Open AccessThe Obligation of White Women
Author(s) -
Sara Plummer,
Jandel Crutchfield,
Desiree Stepteau-Watson
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advances in social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2331-4125
pISSN - 1527-8565
DOI - 10.18060/24467
Subject(s) - white (mutation) , obligation , criminology , law , social work , bureaucracy , state (computer science) , legislation , sociology , work (physics) , political science , politics , engineering , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , chemistry , algorithm , computer science , gene
On Memorial Day 2020, a white woman, Amy Cooper, was walking her unleashed dog in New York City. After being apprised of the leash law in that state by a man bird watching, Ms. Cooper proceeded to call the police stating an “African American man” was “threatening her life and that of her dog” (Ransom, 2020). While this event may seem unconnected to the field of social work, it is a modern example of the way white women, including those in social work, use emotionality, bureaucracy, and the law to control Black bodies. Social work has been and continues to be, responsible for policies and practices that maintain white supremacy culture and criminalize Black people.