The Progression and Regression of Civil Rights

Description

Q1. I do not believe Civil Rights has been reversed for some groups. I say this because many people are being treated differently based upon their skin color. We see many cases where African American young males are most likely to get abused by the police and thrown in jail. Some that are incarcerated do not need to be but because they are young, African American and a male they are mostly likely to be put in those situations.The groups that benefit from these Civil Rights are the ones in charge, the ones that have power and the ones that have money. The group I believe that does not benefit from these rights are lower class individuals and ones living in poverty. There has always been a separation between the wealthy and the poor, so there is the difference between the ones who may benefit from this and the ones who will not.Two groups I believe are suffering but not receiving public attention would be people with disabilities and children in the foster care system. Ones who are labeled disabled are in need of much help whether it is physically, mentally or emotionally. Many people that are disabled or have disabilities need special attention and may need the proper help being cared for. Instead, they are not being cared for the right way because the job of caring for this group is given to anyone even if they are unsure how to properly care for someone. Children in the foster care system I believe are not receiving the proper attention. Foster children go through many things mentally that they are not always able to deal with, so it is very important to pay special attention to them.The NASW has always been about quality and treating everyone with the proper respect. The NASW helps the Civil Rights promote equality and has worked hand and hand with each other. They created a movement that many people joined and followed.

Q2. Over the years we have seen the civil rights of certain groups either expand or regress. One group that stands out is the LGBTQ community. I feel that their rights have been slowly expanding. The government has now allowed transgender individuals to be part of the military (U.S. Dept. of Defense, 2019). This was a battle which was fought for many years to finally get this put through. The civil rights of African Americans appear to be getting challenged again with the police brutality that has been taken place over the past few years. This issue has been brought to the people’s attention through the media quite frequently. Once again, we are fighting for equality and equal rights.

The current Supreme Court has decided that employers with any religious or moral objections to contraception do not need to offer it to their employers (healthline, 2020). Along these same lines, abortion rights are currently being challenged under the Trump administration. This group of employers with religious rights have benefited from the current administration. Immigrants are a group that are currently suffering with the current administration. We have been listening to the arguments being presented over the past year in regards to allowing immigrants in the country and what benefits they shall receive.

Some groups are experiencing problems with their civil rights and are also not gaining any public attention. The first group that comes to mind are victims of modern day slavery otherwise known as human trafficking. This group of individuals have rights that are being overlooked and this has become a major problem in the United States. We tend to only hear about this issue every now and then and law enforcement is lacking the proper training to deal with the problem. Another group that isn’t receiving much attention right now are those suffering without health insurance. This has been put on hold for the time being, especially because of the other major issues that the country is facing at time. This group has patiently been waiting to see changes from the administration in hopes to have better health care, but the issue has taken a back seat due to the COVID-19 virus.

The NASW describes civil liberties as basic rights that are given to citizens of the United States by law. The primary value of the social work profession is seeking to ensure that everyone has equal access to resources and equal protection of laws regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or socioeconomic status (Wehrmann & McClain, 2018). Once again, every individual has rights and should be treated fairly. It is impossible to change all of the issues at once. However, helping one group at a time is a start to providing a better life for all individuals.

Greenblatt, Alan., Kidd, David., & Newcombe, Tod. (2020). The Biggest Issues to Watch in 2020. http://governing.com/next/The-Biggest-Issues-To-Watch-In-2020.html

Ries, Julia. (2020). How the Supreme Court Decision Can Affect Your Access To Birth Control. Healthline. healthline.com/health-news/.

U.S. Department of Defense. (2019). 5 Things to Know about DOD’s New Policy in Military Service by Transgender Persons and Persons with Gender Dysphoria. www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/178382215/5-Things-to-know-about-dods-new-policy-on-military-service-by-transgender-per/.

Wehrmann, Kathryn. & McClain, Angelo. (2018). Social Work Speaks. (11th Ed.). The United States of America. NASW Press.