remain at a disadvantage because society views the dominant group as justified in their oppressive behavior. Labeling people of color as less intelligent explains why minorities have higher rates of high school dropouts. This also affects them economically. People of color are far more likely to live in poverty and work in lower skilled jobs then whites. The internalization of negative labeling creates self oppression that diminishes self respect and can destroy family relationships. For instance, the history of African American families’ was destroyed based on labels created by the dominant group. Black people were stolen from their families, brought to America and were forced to live as slaves. They were given American names and their languages, cultures and traditions of food and dress were erased. They were unidentifiable and lost along with their roles in the family unit. They were viewed not as men or women, but as children. They were dehumanized and made into property. In 1857 the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision enforced the idea that black people had no human value (Platt, 2001). The slave owners controlled their day to day life. The owners even attempted to control who slaves loved and married. They enforced the idea that slaves were incapable of forming family bonds and therefore separating young children from their parents and breaking up families was acceptable. In the years following the civil war black men and women were free to marry and did so. In 1890, 80 percent of black households consisted of two parents. The following decades figures were decreasing, but remained above 70 percent. By 1970, 64 percent of black families consisted of both parents in the home (Raspberry, 2005) and in 2006 that figure dropped to 45 percent (Newsroom, 2007). These numbers represent the result of the broken family bond during slavery and the humiliation and oppression of black men and women throughout the years of segregation, The Civil Rights Movement and even today. Black men were stripped of their positions as protector and provider for his family and therefore weakened the structure of the black family.
Historical Resilience As the number of two-parent black families continues to decline, black people are developing strengths within their communities that provide supportive relationships (Guadalupe, 2005). Many of these relationships resemble those during slavery when parents were sold and children were left behind, the remaining slaves loved and cared for those children. The formation of community support or kinship relationships is a display of resilience in protest to the disintegration of black families. Resilience within a person or group assists with the ability to recover after experiencing life altering events. For example, in 1819 the Civil Fund was created to assimilate American Indians into the white culture. Children were taken from their parents, placed in boarding schools and stripped of their cultural identities (Lomawaima, 1993). Young boys and girls formed alliances and small communities and continued to strengthen their native cultures. Although some ideas were lost, many of the traditions remained and have been passed down from generation to generation. For minority groups resilience becomes a family trait that is passed down from one generation to the next. Within each group, the individual continues to find their inner strength to overcome society’s oppressions and the oppressions that they place upon themselves. It is this strength that leads to community awakening and organizing for social justice. Women as early as the 18th century began organizing within the community and fighting for change. The first women right’s convention was held in 1848 (Platt & Cooreman, 2001). White women and a few white men joined together in demanding equal rights and equal opportunities. That initial meeting introduced the National Women’s Rights Convention which eventually led to pursing women’s right to vote, own property, pursue an education, choose a career and sexual autonomy. Black women’s experience was parallel to that of white women. They too were forming organizations within their communities and fighting against discrimination, racism and sexism. Minority groups were protesting and developing their voice in society. African Americans in the 1800’s were rebelling against slavery and dehumanization both with their written words and through violent protest. In 1831, Nat Turner led the most successful slave rebellion in history. Although it was suppressed and there were many deaths, he succeeded in organizing a group and taking action against the system of oppression. Black people continued this fight educating themselves and organizing their communities along the way. By the 1950’s and 60’s hundreds of riots and protest paved the way for the success of the Civil Rights Movement. Today black people continue to fight for equality within a society that continues to devalue their existence.
Observed Implications for Practice Sexism and racism are two types of oppression that continue to devalue groups of people. Today the dominant ideology continues to enforce that those who are different, be it skin color, culture, ethnicity or gender, deserve less in every aspect of life. Women and people of color share a common struggle to improve their quality of life through education and fighting for equality. As a social worker, working with women and people of color involves reconnecting clients with their identities (gender, age, sexual orientation) and developing appropriate interventions (Guadalupe, 2005). In working with gender, practitioner should be aware that women internalize oppression and blame themselves for the encountered misfortunes of sexism such as rape, poverty, or relationship issues. In working with women the strength-based approach and empowerment would be successful in changing what is wrong in client’s life, to what is right in client’s life and ending the cycle of self blame and self doubt. In working with people of color understanding each ethnic group’s history and relationship with the dominant group is very important in understanding their ideas of oppression and what would be successful in working within that group. The Blauner Hypothesis suggests that groups created by colonization will experience more intense prejudice, racism, and discrimination than those created by immigration (Guadalupe lecture notes, 2008). African Americans lost their cultural and traditions. Many continue to struggle with self and group identity. The internalization of hundreds of years of racism and oppression continues. With increased poverty, poor health care and services, there is a need for advocacy and social action. In working with African American clients, finding the strengths in family and community provide a source for empowerment. In contrast, the immigration of fair skinned groups such as the Irish did experience a form of oppression and discrimination; however it was possible for them to assimilate and blend into the dominant group’s idea of American.
Proposed Interventions In order to promote healing, society must continue to encourage changes through education. People of all ages need to hear the message of equality and justice for all. Society needs to establish a plan of intervention that begins within the schools educating students about acceptance and appreciation of diversity. Educational materials should include equal information about all groups. There should also be intervention through the media that portray positive images of all groups. Women in magazines are often depicted as sexual or helpless and this needs to be redirected with positive images of strong self sufficient women. Television sitcoms should include educated, well paid minority images vs. the stereotypical drug dealers or comical side kicks with limited English skills. The news media also needs to refrain from labeling groups as violent or gang related. In order to determine if the above interventions are successful, I would use a survey with a list of questions (age appropriate) that required definitive answers relating to feelings of oppression and discrimination of diverse groups. Survey would be given to two groups of school age children. The control group would receive the normal curriculum and the second group would have additional information that would assist in developing an understanding of minority groups. My expectations of the results would be that those who were educated about differences within people would have negative views of oppression and discrimination.
Conclusion
Oppression of women and people of color continue to affect individuals within every aspect of their life. Although legally sexism and racism have been removed from legislation, society continues to condone acts of discrimination of fellow human beings. As social workers it is important to develop skills needed in understanding and working with groups who have been oppressed and use their resilience as empowerment in assisting with interventions. The idea that white males should continue holding all the power remains appealing to them alone. With the election of America’s first black president, people are sending a message that time for change has arrived. The implications this holds for social workers is to take inventory of their skills in working with oppressed groups and to change the old ideas that continue the cycle of oppression and promote education to strengthen the future of society.

References
Guadalupe, K. &. (2005). Multidimensional Contexual Practice: Diversity and transcendence. Belmont, CA: Thomson/ Brooks/Cole.
Newsroom. (2007, December 3). Retrieved December 6, 2008, from U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/010969.html
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