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This is a picture of the original Chicago Commons Association was a settlement house founded in Chicago in 1894 by Graham Taylor. This settlement home was located in Chicago's Northwest in a "needy" neighborhood of Irish and Scandinavian immigrants. Taylor, his family and students lived in this house. At first, the students  would study about the area: family life, churches, industry and politics. This settlement home is still functioning today in Chicago and its mission today is  "to empower individuals, families, and communities to overcome poverty and systemic barriers, embrace opportunities, and thrive across generations." (interesting fact for those who do not know: Graham Taylor was one of the founders of the Social Work program at University of Chicago).

I chose this picture because I personally found this piece of history interesting. The process of how it started and to where it is. It offers the perspective that improvement can happen and provide social change and social justice. Although from the beginning of the journey, Taylor wanted to offer services to everyone without distinction of class, color, race - the area chosen is interesting. That said, the advancement of the work, based on the website of today's organization, they are working to have a diverse staff and offer services to a wide range of people. This process illustrates how we can allow services to widen and grow. We can be able to learn what is missing in our services and learn how to provide them.

Moreover, I started thinking how institutions, such as a social work program, could be considered into a settlement house of a sort. Our classes allow us to learn with each other about the communities and the communities needs and how we are able to provide those services to the best of our abilities. This shapes our program, in my understanding, to be a settlement house 'of today'. It is our responsibility to decide how to use the space and for which intentions.

Regarding which legacies I'm at risk of continuing, I would say is mainly the legacy of distinguishing between people; who deserves "support" more. At times, we find ourselves in situations where several people need immediate help simultaneously and our decision regarding who we choose to begin with answers that question. I would like to hope that I have the ability to recognize between the two dire situations which is more urgent and be able to direct the other to support.

The legacy that I hope to continue is one where I learn from my educators, peers, clients, supervisors and institution. In addition to that, also support those mentioned in any way possible to guarantee that we attempt to study to the best of our ability to provide the best of our ability.

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This GIF is of a big prison. I chose this GIF as I wonder what we believe the purpose of prisons are and if in practice we use it for that purpose. Are prisons simply a place to rehabilitate? Is it a place to respect those in? Who are those in?
In 2015, I interned at San Quentin State Prison in California. The other interns and I would work with a group of 30 men. Within the 30 men: two were Latin, one white and the rest black. It was the picture of what I kept hearing about in the prison system in the United States.
While working with them, we would hear stories of their lives. Very similar stories that we heard were of poverty, loneliness, homelessness, violence,  lack of resources and more. That experience was a challenging one as we were working with men who have done serious crimes but the more difficult part was zooming out and recognizing from within the system that the systems at large were purposefully creating this reality and perpetrating this reality. Black and brown communities are systematically disadvantage and brutalized.
Finn described how prisons were used as a solution to house the poor, crazy, unwanted or insane. It seems that in a way this is what is continuing to happen. Black and brown people stereotypically fall under those categorizations and when we look at the statistics in prison this is what is shown. I want to take part of the anti-oppressive practice in which we notice the person before we notice their crime. We listen to the stories and attempt to understand what has led them to reach this stage. We recognize how the system was built to purposefully make this happen.
My hope for a social change is where we work in collaboration with social workers within and from different communities to support them and fight for them to receive the rights they deserve.

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This is a poem by Rupi Kaur regarding the depiction towards immigrants. I chose this poem as the words powerfully describe what we've seen in media; people at times focus more of the fear of immigrants without recognizing what immigrants have experienced and gone through.
In the readings, we learned how immigrants were perceived as "dirty" and a "threat" to the American community. This reminds me that during elections in 2016, Trump would use similar language towards immigrants, refugees, undocumented peoples and more. This rhetoric of leaders influences the perspective people have and allows validity to use such language. This is an important subject for us as social workers and our influence in our positions. As we work in schools, hospitals and other public services, our beliefs, attitudes and behavior towards immigrants and others is being observed by others and of course the immigrants themselves.

The power dynamics between us as social workers and clients who are not American citizens is even more unequal as that would be an additional source of fear they have. Clients may worry how the information they share would cause them, their families, and their futures harm. I believe that in such situations, we need to even the power dynamics, and have them feel powered and safe enough.

During Trump's immigration ban, I remember watching huge crowds of people from different fields (lawyers, educators, teachers and social workers between others) that were waiting at airports, protesting and offering services to individuals that was needed. This type of anti-oppressive practice inspires me in my work, to offer my services to those who need it, to let them know that they are accepted, welcomed and are part of a supportive community.

