Change Agent Paper

Change Agents!

          There are many great change agents within the social work profession in a historical as well as in a contemporary context.  Stemming from the ideas and fundamental works of Jane Addams arose many social workers striving for equality among the nation.  In particular, racial inequality has been a social issue that many civil rights activists have fought for and still continue to do so today.  In the early 1950’s Whitney Moore Young Jr., became actively involved in the civil rights movement.  Currently, Tim Wise continues Young’s, as well as other civil rights activists’ efforts towards reaching racial equality for all.

            Whitney Young Jr. was born into a time in the United States where social issues of racism and segregation were still prevalent.  Fortunately, Young was the son of a respectable African American family whom upheld some prestige within their community.  In Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky during 1921, Whitney Young Jr. was born to Mr. Whitney Young and his wife Laura.  Both parents maintained influential educated backgrounds.  Young’s father was the president of Lincoln Institute which was a black boarding school in the south and his wife was a teacher there.  Being the son of such well rounded parents, Young was expected to become a reputable member for the black community.  (Blair, 2003)

            Whitney Young immersed himself in education with dreams of becoming a doctor.  After graduating valedictorian at the Lincoln Institute, he continued on to Kentucky State Industrial College.  Within a year he took a break from college in order to join the army which is where he found his calling for social work.  This occurred while Young was stationed in an all black regiment with a white captain in charge.  This dynamic caused many racial issues to arise. Young found himself constantly mediating between the captain and the rest of the troop members.  This is where Young realized he had the skills needed to make a difference in the field of race relations.  After the war, Whitney Young set forth on a mission to obtain a graduate degree in social work at the University of Minnesota which he succeeded in.  (Foundation, 2004)

Whitney Young Jr. actually began to leave his mark in the world of social work in the 1950’s.  During this time the civil rights movement began to go into effect.  People started to seek massive changes for the United States when it came to striving towards discarding racial segregation and discrimination.  Among these people was Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and of course Whitney Young Jr.  Every civil rights activist was just as important as the next.  Each sought for change and felt that it could happen and that the people of the United States could indeed become one equal nation. 

            Young made many important contributions to society and to the social work profession.  After he received his master’s degree in social work, in the early 1950’s, Young was elected as the director of the National Urban League.  This organization played a crucial role in advocating for civil rights.  It gave minority groups an opportunity to receive college scholarships as well as job training to increase homeownerships and entrepreneurship.  During 1954, at age 33, Whitney Young Jr. was named Dean of the School of Social Work at Atlanta University.  Young became extremely active in the Atlanta National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  In 1960, Young was then elected president of the Georgia NAACP.  In 1965, Young was also named president of the National Conference of Social Welfare. (Okocha, 2007)

            Although Whitney Young was involved in many organizations, he had the greatest impact on the National Urban League after he was promoted to President of the organization in 1961.  He was the one who transformed it into a major national civil rights organization.  He created a program known as the “Domestic Marshall Plan” which was aimed at ridding poverty and deprivation among African Americans and the poor.  Not only did he institute that program but he also developed the Urban League’s “Street Academy”.  This was an education program that Young introduced to society, designed for high school dropouts who wanted to prepare for college.  Whitney Young’s programs focused on integrating African Americans back into a society where there was still discrimination.  Along with creating new programs for the NUL, Young also increased the organizations budget which formed thousands of new jobs for African American’s.  Under his great leadership the organization received many governmental grants as well as funding from private sources.  This added money allowed for even more projects which funded job training, open housing, and minority executive recruitment.  Whitney Young believed that if enough programs and opportunities for African Americans and the poor were established then that could make a positive difference when it came to assimilating into society.  It gave the people a chance to survive in a racially divided country and at the same time it provided hope for change and for civil rights amongst all people. (Okocha, 2007)

            Tim Wise was born in Nashville, Tennessee on October 4, 1968.  From a very young age he sought for change.  Wise attended college at Tulane University in New Orleans while striving for a Political Science degree.  During this time in college, Wise became a natural leader in an anti-apartheid movement.  Apartheid is racial segregation that is systematically enforced by the government in Africa.  Wise was successful in his attempts to stop Tulane in doing business with companies that supported the African government.  This was just the start to Wise becoming a change agent.  (Cooper, 2011)

