Race Power and Privilege Social Media Campaign

#ATSARPP #ATSAPrevention

By Joan Tabachnick and Jannine Hébert

ATSA’s Race, Power and Privilege (RPP) subcommittee (a part of the ATSA Prevention Committee) has explored ATSA members’ relationship to these important issues.  Over the years, we have discovered a rich conversation that we want to share with ATSA members and others interested in how RPP may affect our work through a new social media campaign. 

Although many ATSA members have been talking about the impact of RPP on clients’ needs, interventions, and their engagement in services for decades, the more intentional conversations as an organization began in earnest in 2017.  ATSA’s Prevention Committee sponsored an evening panel at that 2017 conference titled “Dismantling Racism:  The Relevance to Prevention.”  We heard from attendees that these conversations are important and should not be relegated to a workshop or two at our national conference.  In response, the Prevention Committee formed a workgroup to further explore RPP in our work.  In 2018, we conducted a targeted survey of the ATSA membership and found that 87% of members agreed that issues of RPP had an impact on perpetration, survivor’s healing process and prevention.  Furthermore, just over three quarters (76%) agreed that ATSA should address RPP.  In 2018, the Board of Directors of ATSA responded with the following commitment. 

The board formally “recognized that race and privilege impact ATSA’s work and the work of ATSA members.  Furthermore, the board voted to ensure that ATSA commits to incorporate privilege and race issues into all of its strategic goals.” 

Each of ATSA’s committees also made a commitment to look at how RPP affect their mission and its’ implementation.   

The Prevention Committee subcommittee on RPP did not stop there and continued with weekly meetings, conducting surveys and interviews with ATSA members, and ultimately developing a series of infographics that we are now disseminating through social media.

The attached infographics contain quotes from ATSA members who were interviewed regarding RPP. We invite you to share the infographics via social media and in your personal/professional networks.  You can use either #AtsaRPP or #ATSAPreventon.  You can also join the conversations through any of our handles: 

·         Twitter: @MakeSocietySafe https://twitter.com/MakeSocietySafe

·         Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MakingSocietySafer

·         LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makesocietysafe/

We hope that some of these reflections inspire you to share and reflect on how RPP impacts your work.  Please take the time to share, retweet, or like these infographics and conversations.  Please help us dive into this important conversation more deeply. 

Here are some example social media posts.    

We would like to acknowledge the ATSA members who have been meeting weekly for the last year to make this happen.  In addition to the authors of this article, we want to acknowledge a fantastic group of individuals including Charles Flinton, Tyffani Dent, Ariel Berman, Lori Ho-Cheng, Maia Christopher, and Aniss Benelmouffok.