Make Them Hear You!

So, I have a few posts that I need to make so this can be a comprehensive journal. My bad on being delayed, yall. It's been a busy two weeks....So let's just date this one...September 2, 2010.


So, it's Wednesday about 1:30 pm or so, and I'm home because I don't have class. Of course I have five piles of schoolwork around me. While I'm reading, I start hearing a set of sirens. Now, I'm from Brooklyn, so sirens sometimes seem just like a part of nature's music - I pay no further attention. About an hour later, I notice that I'm still hearing sirens. They might have been going on the whole time, but, again, I'm from Brooklyn, didn't notice. About two hours later, I'm like, wait, something must be going on. Initially, I get excited because I just know that what I'm hearing is probably a sign that the man himself, Mr. President Obama, is rolling through my neighborhood. I rush to my window, ready to see the motorcade...and it's just regular cop cars...but like 80 of them! Uh, oh! I turn on CNN and see images that look way too familiar...IT'S MY NEIGHBORHOOD! At the bottom of the screen I learn that there is a hostage situation happening just down the block from me. Go figure. I haven't even been here a month!

Apparently someone was VERY unhappy with the Discovery Channel, so he took over their building...

It's very interesting the different ways that people choose to take a stand for something. While I in no way endorse this man's behavior, and definitely believe there were grave mental health issues, I considered that, in some way, he might have thought that his actions would be the best way to draw attention to environmental issues and encourage Discovery to reconsider the way it does programming.

In class the other day we were talking about how you make an impact in the Social Work profession. In particular, we were discussing how dependence on theories can help and hinder progress in the profession. We explored the ways that theory provides a framework for understanding phenomenon, and we talked about how reliance on antiquated theories, based on research that has not included oppressed and marginalized populations, can stunt the progress of the profession. We looked at this article that my professor wrote about domestic violence as an example. In her research she posed the idea that traditional frameworks for understanding and researching domestic violence often exclude the voices and experiences of women of color. After conducting research using focus groups with African American women from Harlem, she was able to demonstrate that because African American women perceive and define domestic violence different than other populations, it is likely that existing research and treatment modalities will not reflect the experience of this population and therefore would not lead to the development of effective interventions. I thought about how critical this perspective is to the healing work that needs to happen in our communities. I wondered, and asked, what it would take for work like that of my professor to penetrate the existing body of work that people in this profession acknowledge as critical theory? How long before our experiences become part of the main dialogue instead of a peripheral afterthought?

I thought about the stand that this professor and many others like her take often as they conduct rigorous research in effort to give voice to the voiceless and lay the groundwork for effective practice in our communities. While her research article did not draw a parade of cop cars and distracting sirens, I hope that it will make a loud enough noise to cause others to pay attention.