Moving Beyond Critical Race Theory in Social Work

Transcript:

Amanda Moore McBride:

Welcome to episode four of the Brave Ideas for Social Change podcast series produced by the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this academic year. The series draws on GSSW faculty expertise for fast moving discussions on emerging research, practice and policy innovations in order to spur social change. Today's faculty expert is Professor Deb Ortega, founding director of the Latinx Center at the University of Denver, a consortium of interdisciplinary faculty, dedicated to advancing critical interdisciplinary curricular development, research, scholarly and creative works, all related to the historical, political, cultural and intellectual legacy of Latinx communities. Her research and scholarship focuses on improving systems to families involved in the child welfare system, systemic structural inequities, immigration, health disparities, and the effects of everyday racism on the Latinx community. Dr. Ortega is here today to talk to us about critical race theory, and social work. Thank you for being here Deb.

Deb Ortega: 

Thank you, Amanda.

Amanda Moore McBride:

It's hard to believe, in some ways, that an academic concept like critical race theory, which is so foundational to social work, would become such a potent political talking point. In the past several years, local, state and federal governments have attempted to limit diversity, equity and inclusion programs. And, more recently, nearly half of US states have seen attempts to ban teaching critical race theory in public schools. Ground us in our conversation today. What is critical race theory? What is it not? And why is this idea perceived by some as so dangerous?

Deb Ortega: 

Critical race theory is a way to explain why, despite a number of civil rights movements, civil rights litigation, community activism, and macro level interventions that positive social economic and health outcomes remain in the hands of the most powerful and able bodied. At the time, despite years of research, that builds knowledge and informed interventions we've made little, no, or have lost gains in areas like education, health, and mass incarceration. The same time, many people in this country believe that everyone has the same opportunities, regardless of identity, or identities. There is a perception that critical race theory is dangerous, or anti-American because it questions fundamental beliefs such as that the Brown vs the Board of Education Supreme Court case addressed the unequal quality of education based on race instead of just the desegregation of a building.

Amanda Moore McBride:

Thank you so much for that. That's the basics. Now, take us a few steps further. For you, what key concepts of critical race theory are most relevant to social work?

Deb Ortega: 

So, as a social worker who trains social workers, I would say for me that there are three key concepts. First that racism is not an aberration, it's an everyday occurrence. And it can be painfully obvious, such as police violence in communities of color. Or more subtle like microaggressions. For us, as social workers, this should translate to social exclusion as an everyday happening. And exclusion is really related to a combination of being a national numerical majority, and the accompanying social power. Intersectionality is another important concept. Intersectionality refers to the fact that people have multiple identities, and these identities are ascribed social power and social exclusion. In other words, depending on where you are standing, in any given moment, you might have power. And if your context changes, depending on the circumstance, then you might find yourself excluded, or disadvantaged based on your identity. A good example of this would be a white gay and lesbian people. White, cis-gendered, gay and lesbians still experience discrimination and violence compared to cis-gendered white heterosexuals. However, they benefit from the transmission of educational capital based on their race, family wealth, or knowledge about wealth accumulation, as well as social connections based on their whiteness. This is a different experience than cis-gendered heterosexual people of color who are born here, or who have immigrated here because of generational violence in their home countries. Then, the third concept would be interest convergence. I believe this is a very important concept for social workers to consider. Interest convergence explains why, despite all our work with individuals and communities, our efforts have resulted in little, if any lasting social change. Interest convergence describes a phenomenon in which a powerful and less powerful community can come together because, while their interests are not the same, they may converge around the same or similar outcomes. There then, appears to be some movement or change. But when the most powerful group walks away from the process, all or most of the gains are lost for the least powerful in the partners. Brown vs Board of Education is a great example of this. The popular narrative is that the case was a win for equal education across race. However, we have the same poor outcomes in education as in the early 1960s. What we do not have is segregated buildings. However, many scholars have identified that within the same desegregated schools, which is still happening today, white students are tracked toward college prep curricula, while students of color are tracked standard or even remedial curricula. Together, these three concepts explain why, as social workers, our work is so hard and why, despite our best efforts, we often see only incremental change. 

Amanda Moore McBride:

Although, social work is inherently focused on social justice, we know that racism and other injustices have been and continue to be part of social work practice in the systems we perpetuate. Where have we made progress in understanding racism and the roles of power, privilege and oppression within social work? And what are the hard conversations we need to be having right now?

