Karen Zgoda is an Instructor in the School of Social Work at Bridgewater State University. She starting hosting online social work chats in 2000 and is currently a collaborator and chat host for the #MacroSW Twitter chats focused on macro social work practice. Karen previously wrote the SW 2.0 technology column for The New Social Worker Magazine and served as an AmeriCorps *VISTA member and project coordinator at CTCNet working on digital divide issues . Her research and pedagogical interests include technology in social work and education, macro social work, and research methods.
Inequality goes far deeper than just income and wealth. It determines who can overcome obstacles: some have them cleared from their path, while others have trouble recovering from even minor mishaps. At its heart, inequality is about access, opportunity, and just rewards. For too long, toxic inequality has defined the landscape of our country, dictating where people live, how they fare, and what futures their children face. Its mechanisms can seem invisible, even inevitable. But they are man-made, forged by history and preserved by policy. Changing them is up to us.
Professor Shapiro’s primary interest is in racial inequality and public policy. He is a leader in the asset field with a particular focus on closing the racial wealth gap. He co-authored a groundbreaking study, The Roots of the Widening Racial Wealth Gap:
Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide. The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality, 2004 was widely reviewed. With Dr. Melvin Oliver, he wrote the award-winning Black Wealth/White Wealth, which received the 1997 Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award from the American Sociological Association. In 2011 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study the wealth gap in South Africa.
“It’s on the syllabus” may be one of the most common refrains in the classroom and educator email inbox. It is a phrase meant to tactfully remind students that they may already possess the answer to the question they are asking. However, we do not yet have a syllabus for #MacroSW, and we need your help to build one.
The #MacroSW Syllabus (http://bit.ly/macroswsyllabus) is an open source document created by #MacroSW Chat Partners that enables macro social work practitioners to share community practice resources. It is a free resource whose aim is to gather resources for students and professionals who are engaging in macro practice. #MacroSW is a collaboration of social workers, organizations, social work schools, and individuals working to promote macro social work practice. Macro social work practice focuses on changing larger systems, such as communities and organizations. It encompasses a broad spectrum of actions and ideas, ranging from community organizing and education to legislative advocacy and policy analysis.
If you have questions or problems accessing the document please email us at OfficalMacroSW@gmail.com. You can also connect with us on Twitter (@OfficalMacroSW) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/macrosw). We encourage you to share the link with other macro social workers. This includes sharing the syllabus link via email, social networking account or through other forms of media. When sharing through social networking sites, such as twitter, please use the hashtag #MacroSW.
Submission Guidelines:
Material must be focused on macro practice social work
Why does #MacroSW matter to you? What is your #MacroSW story/journey?
What are your favorite #MacroSW resources?
What #MacroSW resources do you still need?
Help us develop this resource by adding directly to the syllabus here: http://bit.ly/macroswsyllabus Please share with at least 5 contacts!
We will use this discussion to develop the #MacroSW syllabus – your feedback and syllabus additions will help us make sure it best reflects our community, concerns, experiences, and voice.
The organizing chat series was born out of a need to fight back against an anti-social work agenda being pushed by the current president and his administration, but also to start a dialogue about the role of social work in organizing and direct action. Is our work simply to ameliorate the suffering of the oppressed or is it to transform systems to end oppression?
Now more than 100 days into a new presidential administration, this question–and the answer to it–is becoming increasingly critical.
Many social workers are engaging in various forms of resistance both individually and collectively. Whether developing new programs and resources for oppressed people being increasingly marginalized, advocating for policy change, or participating in public actions, social workers are on the front lines in the fight for a just and equitable society. But what does that society look like and how do we get there?
This discussion is the last in the first ever #MacroSW organizing chat series. The first chat focused on understanding power as organized people and organized money. The second chat discussed how we can effectively build relationships to develop grassroots power. The third chat focused on the power of protest as a tactic among many to achieve strategic change. How can we now take these concepts into the real world? And to what end?
In the fourth chat of the series, we will answer the following questions:
What is your vision for a world consistent with social work values?
