Hi. I started to use ‘Good afternoon’, but today across the US we did not awake to a ‘good’ day. The protests in St. Louis linked to George Floyd’s murder are significant and sustained. Mom and I are looking for ways to be aligned with the unfolding protest – so raw, pained, exasperated, exhausted -- to this brutal and senseless death . . . and the day after day/year after year dehumanizing encounters that have led to this tipping point. The reckless vandalizing on the periphery must not distract us from concentrating on what in essence is deeply rooted systemic injustice. Is our society near enough to the November elections for this eruption to sweep Trump and his congressional enablers out of office? Biden’s VP selection will be pivotal.
From the May 5 leaks about the February 23 lynching of Ahmaud Arbery through last Monday’s dismaying murder of George Floyd – this month in search for footing I have frequently (re)turned to a three-hour continuing education workshop three years ago for 20-25 experienced/‘in the field’ social workers our university’s social work program asked me to facilitate. The assigned subject – ‘pursuing justice’. We began with a reality check posed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development criteria for assessing the OECD member nations --
The workshop participants were quick to share stories illustrating the OECD message that pursuing justice in the US is precarious and discouraging. We used a set of probing questions re ‘pursuing’ and re ‘justice’ for the workshop’s three parts – thirty minutes alone with the questions, an hour disclosing/listening in small groups, and an hour for full group strategic planning. We paused to feel the full force of the term/image ‘pursue’ before we claimed to be among those who are pursuing justice. We then dared to ask ourselves – e.g., What does it mean to ‘pursue’ justice? What indicators clarify where we are on a spectrum with ‘fleeing justice’ at one end and with ‘pursuing justice’ at the other end? What alternatives lie between ‘fleeing’ and ‘pursuing’? How defensive are we about our own affluence/privilege? Can we keep our jobs even if our effort falls short of pursuing justice? What barriers do we face when we pursue justice? How do we work with colleagues who are not pursuing justice? What competes with justice for our attention? Do we think about quitting? How do we recover from fatigue and disappointment? How do we define success? What urgency about justice would our personal statement project if we were applying for a new position?
According to the feedback, most of us departed agreeing that to be of any use we must stay near, be attentive, and expect opportunities to find us. I wonder what we would say to each other if we huddled again tomorrow.
Doug/Dad