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Application of Theory
Social work theories are instrumental in explaining people’s behavior and helping people review their stances and prejudices. The book How to be an anti-racist provides insight into where racial prejudices come from and what one should do to eliminate them. While the work on combatting biases is, by all means, essential at a personal level, it is, first of all, a social issue that should be tackled by relying on social work theories that outline the basis of interpersonal interaction. The psychodynamic theory and, more specifically, Otto Rank’s existential ideas can help to explain many of the postulates of the How to be an anti-racist book from the social work perspective, shedding new light on how racial prejudices can be eliminated.
Although there has been a considerable rise in the anti-racial movement in recent years, some of the prejudices remain deeply ingrained in people’s minds. In terms of the psychodynamic theory, this can be explained by the fact that a person’s outlook is, to a large extent, formed by the experience he or she lived through. This experience, working at an unconscious level, may have a direct though unperceived influence on a person’s behavior. Since the history of racism counts hundreds of years while the ideas of abolitionism first appeared about two hundred years ago, the deeper attitude can still be pronounced in people’s behavior.
Nowadays, to be anti-racial, it is not enough not to engage in racial discrimination practices. Kendi (2019) states that “there is no neutrality in the racism struggle,” and to be anti-racial, one should actively voice anti-racial views and concerns. Anti-racial social work should be organized in the form of micro, mezzo, and macro practices. At a micro level, such work presupposes self-reflection to eradicate one’s racial prejudices. The method of self-reflection runs in line with the postulates of the psychodynamic theory that views self-reflection as a basis for personal growth.
At a mezzo level, social work to combat racism can assume a form of identifying unjust norms and creating spaces to fight them as a group. Such a movement as ‘Black lives matter’ grew out of a group of people who saw social injustice and were ready to fight it. While many people feel discomfort about confronting established views and practices, it is essential to combat racism in all its forms. Therefore, creating spaces for dialogue helps to establish a nonjudicial environment where people are not afraid to voice their concerns and suggest actions that may be instrumental in the fight against racism. At a macro level, social work includes joining anti-racial organizations and raising awareness about discriminatory practices at work or in other public areas.
The proposed measures run in line with Otto Rank’s ideas. The theoretician believed that “an individual as a creating force has the power of self-determination which can be used intentionally to shape her or his psychological world” (Koenig et al., 2019, p. 112). Thus, while the influence of ingrained ideas about Afro-Americans on an individual may still be great, it is within a person’s powers to change his or her outlook by will. In Kendi’s view, “being an anti-racist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.” (Kendi, 2019, p. 7). To this end, every person can change if they seriously undertake such a task.
While social work should be aimed at providing opportunities for change and fighting deficient practices within society, it is no less important to work over alleviating a feeling of guilt that people may have when they do not conform to the standards accepted within their family or community. Thus, there may be a shared negative attitude towards people of color in places where the workforce is mainly white. Individuals who do not share a typical perspective may be frowned upon, which will foster a feeling of guilt. Kendi (2019) states that “some of us are restrained by fear of what could happen to us if we resist” but urges to combat this feeling (p. 13). To this end, therapeutic meetings with social workers may be organized where people can find support and encouragement in their fight against racism.
Unfortunately, racism has found its way into every corner of American life, and the examples of racial discrimination are numerous. Kendi (2019), in his book, speaks about structural racism, racism that has been institutionalized to marginalize minority groups. Thus, Kendi (2019) states that “White lives matter to the tune of 3.5 additional years over Black lives in the United States […] starting from infancy, where Black infants die at twice the rate of White infants”. Moreover, structural racism is embedded into many governmental practices where minorities experience additional difficulties in securing governmental services. A good example of institutional racism is the treatment of Afro-Americans and minority groups in the punitory system across the US. Thus, Afro-Americans get harsher and longer sentences by the criminal justice system than whites who have committed identical crimes. The incarnation rate of minority groups is also much higher than that of the white population. In daily practices, institutional racism has found its way into residential business, where agents would not sell or rent accommodation to an Afro-American in a neighborhood populated by wealthy whites.
The above-mentioned practice of discrimination may be well explained by the Critical Race theory, which states that racial prejudices find their way into everyday practices adopted at the highest level. Many laws and regulations have been formed under the influence of prejudices that have been transformed from purely emotional attitudes to the practices of segregation. The theory explains the direct connection between racial attitudes in people’s minds and the environment they form. That is why, to fully and irrevocably embrace the fight against racism, one should not only get rid of discriminatory practices but eliminate the very buds of racism in one’s mind.
Examining Anti-Racism Practices on an Individual Level
To commit to some of the steps to eliminate racial inequity outlined by Kendi, one should start with self-reflection thinking over the practices and ideas he or she adheres to, and striving to eliminate those that are, in essence, racist. Secondly, a person should not let racist practices go unnoticed and advocate for racial equality every time they see an injustice being committed. To combat one’s fear of going against the crowd, one may engage in support groups where people share the same ideas of equality and anti-racial stances.
- While practicing these steps, a person should hold themselves accountable first to themselves and later to the group they belong to. Careful examination of the situations where one could have spoken against racism and did not do it helps to see where a person failed his or her ideals for the sake of socially established conventions. Moreover, the practice of considering a person’s failures helps in the future to remedy the situation instilling him or her with the confidence to act differently next time. Group accountability presupposes sharing stories of success and failures with subsequent analysis of how the described situation could have been improved.
- In one’s work to be an anti-racist, one can be actively supported by family, friends, and the anti-racial groups a person may belong to.
A person should approach anti-racist work with vulnerability because racial ideas may be deeply ingrained in people’s minds, and trying to eradicate them through violence and harsh rhetoric may cause incomprehension and resentment. Vise versa, explaining to people where they might have been wrong and how their actions affect Afro-Americans may foster mutual understanding and make people willing to change.
- It is difficult to acknowledge one’s beliefs as racist because of ego defense mechanisms that work to suppress conscious awareness of a person’s failings. According to Freud, ego mechanisms help individuals “to adapt to the environment,” repressing all thoughts that go against conventional beliefs (Koening et al., 2019, p. 103). Therefore, at a time when racism is finally acknowledged as evil, it is difficult to admit that a person has racial ideas in their mind. The same is true for racial practices exercised by some people who would not recognize these practices as racial.
- Recognizing and sharing one’s beliefs can create an opportunity for self-reflection because recognition of one’s failures is a first step towards making changes within oneself as well as in one’s surroundings. Acknowledgment of a person’s racial ideas boosts reflection processes on how they can be eliminated. Sharing these ideas generates discussion about the best way to tackle the problem.
- To help others in their reflection and learning, I can share the experience of eradicating in my mind ideas that, on careful examination, I considered racial. Moreover, I can tell others about the actions I undertook and the feelings I experienced when I confronted racial injustice issues for the first time. I think my experience can be instrumental in helping others in their reflection on racial discrimination issues and in their learning to stand up against racial prejudices wherever they see them.
References
Kendi, I. X. (2019). How to Be an Anti-Racist. One World. Web.
Koenig, T., Spano, R., & Thompson, J. (2019). Human behavior theory for social work practice. Sage Publications. Web.
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