What needs to change to make make your vision for a better world a reality? What are you doing to make that happen?
Which social work skills do you think are most useful in your work to build a better world?
How can #MacroSW help? What topics would you like to see discussed in future organizing chats?
About the Host Justin Vest is the lead organizer for Montgomery County at Progressive Maryland where he leads issue-based advocacy campaigns and develops volunteer organizers to fight for social and economic justice. He earned his BSW from the University of Montevallo and MSW from the University of Alabama before relocating to the DC Metro area.
At first glance, social work may not appear to be intrinsically linked to protest. After all, we’re more likely to be found working behind a cluttered desk or our car between home visits. But in the earliest days of the profession social workers were integrated within the communities they served. Settlement houses were often used as meeting locations for community activists to organize strikes and other public demonstrations.
Image source. Photograph shows the American delegates to the International Congress of Women which was held at the Hague, the Netherlands in 1915. The delegates include: feminist and peace activist Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (1867-1954), social activist and writer Jane Addams (1860-1935), and Annie E. Malloy, president of the Boston Telephone Operators Union. To the right of Malloy may be labor journalist and activist Mary Heaton Vorst (1874-1966) and the woman wearing a hat on the far right may be Lillian Kohlhamer of Chicago. (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2012)
Since the election of Donald Trump, America has seen a resurgence in public activism in
Left to right: Rudra Kapila, Sunya Folayan, Karen Zgoda, Kristin Battista-Frazee at the Women’s March in DC, January 2017. See more #MacroSW at the March here.
the form of mass protests and actions. Social workers of course have taken part in many of these actions as individuals or small groups, but our profession’s collective presence has been limited. The current administration has taken many actions that are explicitly contrary to social work values. With calls from the NASW and other social work institutions to organize, oppose, resist, and educate in response to an anti-social work agenda, it is time for social workers to consider how we can take bolder action to resist unjust policies.
This discussion continues the #MacroSW organizing chat series. The first chat focused on understanding power as organized people and organized money. The second chat discussed how we can effectively build relationships to develop grassroots power. How can we now take these concepts to develop public demonstrations of our power? And to what end? In the third chat of the series, we will answer the following questions:
Q1: Have you ever taken part in an action (rally, protest, disruption, etc)? What was it? Describe the experience. #MacroSW
Q2: Was the action effective? Why or why not? If so, what did it achieve? #MacroSW
Q3: Are there specific forms of protest or tactics you think social workers should be engaging in? #MacroSW
Q4: Do you have plans to participate in an upcoming action? What is it? If not, what would you like to see in your area? #MacroSW
About the Host
Justin Vest is the lead organizer for Montgomery County at Progressive Maryland where he leads issue-based advocacy campaigns and develops volunteer organizers to fight for social and economic justice. He earned his BSW from the University of Montevallo and MSW from the University of Alabama before relocating to the DC Metro area.
In this episode, our guests Karen Zgoda, Rachel L. West, and Patricia Shelly describe how they are using macro social work Twitter chats to promote support for and education about all forms of macro practice activities. They discuss what Twitter chats are, why they matter, and why social workers are producing and participating in them.
Karen Zgoda, LCSW, is an instructor in the School of Social Work at Bridgewater State University. She starting hosting online social work chats in 2000 and is currently a collaborator and chat host for the #MacroSW Twitter chats, focused on macro social work practice. Karen previously wrote the SW 2.0 technology column for The New Social Worker Magazine and served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member and project coordinator at CTCNet working on digital divide issues. Her research and pedagogical interests include technology in social work and education, macro social work, social policy, and research methods. You can find Ms. Zgoda on Twitter as @karenzgoda.
Rachel West, LMSW, is social media manager for the Association for Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA), where she became one of the founders of the #MacroSW Twitter chats. In 2012, she founded The Political Social Worker, a blog dedicated to community practice social work and politics. Providing consultation to nonprofits and private practices since 2013, Ms. West’s consultation focuses on a number of issues related to advocacy and community outreach, including the use of social media as a community organizing tool. Ms. West also works privately as a career coach, coaching and training macro social workers. Additionally, she is an instructor at Stony Brook University, School of Social Welfare, teaching advanced macro social work practice. You can find Ms. West on Twitter as @poliSW.
