ASSIGNMENT 5: INSTITUTIONAL INEQUITY AND FERGUSON (100 POINTS, 15% OF TOTAL GRADE) The readings up to this point provide examples of institutional inequities for people from historically marginalized communities and groups. The purpose of this assignment is for you to draft a working hypothesis about structural racism.
As social workers who are trained to use the best information and thinking available as tools to change the human condition, we do not approach individuals, families, and communities as a tabula rasa. Instead, we use working hypotheses based on theory, research, policy, and practice experiences.
We use a critical thinking lens to address client and community problems. Like all good hypotheses, the information that we add to our thinking regarding the problems and solution further informs, changes, and dismisses aspects of our working hypothesis. Students will create a working hypothesis about the impact of structural racism on the Ferguson community. Students may pick the people of color, the dominant (White) culture, or the residents as a whole as the identified community for this paper. Using the steps to critical thinking previously discussed, write a not more than 2,500-word critical thinking paper in which you present your hypothesis about the impact of structural racism on the selected community, describe the standpoint or current context, and then summarize the supporting evidence for your hypothesis by using the Ferguson Report or other sources.
Provide at least one exception to your hypothesis or summarize why you could not find an exception. Provide a reflective analysis of the impact of structural racism on the Ferguson community. In addition to the not more than 2,500 words, provide a reference list for sources used in the paper