Deb Ortega: 

Frankly, social work education is an area in which we have made progress in understanding racism. This is because there are many more faculty who experienced racism, or other dehumanization when their families access social systems, like education for instance. Or as they received through the materials they were taught in their own undergraduate and graduate programs. District educators are having conversations about anti-oppressive, and dehumanizing practices, and the complications of work within, or with social systems whose foundations are rooted in oppression. We still have a long way to go, especially in research and policy. Some days it feels like all the conversations are difficult conversations, especially in my area of social work practice, which is higher education. Mostly the difficulty occurs when people conflate their personal goodness with personal perfection. All people in the US are inundated by the same media, news, narratives, television and book scenes, and portrayals. Not a surprise that, regardless of your identity, you absorb language and belief systems that are dehumanizing. For instance, in research, we still use the term "blind review," which equates blindness with lack of knowledge. However, people who are visually impaired, or blind do not lack knowledge, only vision. This would be an example of ableism, but when this is brought to the attention of folks doing research it can be discounted with responses like it's being "politically correct."

Amanda Moore McBride:

Thank you for those examples, Deb. Let's keep on this train of thinking about how we improve. How can critical race theory improve our understanding of social problems more generally, and then the development of interventions more specifically?

Deb Ortega: 

So, it improves how we understand social problems, and then more appropriately selects interventions. For instance, even when we identify that social problems are rooted in macro issues, like racial profiling or mass incarceration, we quickly move to individualistic interventions instead of looking for interventions that address the bias and racism. In this way, we continue to hold people of color responsible for what we know is a social problem. To make things even more problematic, we then engage in research to prove that interventions work, but the intervention has targeted, not the problem, but the person. Schools are another great example of this. We know, based on enormous amounts of research, that disparities in education are based on bias of white, predominantly female teachers, and their impact and implicit bias toward students of color. White students are suspended and expelled from preschool through high school for objective reasons like skipping school, or fighting, smoking and students of color are suspended and expelled for subjective behaviors, such as being disrespectful, loud, aggressive. Despite this, we implement interventions, like restorative justice, that target the students who are in trouble rather than the bias of teachers. I tell students, this is like taking your car to the mechanic, spending a lot of money to get it fixed, picking it up from the garage, and driving a block where it breaks down. The mechanic meets you and tells you it's not how he fixed the car, but it's how you drive. 

Amanda Moore McBride:

You are such an excellent teacher. I love these examples. Speaking of teaching, with students coming from such varied backgrounds, how do you introduce critical race theory into the classroom?

Deb Ortega: 

So, I think it's really important that we produce social workers who have the ability to think critically. So, where we start is teaching very specifically four steps to critical thinking so that they can actually arrive at the same conclusion that critical race theory brings us to. And we incorporate those four steps in the MSW program. And it's been part of our curriculum for many years.

Amanda Moore McBride:

One of the prominent criticisms of critical race theory is that it's divisive, but do you see it differently? How can this perspective actually bring people closer?

Deb Ortega: 

This is where the steps to critical thinking really come into play. So, the first step is about questioning assumptions. The assumption is that our current way of operating, or thinking is not divisive. Clearly, based on things like the shooting of Black people in their church, the shooting of South Asian people in a bar in Kansas, the high rates of murder for transgendered people, political leaders mocking folks with disability, these are all divisive and based on ignorance and lack of education of our citizenry. Critical race theory helps us be compassionate for those who have been excluded instead of protecting those who intentionally, or unintentionally excuse or dehumanize others. Honestly, I'm a social worker because of 21 years of Catholic school in which I was taught that for my moral compass to point to true north, I have to care for others. And to care for others, I have to frequently make a correction to my own path. These corrections are made after I have made mistakes, I've gotten new information, or I'm exposed to different ways to thinking. To be closer, we must stop what we're doing now because, as a social work educator who began teaching in 1990, I can say we have not been getting closer to each other. We have become more defensive and afraid of being wrong. I tell my students that I will make mistakes in class, and that I make mistakes as a social worker. My worth is not based on what I get right, but rather how I handle being wrong. When we have spent time to build relationships with each other, there's a lot more room for forgiveness and space. And that happens when we invest in each other, not when we invest in others so we can feel like good people. Our investment in others should be because others have value. And reflecting that value is the right and just thing to do.

Amanda Moore McBride:

Deb, this has been such a rich conversation. I am so grateful for your leadership at GSSW, at DU, and across the entire field of social work. Thank you for joining me.

Deb Ortega: 

Thank you so very much, Amanda.

Amanda Moore McBride:

Subscribe to our Brave Ideas for Social Change podcast for more conversations like this, including an upcoming discussion related to reforming the criminal legal system, learn more at socialwork.du.edu/change. For more information on the history of GSSW and what the next 90 years have in store for the school and the profession of social work, visit socialwork.du.edu/next90.