Patricia Shelly, MSW, is director of community engagement and expansion at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. She has served as a member of the LGBT Domestic Violence Committee of Western New York for 12 years and the Women in Black Buffalo movement for 15 years. Previously, Ms. Shelly was the associate director for the Institute for Research and Education on Women and Gender at the University at Buffalo. She is the editor of SocialWorkSynergy, the blog of the University at Buffalo School of Social Work. She is a chat partner for the #MacroSW Twitter chats and often serves as a chat host. You can find Ms. Shelly on Twitter as @PatShellySSW.
Episode 210 – Karen Zgoda, Rachel L. West, and Patricia Shelly: Promoting Macro Social Work Through Social Media/Twitter Chats. (2017, February 27). inSocialWork® Podcast Series. [Audio Podcast] Retrieved from http://www.insocialwork.org/episode.asp?ep=210
Update: Chat archive is now available! As the new presidential administration comes into power, basic assumptions about the role of government in assisting the most marginalized have been thrown into question. Social workers should be deeply concerned about proposed changes to social service programs and the government agencies that administer them.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has called on social workers to organize, oppose, resist, and educate in response to the anti-social work agenda that is being put forward by the new administration. But how do we actually proceed?
In the first chat of this series, we discussed power–how it’s defined, who has it, and how we build it. To build the power we need for change requires organized people or organized money. In this week’s chat, we will discuss how to build the relationships needed to effectively organize. What starts as a small group of likeminded people can grow into a network of activists driving a movement.
The most important component of organizing, like social work, is listening and building relationships. We must meet people where they are and forge connections based on empathy, shared experiences, or common interests. This development of trust allows us to ask people to take necessary actions they may not ordinarily take–attending a protest or challenging an elected official–in a way that isn’t transactional, but based on mutual self-interest and respect.
To take a closer look at these concepts, we will discuss the following questions:
Organizing builds public relationships which differ from personal or professional ones. What do you think this means?
How would you engage stakeholders to start organizing around an issue you care about?
Do you see a unique role for social work institutions to build relationships for change?
Once you’ve established public relationships for organizing, what do you think is the next step to address an issue?
What will you do in the next month to organize around around the issue of your choice?
Indivisible Guide – a practical guide for resisting the Trump agenda
People’s Action – volunteer with a national network of grassroots advocacy organizations
About the Host
Justin Vest is the lead organizer for Montgomery County at Progressive Maryland where he
leads issue-based advocacy campaigns and develops volunteer organizers to fight for social and economic justice. He earned his BSW from the University of Montevallo and MSW from the University of Alabama before relocating to the DC Metro area.
Many members of our #MacroSW community around the world participated in Women’s marches on January 21, 2017. Here are some of their stories, experiences, and photos.
Left to right: Rudra Kapila, Sunya Folayan, Karen Zgoda, Kristin Battista-Frazee
Standing on the platform at the McLean metro stop waiting for the train to take us into D.C. for the Women’s March I was excited and had no idea what to expect from this experience. I attended with my fellow #MacroSW partners, Karen and Sunya, and Rudra, a colleague from the Clinton campaign and hoped the masses gathering would effectively carry a message for our ever-growing list of causes. Trump’s rhetoric was on the verge of becoming reality and that prospect chilled me to my core. As a social worker, I realized our profession would be on the frontlines in fighting for the many people Trump policies would impact. At the Women’s March, my goal was to soak in the energy, observe the strength of so many people coming together, as well as understand the depth and fervent nature of what is shaping up to be “the resistance.”
