Episode 66
Guest: Amanda Wallace, BSW
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Amanda Wallace, Founder and Executive Director of Operation Stop CPS, discusses the surveillance and regulation of families—particularly Black families—within the child protection system. Having worked in child protective services for a decade, Amanda realized the harm being inflicted on children and families, leading her to advocate for change and ultimately lose her job in retaliation. She discusses how Operation Stop CPS intervenes to assist families affected by the system, the connection between family policing and anti-Black racism, and the movement to end family policing through education, advocacy, and support.

In this episode:

• How the family policing system surveils and regulates families, especially Black families
• Amanda's decade in child protective services and why she left
• How Operation Stop CPS intervenes for families facing family separation
• The historical and present-day roots of anti-Black racism in the child protection system
• Building a movement to end family policing

www.operationstopcps.com
Invest in the work www.operationstopcps.com/donate
Instagram operationstopcps
Facebook OperationStopCPS

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 65
Guest: Dawn Belkin Martinez, PhD, LICSW
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Dr. Dawn Belkin Martinez, Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion at Boston University School of Social Work, discusses the Liberation Health Model, which she co-created as a transformative, sociopolitical approach to assessment and intervention. Rooted in radical traditions including Black feminism, Brazilian mental health movements, and Marxist theory, the model originated in a hospital psych unit through collaboration with patients and families. Dr. Martinez explains how to use the Liberation Health Triangle for assessment and shares tools like deconstructing dominant messages and recovering historical memory. This powerful model offers a flexible, collective liberation framework that encourages authentic, action-oriented practice.

In this episode:

• The origin story of the Liberation Health Model
• Using the Liberation Health Triangle for sociopolitical assessment
• Deconstructing dominant worldview messages with clients
• Activism as a therapeutic intervention
• How the model works alongside other approaches like ACT and CBT

www.bostonliberationhealth.org
Email [email protected]

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 64
Guests: Ashleigh Washington, JD & Ruth Cusick, JD
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Ashleigh Washington and Ruth Cusick, co-founders of The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering (C4LL), discuss their work as movement lawyers fighting to end the school-to-prison pipeline. They explain how legal strategies must be rooted in community organizing to create lasting change, especially for Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled, and other marginalized students and families. Drawing on their shift from direct legal services to movement lawyering, they highlight the need for shared power and collective governance beyond traditional civil rights frameworks. The episode also explores their Barefoot Lawyering model and efforts like LA Police Free Schools.

In this episode:

• How legal strategies must be rooted in community organizing to create lasting change
• The shift from direct legal services to movement lawyering
• Education as a human right versus a civil rights framework
• The Barefoot Lawyering interdisciplinary practice model
• LA Police Free Schools and the fight to end school policing

www.c4ll-ca.org
Instagram liberatorylawyersca
LinkedIn The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering
Police Free LAUSD Coalition Report https://www.safeschoolslausd.com/

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 63
Guest: Yoosun Park, MSW, PhD
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Dr. Yoosun Park, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses her co-authored article on social work's role in the Americanization movement from 1880 to 1930—a national project rooted in whiteness and white supremacy. She explains how the profession helped define who was deemed American and how this process excluded Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Mexican communities. The conversation reveals how these racist ideologies shaped early social work and continue to influence the field today. Dr. Park's groundbreaking research is being expanded into a book that critically examines this legacy.

In this episode:

• Social work's central role in the Americanization movement from 1880 to 1930
• How whiteness defined who was considered Americanizable—and who was not
• The exclusion of Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Mexican communities from American citizenship
• How these white supremacist beliefs, policies, and practices persist in social work today
• Dr. Park's forthcoming book expanding on this research

UPenn Faculty Profile
Google Scholar Profile
ResearchGate
To "Elevate, Humanize, Christianize, Americanize": Social Work, White Supremacy, and the Americanization Movement, 1880–1930

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 62
Guests: Beth Wagner, Claire Mancuso, Natalia Norzagaray & Parham Daghighi
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Beth Wagner, Claire Mancuso, Natalia Norzagaray, and Parham Daghighi—MSW students at the University of Texas–Austin and members of FED UP—share their work organizing for paid social work internships. As part of a growing movement, they discuss how they formed FED UP, their strategies, and the resistance they've encountered from within the profession. The conversation highlights how unpaid internships harm students' well-being and reinforce systemic inequities in social work. Their organizing offers a powerful model for collective action and a challenge to the profession's status quo.