            After graduating, Tim Wise began his work as an anti-racist activist which he still currently is involved in.  In the 1980’s, Wise became a director and coordinator for various organizations whose primary mission was to defeat political candidate David Duke who ran for governer of Louisiana and is associated with the Ku Klux Klan.  Through vaious other organization of successful programs Tim Wise has reached a notoriety within the public’s eye as a prominent anti-rascist writer, educator, and activist.  During the early 90’s, Wise was the Youth Coordinator and Associate Director of the Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism and during 1999-2003, Wise was an advisor to the Fisk University Race Relations Institute in Nashville.  All these programs had the same goal which is to raise awareness of racial inequalities and change them institutionally.  Wise has been actively providing anti-racism training to teachers, physicians, and other professionals for a number of reasons.  Wise seeks to contest racial inequalities within our nation’s healthcare system.  He also implements training to larger institutions such as military officials, law enforcement, and other various government parties in order to end racism within their field of work.  Tim Wise, through 5 books, hundreds of published essays, radio broadcasts, campus speaking, and media exposure, has been able to fight this mission on a worldly level.  He strives to educate the world on white privilege and the disempowering results of structural racism.  His mission, Wise says, is “to express to those of us who are white the damage that racism does to not just people of color but the rest of us” (Cooper, 2011).  Tim Wise, like Whitney Moore Young Jr., is a powerful change agent and is making great strides in changing the world.  (Speak Out Now , 2012)

            I admire both of these great advocates for their efforts towards eliminating racism and educating individuals on racial bias.  My own personal leadership qualities are nowhere near the level of these two great activists, however, I’d like to think that if I really put my mind to it that I to could make significant changes for my community.  I possess the ability to take charge when I deem it necessary to do so.  I like to think that when I am in charge of a task or project I look at thinks from different viewpoints in order to make the best decision.  I treat people fairly and equally and I try to always remember to stay in positive spirits.  Another important quality which I possess, that I believe is pertinent to being a leader, is following through in the goals of the group and to always put forth my best effort in meeting expectations. 

            I live in an inner city with a very diverse population that sees a lot of high crime rates and gang violence.  Like in any gang, kids are groomed for membership at a young age.  Gang members tend to turn to gang life for a variety of reasons such as wanting to fit in, wanting to have the feeling of a protective family, and money.  I feel that by getting at risk children off the streets after school and into creative, structured activities could decrease gang involvement for these kids as well as violence.  I’m imagining a step program in which children at an elementary age become involved in after school every day and continue throughout their entire educational career.  This after school program could be geared towards various educational, athletic, and creative standards.  Anything is better for these kids then just going home after school and doing nothing.  I think a program like this could be extremely beneficial to my community.  Therefore I would have to say that my lasting contributions as a change agent would be to create programs for young kids to get them excited about education and to develop a drive for success within themselves.  If I’ve learned anything from Whitney Moore Young Jr. and Tim Wise, it would be that perseverance and hard work can bring success and many changes.  These two advocates have shown me it’s possible to make a difference in my community even though the changes that I would like to see happen may seem out of reach at this given point in time.  Whitney Young was able to take a public stand against racism during a time when the civil rights movement was only beginning.  I hope one day I am able to leave even the slightest mark on the social work profession as a change agent and hopefully make a difference within the community.    

Works Cited

Blair, T. (2003). Notable American Unitarians. Retrieved February 14, 2012, from Harvard Square Library: http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/young.html

Cooper, K. J. (2011). Tim Wise: White Crusader Against Racism in America. Retrieved February 14, 2012, from America's Wire : http://americaswire.org/drupal7/?q=content/tim-wise-white-crusader-against-racism-america

Foundation, N. (2004). NASW Foundation National Programs. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from NASW Foundation: http://www.naswfoundation.org/pioneers/y/WYoung.htm

Okocha, V. (2007). Young, Whitney M., Jr. Retrieved February 10, 2012, from Black Past: http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/young-jr-whitney-m-1921-1971

Speak Out Now . (2012). Tim Wise: Biography and Bookings. Retrieved February 14, 2012, from Speak Out Now: http://www.speakoutnow.org/index.php