As you now know, the crowds were twice as large as expected and worldwide women, men, children and people of difference backgrounds converged on Capitol Hill. At the March everyone was kind to each other, I met people from all over the country and there was an unspoken understanding among us that we were taking part in history. The marchers route was diverted from Independence Avenue to the wider Constitution Avenue/ Pennsylvania Avenue route towards the edge of the Treasury Department near the White House. We passed the National Archives Building, the home of the Constitution and Bill of Rights; the Newseum, where we chanted “freedom to the press” and the Trump International Hotel, in which the crowd erupted into shouts of, “shame, shame, shame.” It is shameful what Trump espouses and shameful when elected officials do nothing to fight the injustices unfolding right before them. I’m confident this Women’s March is just the beginning and will turn into further action. People are ready to stand up and fight back. I also know, and this I impress to advocates everywhere, we will not be alone in doing what is right and speaking out about any unjust actions by the Trump Administration.
I participated in the Million Woman’s March in Philadelphia in October 1997. It was a joyous coming together of women from the African diaspora in the United States to bring our best efforts to make our nation, families and communities better. I took my children, one of whom was in a stroller at the time. I came back from that march energized, and willing to WORK even- harder for human rights, social justice and community change. Not boasting, but in record time, and with minimal resources I was able to do some amazing things in partnership with others. So much so, the Department of Justice noted our innovative work. I embody the “Strong Black Woman, and I know how to WORK and get things done. I have been socialized for generations to do this. Fast forward to 2017 and the Women’s March on Washington.
I had decided I was not going to attend.
Why? I had become pretty much battle and WORK weary. I was tired of Black women’s leadership coming in behind that of White women’s leadership, or not being recognized at all. Like everyone else I was experiencing the collective grief and trauma from a brutal political campaign and its unfathomable result. (It wasn’t really unfathomable for me, I was just hoping common sense would prevailt. It didn’t). I was fed up with still having to prove Black Lives Matter in every endeavor of human activity. I didn’t want to have to bite my tongue or talk in code to state my reality. I didn’t want to have to fight with any feminists who believed their contribution to today’s injustice would be simply to “listen and try to understand.” I wasn’t up for any of that bulls*#t. So I pretty much decided to stay home and WORK.
Sunya & Karen
Then, I decided to make another decision. I wanted to spend my birthday with my friends in #MacroSW. I wanted to connect with them, and share a unique experience in coming together to craft our own agenda for activism in this new age. I decided to come to the march as an act of self care, and for Black women self care is often a radical act of resistance. So, I laughed, danced, sang, chanted, swore,and flashed my middle fingers. I took off my work hats (there are many) and drank mimosas, had great discussions, connected with our growing sisterhood, ate cake and, had many plates of lasagne. I didn’t have any answers, I slept in late, I shed tears, I treated myself to dinner and I walked around in my pajamas the day after the march. I left the Strong Black Woman at home, enjoyed myself and allowed myself to become relaxed and renewed. Self care has been my focus the past few years. It allows me to return to my work with a mindful presence, and the need to pace myself in this long protracted ground game of working for human rights, social justice, and refusing to normalize what is not. I marched for financial capability and equal rights for women.
I marched for affordable health care, and decent wages. I marched for the lives of those lost and those to come. I marched for my daughters and grandsons. I marched for the Black feminist leadership I saw front and center during the day’s festivities. But most of all, I marched for myself and my right to sit down when I feel like it.
I marched in solidarity with millions of women around the world, to find the common core of our varied intersectional historical struggles and funnel our collective compassion, strength, and anger to resist the upcoming carnage of President Trump’s administration. I will partner with those who support our cause to fight the insidious forces of sexism and misogyny from damaging women’s rights and bodies.
Pat Shelly, center left with red beret, met these five women sporting Wonder Woman apparel (we are everywhere!) near the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. Image: courtesy of author.The Women’s March on Washington was massive. Yet the size of the crowds, in the District of Colombia and around the globe, will not be its only measure. This is a march that will not end; it will continue in various places in various ways like an expanding web of global resistance. This will further strengthen all the actions countering attempts to roll back women’s rights, human rights, and help in the efforts to protect rights that enhance the collective good.