In this episode:

• How FED UP formed and their organizing strategies
• Resistance from within the profession and how they've responded
• Guiding principles and organizational structure as a model for others
• How unpaid internships harm student well-being and reinforce inequity
• Connections between unpaid internships and the devaluation of social work

Part 1 Paid Social Work Internships Part 1: Payment 4 Placements – Matt Dargay, MSW & Arie Davey, LLMSW
FED UP Instagram utfedup
FED UP Email [email protected]
Payment 4 Placements Instagram p4pnational
Payment 4 Placements Email [email protected]

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 61
Guests: Matt Dargay, MSW & Arie Davey, LLMSW
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Matt Dargay and Arie Davey, co-founders of Payment 4 Placements, discuss their national campaign to secure paid internships for social work students. As former MSW students at the University of Michigan, they highlight the financial burdens of unpaid placements—including the cost of internship credits—and the inequities this system creates, especially for Black students. They share successful organizing efforts at the university and state levels, including legislation to fund paid internships in Michigan schools. This episode offers strategies and inspiration for challenging the status quo and building a more equitable path into the profession.

In this episode:

• The financial burden of unpaid internships, including paying for internship credits
• How the unpaid internship system creates inequities in who gets to become a social worker
• CSWE research on the disproportionate cost of a social work degree for Black students
• Organizing strategies at the university and state levels, including graduate union work
• Legislation passed in Michigan to fund paid internships in school mental health settings

Part 2 Paid Social Work Internships Part 2: FED UP – Beth Wagner, Claire Mancuso, Natalia Norzagaray & Parham Daghighi
Instagram p4pumich
Facebook Payment for Placements at the University of Michigan
Email [email protected]   [email protected]

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 60
Guests: Kohenet Shoshana A Brown, LMSW & Autumn Leonard
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Shoshana Brown and Autumn Leonard of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective and Jews for Economic & Racial Justice explore how antisemitism and racism operate as interconnected pillars of white supremacy. They discuss their organizing work to support Black Jews and disrupt systems of oppression through community building and education. The conversation highlights the need to deepen our understanding of antisemitism, even within progressive spaces, and to name it as part of our collective justice work. This episode calls us to confront difficult truths and build solidarity across movements.

In this episode:

• How antisemitism and racism function as features of white supremacy
• The work of the Black Jewish Liberation Collective to create communal space for Black Jews
• Organizing to disrupt antisemitism and racism through community building
• Why progressive spaces must name and address antisemitism
• Building solidarity across movements to create lasting change

Black Jewish Liberation Collective
www.blackjewishliberation.org
Instagram blackjewishliberation
X @bjlcollective
Facebook BlackJewishLiberation

Kohenet Shoshana
www.shoshanaakua.com
Instagram illuminatorofx
X @ShoB

Autumn
www.bodygetfree.com
Instagram autumng0tstamina
Facebook autumn.leonard.31

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 59
Guest: Turquoise Skye Devereaux, MSW
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Turquoise Skye Devereaux, a Salish and Blackfeet educator, consultant, and PhD student, discusses how colonial systems continue to harm Indigenous Peoples through education and social work. She breaks down the four stages of colonization, critiques the concept of cultural competency, and highlights the importance of creating culturally safe spaces. Drawing from her personal experience and interviews with Indigenous students, Turquoise offers concrete examples of what inclusion can—and should—look like. This episode calls on educators and practitioners to challenge colonial norms and commit to equity and Indigenous liberation.

