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Full-Text Articles in Social Justice
Gentrification, Amie Thurber, Amy Krings
Gentrification, Amie Thurber, Amy Krings
School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations
Gentrification can be understood as the process through which geographical areas become increasingly exclusive, which disproportionately harms people living in poverty and people of color, as well as the elderly, families, and youth. As such, this article argues that macro social work practitioners should view gentrification as a key concern. Thus, to help guide macro interventions, the article begins by first defining gentrification and describing ways to measure it, while emphasizing its difference from revitalization. Second, the article explores causes of gentrification, including its relationship to systemic racism. Third, the article explores the consequences of gentrification on individuals’ and communities’ …
Can Preference Policies Advance Racial Justice?, Amie Thurber, Lisa Bates, Susan Halverson
Can Preference Policies Advance Racial Justice?, Amie Thurber, Lisa Bates, Susan Halverson
School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations
Mitigating the harms of gentrification to communities of color is a pressing challenge. One promising approach is preference policies that enable long-term residents to remain in or return to gentrifying neighborhoods. This mixed-methods study evaluates the City of Portland’s “Preference Policy,” which provides targeted affordable rental housing to residents displaced from a historically Black neighborhood. This paper draws on survey, interview, and focus group data to explore resident motivations, changes to well-being, and recommendations for improving the policy. Findings suggest preference policies can enhance well-being, and underscore the need for comprehensive strategies to advance racial justice in gentrifying neighborhoods.
Teaching Race And Racial Justice: Developing Students’ Cognitive And Affective Understanding, Amie Thurber, Joe Bandy, M. Brielle Harbin
Teaching Race And Racial Justice: Developing Students’ Cognitive And Affective Understanding, Amie Thurber, Joe Bandy, M. Brielle Harbin
School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations
Effectively addressing both cognitive and affective dimensions of learning is one of the greatest obstacles to teaching race and racial justice in higher education. In this article, we first explore the need to integrate attention to cognitive and affective development, along with evidence-based strategies for doing so. We then provide a case study of an undergraduate sociology course on environmental justice in which the instructor intentionally adopted holistic pedagogical principles of teaching race. Analyzing student responses from a pre- and post- course survey, course assignments, and instructor observations of student participation, we find that both white students and students of …