Wow! So much great content and learning in this module. Three things in particular stood out to me in this module. First, was the connection made while learning about the Native Adoption Era. During this time, Native Americans would hide their children when they saw the social workers coming because they knew the social workers were there to take their children away to adopt them to white families in an attempt to assimilate the children and eradicate the Native people. As a social worker, who as a group is often labelled as those who take away babies, it was remarkable to me that this stereotype had a foundation in racism and white supremacy. That for many people of color, those in helping professions such as social workers, particularly white middle class social workers as myself, are not seen as helpers, but as potential threats to take away their way of life and to impose my view of life on them. Second, I really appreciated the historical explanation of policing and how its origins lie in oppression of black people. Given that this is such a discussion in our country today, this historical context was helpful to me in conversations surrounding defunding the police, what that looks like, and why it matters. Since policing is born out of enforcing segregation and assuming criminality, then yes, a new approach is needed. Finally, the approach the New Jim Crow Museum takes in encourages dialogue and different opinions of its visitors is remarkable. Yes, for white people like me, educating myself on issues of racism and how to be an anti-racist is important. However, real change won't take place until we are able to take action. I think an important part of that action is talking with others, listening to others' view points, and sharing your own, but doing so in a way that invites reflection, and quite frankly, invites us to get it wrong, because we do and we will, but so often a change in perspective comes from real experiences with real people that have different experiences and perspectives than we do and we need more experiences where we are able to talk with one another.
