Hmsv346

HMSV 346 Diversity Issues in Human Services / Spring 2021

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(George Floyd) Advocacy Project

Objective: Students will understand the importance of advocacy and develop the attitude, knowledge, and

skills needed to effectively advocate on behalf of oppressed or marginalized groups.

Background: A few months ago, George Floyd died when four Minneapolis police officers were trying to

subdue and arrest him. His death, which was caught on video, raised the now common concerns about

police brutality towards African Americans, and ignited protests, unrest, and debate throughout the country.

Personal and Professional Relevance: Such incidents (the death of Floyd and others) and subsequent

chain of events impact you in two distinct ways:

• As an individual bound by your personal identities, thoughts, values, etc.,

• As a soon-to-be human service professional bound by a professional code of ethics.

While your reactions to these events as an individual are quite likely to be emotional and subjective, it is

essential that as a human service professional you maintain objectivity in understanding and addressing

these events. The primary objective of this project is to develop fundamental skills necessary to advocate

on behalf of an oppressed or marginalized group. Successful completion of this project/assignment requires

you to answer the following questions and complete the following parts:

Part I 1. What is your personal reaction, thoughts, feelings, etc. about such incidents? 2. There are various perspectives about who is responsible for such incidents:

a. Some claim that incidents such as these are caused by those (some African Americans) who violate the law or disobey the lawful orders of cops.

b. Others claim that such situations are caused by those racists (some cops) who are ready to inflict violence on African Americans at the slightest pretext or for no reason whatsoever.

c. Some believe that such incidents happen because of a combination of both (a) and (b). d. A few believe that it is neither a, b, nor c, but there are other or more reasons for why such

incidents happen.

What is your personal opinion about the reason(s) for such incidents? Choose only one of the above (a, b, c,

or d) and elaborate.

Part II 3. Are such incidents relevant to human services practice with clients? In other words, are incidents such

as these likely to impact certain groups of clients?

• If yes, then elaborate upon these impacts/consequences.

• If no, then provide a strong justification for your answer. 4. Human service professionals are required to consider the National Organization of Human Services’

ethical standards in professional decision making. Identify which ethical standards may apply to

understanding and addressing such incidents (Hint: Check out the standards pertaining to

Responsibility to the Public and Society). Provide a brief justification as to why you believe these

standards may apply to such incidents.

5. What steps would you take as a human service practitioner to ensure that people-in-power (police commissioners, lawmakers, funders, community leaders, etc.) take appropriate action to prevent such

incidents?

• Ideally, your response to this question (5) are influenced solely by the NOHS ethical standards. If you believe that the standards are not sufficient enough to address such incidents, then state so and

clarify what would be your course of action as a human service professional to ensure that people-

in-power do what is needed.

HMSV 346 Diversity Issues in Human Services / Spring 2021

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• Ideally, your response to this question (5) is based on what you believe to be the reason for such incidents (so keep in mind your choice for question 2), but this is not a requirement. So if you do

not want to be restricted by your choice for question 2, then that is acceptable.

• Clearly specify what needs to change or what the change would look like.

Part III 6. Identify a person (example: member of congress, U.S. senator, governor, state legislator, police chief,

CSB manager, county supervisor, human services director, etc.) who has the power to make the

changes you seek.

• The person(s) you identify does not have to be specific to Hampton Roads, Minneapolis, or where you live. You can choose any person anywhere in the country.

• Permission from the course instructor is required before selecting a person/persons for advocacy.

• Send an “advocacy email” to this identified person. o In this email, briefly state the importance of the issue (why things need to change) and how the

change would look like.

o Use the NAMI toolkit to develop your email, which should be to the point. o It is highly recommended that you cite credible journal articles, books, reports, organizations,

etc., in support of your position.

o Submission of Part III in Blackboard requires posting a copy of your advocacy email and a snapshot of a confirmation of receipt of your advocacy email. Not all recipients will provide

confirmation of receipt, so a snapshot of your advocacy email (taken before you send it!) will

suffice in lieu of a confirmation of receipt.

o Sample advocacy emails are available in the “Advocacy Project” folder under “Assignments & Submissions” on Blackboard.

Part IV 7. Reflection:

a. Was your advocacy effort effective? In other words, did it bring about the change you were seeking? (Do not exaggerate! You will lose points if you do). Share the reasons for your answer.

b. What did you learn about the importance of advocacy? Do you see it as an effective tool? c. What would you do differently in the future to be a more effective advocate?

8. Submit your reflection (answers to question 7 above) on Blackboard along with parts II and III (not part I).

9. Respond meaningfully to the postings of three of your classmates. State what you liked about their advocacy effort and why, and state what would you do differently and why. [Important: Please do not

scold or humiliate anyone for their opinion about this issue or what they want to change. Very politely

state your disagreement, if any, by simply saying what you would do differently and why].

Note

• This assignment is worth 50 points. Parts I & II are worth 10 points each. Parts III & IV are worth 15 points each.

• Your answers to all of the above questions (excluding responses to classmates in discussion board) must be at least 2 pages or 1000 words long, but should not exceed 5 pages or 2500 words.

• Use only single-spaced lines.

• APA style is not required, but all parts and your advocacy email must be professionally written and formatted (ex: Aligned left, free from grammatical, compositional, and spelling errors, etc.)

• Citations will add value to your submissions especially to your advocacy email. If citations are used, then references are required.