An alliance for power

Alan Keith-Lucas, Ph.D., is Alumni Distinguished Professor of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Social workers are accustomed to they were women—good women, edu being exhorted to greater political accated women, and patrician women, tivity. To their discomfiture, they are Davis comments that the early settle often reminded of the influence ment workers who brought about so wielded by a Jane Addams, a Lillian cial work's early success in influencing Wald, a Julia Lathrop, or a Grace or Congress and public opinion were Edith Abbott. What is usually implied, among "the first generation of college either directly or subtly, is that social women." They came from old-stock workers not only lack political skill American families who "could trace but all too often the will to become their ancestry back to colonial New involved in realistic social reform. England, "who were moderately well Schottland, for instance, spoke of the to do and who, for the most part, had "conspicuous absence" of representahad a religious upbringing." 2 In 1912, tives from the social work community Jane Addams was "the most famous in the political battles that gave rise woman in America," and when she to the 1956 amendments to the Social espoused the Progressive party and, Security Act.1 dressed in white, made the first speech Although it is true that Schottland seconding the nomination of Theodore wrote this in 1953, over twenty years Roosevelt for president, she was vir ago—and at a time when social work's tually irresistible. The Democrats tried participation in social reform was at unsuccessfully to enlist the scarcely its nadir—his plea is familiar. In fact, less famous social worker, Lillian Schottland's speech contained the first Wald, to counteract her influence.3 big shots of a barrage that has conParticipation in high-level policy tinued ever since and that now seems making was natural to these workers, almost commonplace. Social workers They moved in influential circles and everywhere have accepted, in theory at had powerful friends who saw them least, their obligation to become poas equals or even superiors. They were litically active on behalf of their listened to automatically, and the corn clients and social justice in general, bination of their sex, their education, and many of them have become nostheir family prestige, and their in talgic about Jane Addams and her formed research on the poor was im day. mensely influential in that idealistic, There is, however, one ineluctable progressive age with its Utopian be fact that is too often neglected in the Iiefs. This particular source of influ rhetoric of the movement. To be poence was, however, somewhat ephem litically influential, social work, or any eral and in today's culture and profession, needs either a power base politics is clearly no longer effective, of its own or an alliance with a powerThe influence of these women did ful group in society. Indeed, to some persist, although in a somewhat dis extent, the involvement of social work guised way, into the era of Franklin in social action—particularly in politiD. Roosevelt. Schlesinger has noted cal social action—has fluctuated with how the "subtle and persistent saintli the existence of that base. ness of the social workers" affected New Deal legislation through such leaders as Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert Wagner, Frances Perkins, Harold There have been several attempts in Ickes, Fiorello La Guardia, and, of the history of social work to establish course, Harry Hopkins.4 a power base or effective alliance, and Meanwhile social work was begin much of social work's activism can be ning to emerge as a profession and understood in terms of those attempts, not just a dedicated cause for the The power base of the era from 1900 liberal patrician. And the leadership to 1920, and by extension of this of the profession had begun to change, acquired power until about 1935, was Under such women as Mary Rich self-generated. mond and Zilpha Smith, the leader The leading social workers of the ship passed from the volunteer to the time were politically powerful because professional or expert, despite Jane POLITICAL POWER