From Left: Dr. Carrie Pettus, Legislative Aide Santos Marino, Dr. Angelique Day, and Rebecca Goodwin of WSIPP.
It is fitting to title my first blog during Black History Month with this lyric from Billie Holiday’s iconic song, “God Bless the Child,” as it captures the zeitgeist of our new gilded age. The rich are getting richer as Donald Trump’s second coming takes grifting to new heights. We may not see another Black History Month if things continue as they have these early weeks of his administration. It is a reminder that genius is not limited to a particular skin color. Genuis can be short-circuited by a lack of opportunity and resources and an unlevel playing field, whether black, white, or otherwise. Holiday’s song was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1976 and included in the Songs of the Century by the Recording Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Gilded Age lasted from the 1870s to the 1890s and was characterized by unprecedented growth in industry and technology. It was a time “where greedy, corrupt industrialists, bankers, and politicians enjoyed extraordinary wealth and opulence at the expense of the working class.” Sounds familiar? Here are a few facts:
- America’s top 12 billionaires now share $2 trillion in wealth
- Their combined wealth increased by more than 193 percent ($1.3 trillion) between March 18, 2020 and December 3, 2024
- Collectively, the bottom 40 percent have zero wealth
- Black families are twice as likely to have no wealth as white families
Is there a tipping point? Extreme economic inequality, as we are witnessing today, corrodes trust and cohesion and leads to the populism that caused voters to reelect Donald Trump, who promises to be the savior of working-class Americans while portraying Democrats as being elitist, out-of-touch and condescending toward the less educated. Voters, including larger shares of people of color, cast their lot with the MAGA movement as Democrats failed to deliver a message that resonated with these voters. Many who didn’t vote for Trump were despondent and stayed home.
Once in office, Trump has unleashed a firehouse of policies designed to upend and recreate the institutions on which democracy stands. If you are feeling discombobulated and standing on shaky ground, there is nothing wrong with you. That is how you are supposed to feel. It’s intentional. As society is reordered to serve the needs and desires of the oligarchs, the fearful and confused populace feels helpless and hopeless.
Our CRISP PALS LinkedIn group recently addressed this during a virtual roundtable on Political Social Work in the MAGA Era. This was the inaugural discussion for The Social Work Democracy Podcast. Due to a technical glitch, it was not recorded, but we intend to revisit it frequently. Many of my social work colleagues are anxious about venturing too far into politics. However, a few of us are convinced that we must be in political arenas where our voices and values are profoundly needed.
While the undoing of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and transgender policies are being hailed as the panacea for all that ails America, families are still being devastated by the negative impact of incarceration. It’s foolish to get into culture war confrontations at this time. There is nothing to gain by getting into debates about “wokeness.” We must convince the public that the country and the economy are better off with substantial numbers of immigrants, and that has been documented, but I am not hearing it.
CRISP recently teamed up with Wellbeing and Equity Innovations (WEI) and the University of Washington School of Social Work for an Innovation Day event leading into the Society for Social Work and Research conference in Seattle to explore research methods for families impacted by criminal justice and child welfare. Thanks to generous funding from Arnold Ventures, we brought together researchers, practitioners, advocates, and people with lived experiences to discuss practical ways to inform policy.
This event emanated from social workers’ contributions to the passage of H.R. 9076, the Protecting America’s Children by Strengthening Families Act. This act reauthorized Title IVB of the Social Security Act, which funds child welfare. The bill passed the House by a vote of 405-10 and the Senate by unanimous consent, in a rare display of bipartisanship. The recording is worth watching.
There is no way to know if anything similar can occur in this Congress, but nothing beats a failure but a try. Social workers need to be at the table. That is the theme for our March is Social Work Month events: Our Voices Matter: Reaffirming the Need for Social Workers in Political Arenas. Social Work Day on the Hill is Wednesday, March 26, followed by Student Advocacy Day on Thursday. Details will be forthcoming soon.