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When I was given the assignment to write an essay style paper on anything we went over in this social work class I reviewed the notes to decide what I would like to write about. I was not sure, since we covered so much in this class and I have learned a lot about Social Work from the history of social work to how the profession is today and all the different fields that a Social Worker might work in today.
However I ultimately decided to write about the area of Social work that interests me the most. It is also something that I feel I have had some experience in working with. So I chose to write about the concept of Social Justice and the social worker. So let’s first take a look at the definition of Social Justice in chapter 4 of our book it defines Social Justice. However I would like to sum it up in my own words Justice simply stated means fairness and equality. So that everyone has the same opportunities for empowerment. I do not want to be the type of Social worker who is here to fix people or take care of other people. I am not interested in being someone’s babysitter or care giver. I do think it is part of the job of a good Social worker to advocate on behalf of others when we see injustices present, not to fight for the individual with an issue of injustice but rather to fight alongside of them. This is why I like the idea of Social Justice the idea of empowering others to make the changes they need in their own lives and how to work not only each individual person but on changes that can help the greater good of the most people. I do think the greatest job of a social worker is to help other people to be able to help themselves. I like a parable from the bible that says “If you give a man a fish he eats that meal if you teach him to fish he eats for a life time”. To me that is what Social Justice Work is. It is giving people the tools they need to be successful or to make a changes for themselves and others. The book even states that it is a mandate of Social work to address issues of Social Justice. Also a part of fighting for social justice does involve some advocating on behalf of others for what is fair and just. We cannot be afraid to speak up and stand out in order to make a change in the injustices that we might see.
One of the biggest and most serious types of social injustice that happens is in regards to a person’s civil rights. When we think back to the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. I do see that as a nation we have come a long way, however at the same time we still have a lot further to go. The words of Martin Luther King’s I have a Dream speech still ring true today. Only we can change the words “color of a man’s skin” to citizenship status, sexual orientation, and economic class just to name a few. I think in a way we need to have that same dream and keep it alive today.
I will mention that in our nation we do have the United States Constitution and with that and other governmental acts. If we see a civil rights violation we at least have a statue of law to combat those injustices with. The ACLU fights for these rights of all persons in the United States.
The book also talks about becoming a Change agent. I am now and have been for the last 8 years involved in a group in the Pittsburgh area called the Pittsburgh interfaith impact network (PIIN). It is a faith based group that works with people from various religious congregations to work on issues in the community and to be active in the political arena. It is a grassroots organization that us under the leadership of the Gamaliel Foundation which is based in Chicago, IL. This is the same organization that a young Barack Obama worked in as a community organizer many years ago. In my opinion Barack Obama ran his campaign and ultimately won the presidency based on the fight for Social Justice.
Some of the Social Justice issues that PIIN and myself of taken part in are the Civil Rights for immigrants campaign this was on a national and local level. Healthcare reform also on a national and local level. Locally they have fought against UPMC and unfair worker rights. We have worked in partnership with local unions on labor issues. The last action that we had was around the issues of police brutality against African American males. We are still in action and conversations with the Pittsburgh Chief of Police on this issue.
I was glad to find out that social justice is a part of the NASW code of Ethics. Because I have worked with some people in the past who still think what I like to call old school social work that is give the people some food or rent assistance and sent them on their way. That to me is often like putting a Band-Aid on a compound wound it just does not work. We have to look at the bigger picture and have a vision not of only what the world is like today. But more so of what it should look like tomorrow.