Episode 43 Guests: Cameron Rasmussen, MSW; Durrell Washington, MSW; Michelle Grier, LMSW; Vivianne Guevara, LMSW Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW
www.dointhework.com Listen/Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Stitcher, Spotify Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Join the mailing list Support the podcast Download transcript
If you enjoy what we talk about on the podcast, check out the learning community we're building at dointhework.com. It's a space for connection, reflection, and justice-centered learning—for social workers, therapists, educators, and advocates committed to building a more just world. We offer continuing education courses taught by professionals in the field who are doin' the work—so you can earn CEs while engaging with inclusive, anti-oppressive content. We hope to see you there!
Are you a fully-licensed clinician interested in private practice? Alma and Headway make it super easy! I’ve been using them to manage my private practice. Both handle insurance credentialing and provide you with an electronic health record. If you are interested in learning more, use my referral links for each and they will contact you. Alma Headway
In this episode, I talk with Durrell Washington, Vivianne Guevara, Cameron Rasmussen, and Michelle Grier of the Network to Advance Abolitionist Social Work (NAASW). Durrell is a PhD student at the University of Chicago School of Social Work. Vivianne is the Director of Social Work at the Federal Defenders of New York in Brooklyn, New York, Adjunct Faculty at Columbia University School of Social Work, and a facilitator in the community. Cameron works at The Center for Justice at Columbia University and is a PhD student in Social Welfare at CUNY. Michelle is a Black feminist, Brooklyn raised and social worker trained, who is leaning into practices that foster radical healing, racial and gender justice. Their collective grew out of the need for social workers to support each other in abolition work, particularly out of the discussions over the last year where many social workers and national social work organizations have supported social workers either working with the police or replacing police, and the NAASW says a loud “no” to both. They share their definitions of abolition and discuss how – and if – abolition can be applied as a framework for social work. They talk about ways that social work has supported – and continues to support – carceral systems, surveillance, and gatekeeping – and the connection to white supremacy and liberalism/individualism. There is also discussion on social workers – and social work as a whole – not living up to the Code of Ethics and social work values, especially with emphasis on licensure and private practice. They emphasize the need to engage in collective work and support to envision the world we want, as well as how to take smaller steps to implement abolition in the present while working towards a long-term larger vision. Members share their experiences working in the field in ways that do and do not align with abolition and how they navigate that, again stressing the importance of how their collective provides a supportive space where they can engage in abolition work. This is an excellent discussion for those looking to learn about abolition as well as folks who are already doing this work. I hope this conversation inspires you to action.
www.naasw.com Instagram abolitionistsw
Music credit: "District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.