In this episode:

• Colonial systems and the four stages of colonization
• Why cultural competency is a myth rooted in a Westernized, colonial mentality
• Differences between Indigenous and Westernized worldviews and ways of living
• How education and social work have caused — and continue to cause — harm to Indigenous Peoples
• Concrete ways to create culturally safe spaces for Indigenous populations

Instagram indigenous.cc & cahokiaphx
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/turquoisedevereaux
Email [email protected]

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 58
Guests: Jewel Patterson, MS; Edgar Ibarria; Nicole Bates, JD
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Jewel Patterson, Edgar Ibarria, and Nicole Bates discuss their organizing work to end the school-to-prison pipeline in California. Representing COPE, CADRE, and C4LL, they explain how criminalization in schools—through vague policies like "willful defiance," surveillance, and policing—disproportionately harms Black and Brown students. The conversation highlights their legal and grassroots strategies, coalition building, and a major victory: defunding $25 million from school police to reinvest in Black student achievement. This episode offers a powerful blueprint for reimagining school safety and building collective power.

In this episode:

• How criminalization functions in schools and its disproportionate impact on Black and Brown students
• The "willful defiance" discipline category and the fight to change it
• Surveillance, metal detectors, and school policing — and organizing to reimagine safety
• The victory of defunding $25 million from school police to reinvest in Black student achievement
• How to build power through coalitions, movement lawyering, and community organizing

Jewel Patterson, COPE
Instagram JustJewel__
www.COPEsite.org
Instagram COPE2000_
Facebook COPE Inland Empire

Edgar Ibarria, CADRE
www.cadre-la.org
Instagram cadreparents
X @CADREparents
Facebook Community Asset Development Re-defining Education (CADRE)

Nicole Bates, C4LL
www.c4ll-ca.org
Instagram liberatorylawyersca
LinkedIn The Collective for Liberatory Lawyering

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 57
Guest: Deadric Williams, PhD
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Dr. Deadric Williams, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, breaks down the relationship between racism, race, and racialization—emphasizing that racism came first, not race. He explains how racism is upheld by both ideology and structures, and how the invention of race served to justify settler colonialism and slavery. The conversation explores how whiteness functions to divide oppressed groups and maintain dominance, including the use of coded language to sustain racial inequities. Dr. Williams offers a vital framework for understanding and dismantling systemic racism at its roots.

In this episode:

• How racism came first — and how race emerged from it, not the other way around
• Racism as a combination of ideology and structures that uphold white dominance
• How the invention of race justified settler colonialism and the enslavement of Africans
• How whiteness was created to divide oppressed groups and provide material and psychological benefits
• Coded language and how racial inequities are sustained in contemporary society

X @doc_thoughts
www.deadricwilliams.wordpress.com

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 56
Guests: Charla Yearwood, LCSW; Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP; Alan Dettlaff, PhD, MSW
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

Charla Yearwood, Cassandra Walker, and Dr. Alan Dettlaff discuss the ASWB's long-awaited release of social work licensing exam pass rates by race and age. The data reveals significant racial disparities, confirming what many have long known—that the exam is racially biased and discriminatory toward Black, Latinx, and Indigenous social workers. The conversation unpacks how ASWB has avoided accountability and why this exam must be challenged. This episode is part of the growing movement to end the use of this racist exam and calls listeners to take action.

In this episode:

• The ASWB report on licensing exam pass rates by race and what the data reveals
• How the exam discriminates against Black, Latinx, and Indigenous social workers
• How ASWB has avoided accountability and deflected blame
• The case for ending the use of this exam entirely
• How to get involved in the #StopASWB movement

Charla Yearwood, LCSW
www.charlayearwood.com
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/charlayearwood

Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP
www.i-cch.com
Bluesky @intersectionscch.bsky.social
Instagram intersectionsllc

Alan Dettlaff, PhD, MSW
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/alandettlaff

#StopASWB Petition https://www.change.org/p/aswb-end-discriminatory-social-work-licensing-exams

#StopASWB Press Conference Recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE_p6b6x06U

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Music credit
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/