That collective good includes addressing the deeply entrenched racism in the U.S., gender-based violence, gun and drug epidemics, dismantlement of public education, disability rights, action on climate change, access to healthcare, criminal justice reform, LGBTQIAP rights, environmental justice, and the inherent right of all to the four freedoms: of speech, of religion, from want and from fear. Working to protect human rights is essential to redress injustice and injury that arises from so many sources: living with gun violence, immersion in the violence of poverty, multiple systems of oppression.
Image: The Public. Adriana Ragland holds a sign with an Angela Davis quote. She is a Univ. at Buffalo MSW ’17 student. at a November 2016 post-election demo in Buffalo, NY.
As Angela Davis said, “I am no longer accepting the things I can not change; I am changing the things I can not accept.”
The march itself generated discussions about white women’s privilege and racism. Disability advocates wrote critically about how organizers did not think to include elements that would have made it a truly accessible march. Many men and boys attended, and one of the memorable moments for me was toward the end of the march – the crowd I was following ended our march at L’Enfant Plaza. As we chanted, “My body, my choice,” it turned into a call-and-response with men chanting, “Your body, your choice.” The crowds watching from the overpasses cheered us. It was heartening to have so many men present as allies. And about time!
Photo: Pat Shelly. Crowds lined the overpasses at L’Enfant Plaza, Washington D.C. Sign on left: “LGBTQIA + Equality.” Sign in center: “1968 is calling. Don’t answer.”
Black Lives Matter, Indigenous Women Rise, Refugees Welcome Here; millions of women and their allies stood for advancing the cause of social justice. This may mean we work to keep what had been gained circa 2016. It may mean that new people’s movements will lead to a world that nourishes, and does not diminishes. The march itself generated discussions on white women’s privilege (and men’s privilege) and racism. Disability advocates wrote very critically about how the organizers did not include many elements that could have made this a truly accessible march. And so we learn what can improve future marches planned in D.C. Here are a few: April 15-Tax Day for Trump; April 29-March for Science on Washington; May 6-Immigrants’ March; and on June 11-National Pride March.
The Women’s March Global stressed that its purpose was to promote “the beginning of a peaceful, proactive movement that has grown out of the rhetoric of the recent U.S. election cycle and galvanized people across the world to defend women’s rights and the rights of others.”
The march reached all seven continents; this image is from Antarctica, where people promoted Seals for Science, Cormorants for Climate, Women for Earth, and (of course) Penguins for Peace.
In news reports from Europe, I saw a sign in Budapest reads “Women of the World Unite.” In Wales: a sign has a photo of Nina Simone with her quote: “I tell you what is freedom to me: No fear.” In Ghana: “I stand for tolerance,” and in South Africa, “Stop Violence against Women.” Signs for our time.
As we work ( and march, and protest, and stand and call and email and tweet and blog) in order to advance #socialjustice, be assured the year 2017 will provide many opportunities to join together once again and take it to the streets.
As the new presidential administration comes into power, basic assumptions about the role of government in assisting the most marginalized have been thrown into question. Regardless of your political affiliation, social workers should be deeply concerned about proposed changes to social service programs and the government agencies that administer them.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has called on social workers to organize, oppose, resist, and educate in response to the anti-social work agenda that is being put forward by the new administration. But how do we actually proceed?
#MacroSW is introducing a organizing chat series to educate social workers on the important role they play in resisting cuts to services and advancing social justice in their communities by teaching basic community organizing skills that will move social workers from an online space to real world action.
In the first chat of the series, we will discuss the concept of power–who has it, what structures support it, but also how to build our own to confront injustice. For most of us, power does not come naturally. We have all been disadvantaged in some way by a lack of power–through economic oppression, racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism or based on some other characteristic. Therefore learning to want power can be challenging. But social workers also have a unique relationship to power. We may experience personal oppression from society while working at institutions that uphold traditional power structures.
To take a closer look at these concepts, we will discuss the following questions:
How do you define power and how do you know it when you see it?
Who has power in our society and why?
What role does social work play in maintaining or challenging current power structures?
