Today was an incredibly difficult day to be a social work educator because of Donald Trump’s win. I looked at the faces of my students, all in despair. They expressed fear, confusion, anger, and shock over Trump’s win. Forlorn faces gazed at me as we all attempted to process our feelings of dread. My students seemed more disappointed in a country that could elect such a president than the actual election. Dreary and dreadful worry over the future of our country, encompassed the room. What will happen to us with an incompetent president backed by a Republican congress? What will happen to the environment and the earth? What will happen to people that are LGBT? Will women’s reproductive rights become non-existent once he appoints a new Supreme Court Judge? Will the mission and values of our profession be ignored? Will minority members and females be attacked? Will our country start enacting censorship? Will our computers be hacked? How will other countries view us as a nation now that we are overtly backed by Russia? What will happen to immigrants? These were some of the questions/fears that were brought up in class today. Fear and dread evaded my classroom. To some degree, we were all traumatized by the election of a man so antagonistic to the mission of our profession.
I tried to help navigate my students through these fears and emotions. Who really knows what is to come? None of us- not I, my students, or anyone reading this blog can guarantee that our rights will be protected. No one can ensure the security of less fortunate countries, now that two military powerhouse nations have aligned. No one case ensure the safe-keeping of immigrants seeking asylum. However, like the social workers we all are, we redirected our conversations to solutions and hope. My student, Sunshine, once again shared her rays and urged all of us to keep trying , working, and getting educated so that we can all challenge an unjust system. Although still sad, we were uplifted by her unrelenting hope and motivation toward change. We, as a class, then spoke about the need for “A Call to Arms” by social workers across the nation and increased advocacy efforts. Micro and mezzo social work simply isn't enough. “A Call to Arms” by all social workers to start emphasizing social justice and garnering a national presence in political matters. Some of the solutions we came up with were: 1) Getting more social workers elected to office (particularly to Congress), 2) making our collective social work voice be heard through advocacy, 3) sharing our beliefs with people outside of the classroom, 3) processing the election with others on campus, 4) making a lot of noise as social workers, 5) remembering the past and our ability as a people to rise above discrimination and injustice, 6) having hope despite all odds, and 7) continuing our educations. Although, we were and are collectively still in shock, we supported each other in our efforts to make the world a better place. We were ignited by a love for our profession and a desire to ensure equality for all people. I admittedly am someone who loves children and can say with all honesty that some of my happiest memories are times when youth were present as a family members or clients. Youth in general love me, and I love them too. Thankfully today I kept encountering younger children. Children were everywhere I went and they literally waved at me, almost as if to remind me that hope is not lost. I ended my day providing counseling to a child attending elementary school. She echoed the sentiments of my students and the children I saw earlier today. This wonderful young child said to me, “Ms. Jessica I was like really are you serious, you can’t be serious. That mean man is our president”. She talked about wanting a nice person to be president. These young children reminded me today that our future is not determined by Donald Trump. Our future is in the hands of our children and I believe in them. I believe that our children will remedy any damage that is done by Donald Trump. Donald Trump was elected, but other “mean” men have been elected and yet we overcame it all. We ended slavery. We secured female voting rights. We regrouped after Jim Crow Laws. We regrouped after the Vietnam War. We got the Civil Rights and Roe v. Wade legislation passed. We regrouped after Presidents Reagan and Clinton attacked welfare and imposed stringent prison laws. We made sure that same-sex marriage became legal. We regroup, come together, and overcome. In essence, we are a nation of resilient people characterized by diversity. We are a population of people capable of creating positive social changes. Although diversity is not represented in our political system, it is omnipresent in American social life. We are not a nation defined by our president or political system. Right now, this very second, we need a social work “Call to Arms”. We must make our political presence an absolute agenda of the social work profession by furthering our advocacy efforts. Now is also a time to support our students and youth. We must have faith that they will fix whatever goes wrong.
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