White Privilege In Social Work

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It wasn’t until I started my Masters of Social Work program at Kean University, that I realized how blinded I’ve been by growing up in a predominately white community. This semester was the first time I’ve ever heard the words “white privilege.” I didn’t quite understand what those words meant until viewing a short video in Dr. Pax’s class called, Silent Beats. It was such a powerful and moving experience for me. Without the use of any words, this video depicted exactly what white privilege is. I began to understand that, as a white person, if I lived my life identically to a black person, the outcomes would most likely be very different. This new enlightenment made me appreciate what the Alchemy program is doing for these urban, adolescent males. These boys were all born at a disadvantage because of the color of their skin. At an Alchemy reunion, a college student that had been through the program shared that, he thinks many black youth are subject to learned helplessness. They are taught that you …show more content…
Kwame Scruggs and his techniques are amazing. Dr. Scruggs hit a wall trying to counsel young black males. He said, “It was like pulling teeth” to get the boys to talk. Instead of giving up when he hit that wall, he searched for a new way to reach these boys. That is when he learned about the power of myth. Dr. Scruggs explains that by telling a myth, it removes the person from the situation and allows him to look at life objectively. He teaches these boys, through relating to these myths, how to find the “gold” within themselves. He pauses during the stories and has the boys write in journals the things that resonated with them. Then the boys are encouraged to share with the group. So many powerful topics came up in the groups during this film. Things that I wrote down because they had such meaning to me such as, “Wounded people will continue to wound others until they are healed.” “If there is no enemy within, no enemy from without can harm
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