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This picture was influenced by the original "We Can Do It" by artist Howard Miller that was produced during world war two to impact women morale. This picture, different than the original, has a group of women from clearly different backgrounds fighting the fight together and not one single woman. I chose this picture as I see in it the power of the collective.
My own concept of power is to recognize our strengths and weaknesses and to use them in a way that improves the day of others.
One of my strengths is one that I honed during my clinical experience is to work strength based. I believe that when clients recognize their strengths, they have the ability to see themselves in a different perspective and their ability to improve the quality of their lives.
My hope is that we as social workers to work collectively - to work with our clients and other professions. I believe that when we do this as a collective, our ability to create social change increases. People of color recognizing their collective power can allow for change to occur in different systems. Doing so, we need to be careful that this work would be done collaboratively and not oppressively.

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This is an image of Maudelle Bousefeild, a pioneer we studied during our classes.  Among her accomplishments are: being the first Black women to graduate from University of Illinois and was the first black principle in Chicago in 1939. When I think of her, I wonder about all the other influential people that are not recognized due to the erasure of influential black leaders due to racism.
I'm taking this as an opportunity to be more conscious in my work recognizing the influential work of men and women from different backgrounds. My hope for social change is that the work of people of color to be recognized. This especially as they face additional challenges while pursuing their goals. The narrative has to be changed: the idea the mainly white people contributed to society while people of color "caused mayhem". This narrative still exists today and contributes to the continuing reality of racism and oppression.

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According to the Social Security Act of 1935 not everyone deserved aid. Widows, children, old people deserved to receive help yet others such as "the lazy" didn't. When I saw this picture of  art that seems "simple" - I wonder - would this artist be recognized as a person who deserves additional aid or would his work be recognized as lazy and be recognized as an individual who wants to "take advantage" of the state.
This topic is one that angers me as an individual, mental health therapist and as a social worker in training. There are many individuals today that receive the same treatment within the United States and abroad. I personally remember working with families who suffered financially and would need to prove their need for the money. They would share the feeling of shame they would enter social service building and feeling as though they were begging for money. They believed they weren't getting money because "social workers and the country" thought that they don't want to work and simply take money "easily". I remember the anger thinking who would prefer to feel this way instead of working.
While working with them as a therapist, I would bring my compassion and empathy. I would listen and validate. We would discuss the emotions that would come up and how they would impact their reactions forward. As a social worker, I would like to believe that I would be able to be more pro-active in helping support them and helping them find ways to receive aid without shame.

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This GIF is of a group of women; some wearing hijab and some not. This picture depicts womenhood, sisterhood and the need to come together.
One fight against oppression that is close to me is the fight for women's rights. I come from a patriarchal community that believes that women need to act in certain ways (for their protection). We see this fight for rights no matter if in Iran to remove their hijab, France and Canada to wear their hijab, the U.S to care for their bodies as they see fit and we can go on. Everywhere around the world, women are fighting to be treated equally (whether dress, get paid equally, walking safely on the street and more).
I attempt to fulfill anti-oppressive practices in my different roles. First and foremost to treat women as the amazing women they are with respect. Secondly, to support the idea of choice. Women's fights for rights and equality begins with having women choose by themselves their choices about everything that involves them.
As a social worker, it is to treat women with respect with their different challenges. It is important to believe women with their stories, and to allow them to choose how they would like to respond. It is important not to emulate situations of oppressive power dynamics that women have experienced in the past.

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This image shows Palestinian food. I chose this picture as it depicts togetherness and bonding to me. I myself am Palestinian and food and community are two main parts of the culture.
I practice social work by recognizing the person in front of me and their whole story. The intersectionality between different aspects of them. Gender, age, nationality, religion, race, ability and disability, sexual identity. Moreover recognize their history: them as children but going even back to their parents and at time their grandparents and see the intergenerational strength, beauty and trauma.

I chose this picture of Palestinian food as it is where Palestinians come together - by sharing food. This happens during happy occasions and not. At these meals, everyone is to eat and no one is to get up hungry. It is about fulfilling your needs (health and otherwise) and noticing those around you. I connect this to social work as this is what we do: we observe around us and act when needed. While doing so, we need to "feed" ourselves and care for ourselves with the work we do.

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Chicago Commons. (2022, August 16). Our History | About Us. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.chicagocommons.org/about-2/our-history/

Finn, J. (2021). Just practice: A social justice approach to social work (4th ed.) New York: Oxford University Press.

McDowell, Essence (2019, June 7). In Jane’s Shadow: South Side Black women as social service pioneers [Video]. SSA Social Justice Address.
https://livestream.com/uc-crownfamilyschool/ssa-alumni-20190607-socialjustice/videos/192235927

Patterson, J. (2000). The Early Welfare State, pp. 55-75,

America’s Struggle Against  Poverty, Cambridge, MA; Harvard University Press.

Tew, J. (2006). Understanding power and powerlessness: Towards a framework for emancipatory practice in social work. Journal of Social Work, 6(1), 33-51.

Williams, J. E., & MacLean, V. M. (2015). Settlement sociology in the progressive years: Faith, science, and reform. Brill.