How can advocates for justice build power to challenge inequality
What new or existing opportunities do you see for yourself to build power?
Justin Vest is the lead organizer for Montgomery County at Progressive Maryland where he leads issue-based advocacy campaigns and develops volunteer organizers to fight for social and economic justice. He earned his BSW from the University of Montevallo and MSW from the University of Alabama before relocating to the DC Metro area.
Narrative for the opening PowerPoint slides:The cave drawing of a horse could be possibly directions on where to locate a weir and drive ’em off a cliff for a winter’s supply of horse-meat. Sort of an early add for Safeway or Krogers… (My interpretation)The Romans had extensive tax and census records on an individualized bases throughout the empire.The Domesday book was a complete census to inventory all of William’s holdings.The shot of Jane Addams includes ethnicity maps they created to pinpoint where various nationalities and cultures lived near Hull House. The complete set is on display at Hull House over the fireplace.
Geographic information systems (GIS) technologies have become a commonplace part of our daily lives. However, GIS technologies can also be used in social work practice for a variety of purposes including planning, education, and evaluation. Social work has a history with mapping going back to Jane Addams and her colleagues at Hull House. GIS mapping also seems to be a good fit given the person-in-environment perspective of the social work profession. While some social work professionals have adopted GIS technologies in their work, it has been a slow process overall.
GIS software has become more user-friendly but issues related to costs and the ethical use of data have hampered the growth of GIS technologies in social work. This chat will examine the potential uses of GIS technologies in social work practice. We will also explore potential issues with the application of GIS technologies in social work and how these can be overcome to promote their expanded use.
Join us for the #MacroSW chat on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 9 pm EST (6 pm Pacific) to discuss uses of geographic information systems in social work.
This topic is based on chat host Dr. Thomas Felke’s (@SocWrkDoc) work using GIS to examine various topics including poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity.
Questions to Discuss
How do you currently use mapping technologies in your daily life?
How do you think GIS could be used for your work?
What ethical issues do you think arise with the use of GIS in social work?
Why do you think the adoption of GIS technologies has been slow in social work?
What would you need to incorporate GIS into your practice?
For a variety of reasons, the holidays can be filled with multiple sources of stress. Let’s chat about holiday self-care and bring back some joy to the holiday season!
Chat Questions:
How is your holiday season going?
What do you wish others knew about your holiday stressors?
Explaining the Black-White Economic Divide. The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality, 2004 was widely reviewed. With Dr. Melvin Oliver, he wrote the award-winning Black Wealth/White Wealth, which received the 1997 Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award from the American Sociological Association. In 2011 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study the wealth gap in South Africa.
Join us this Thursday, June 29 at 9pm EST, as we welcome Dr. Shapiro to #MacroSW and discuss his latest book,Toxic Inequality. Dr. Shapiro’s widely anticipated new book Toxic Inequality: How America’s Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, & Threatens Our Future was recently released March 2017. 
Justin Vest is the lead organizer for Montgomery County at Progressive Maryland where he leads issue-based advocacy campaigns and develops volunteer organizers to fight for social and economic justice. He earned his BSW from the University of Montevallo and MSW from the University of Alabama before relocating to the DC Metro area.
Justin Vest is the lead organizer for Montgomery County at Progressive Maryland where he leads issue-based advocacy campaigns and develops volunteer organizers to fight for social and economic justice. He earned his BSW from the University of Montevallo and MSW from the University of Alabama before relocating to the DC Metro area.
I marched in solidarity with millions of women around the world, to find the common core of our varied intersectional historical struggles and funnel our collective compassion, strength, and anger to resist the upcoming carnage of President Trump’s administration. I will partner with those who support our cause to fight the insidious forces of sexism and misogyny from damaging women’s rights and bodies.
![[Six women stand in a line with arms around each other; two woman in center wear a Wonder Woman apron and a shirt, two women on left and two women on right wear hats with the double-W logo for Wonder Woman]](https://macrosw.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/wonderwomenunite.jpg)
1/19/17 New Resources:
