Why did Carla suspect discriminatory treatment toward Maria and perhaps other Spanish-speaking clients in the community?

Question

Carla Hudson, a Black social worker with the Women’s Resource Center (WRC), had worked with Maria Velasquez, a Mexican immigrant and mother of two children, for several years as she struggled to escape a violent home situation. Maria was Carla’s first Spanish-speaking client. Maria’s spoken English was easily understandable, but she could not read or write English well. As Carla assisted Maria in acquiring mainstream services, including Head Start, TANF, Food Stamps, and WIC, she noticed barriers to services that she began to suspect were related to discrimination against Spanish-speaking clients. When two White Head Start caseworkers refused to help Maria attain educational support that she needed in order to gain English literacy, Carla faced the challenge of addressing discrimination issues in another agency and perhaps throughout the service delivery system in Jasper, Alabama.

Answer 1

Maria was Carla’s first Spanish-speaking client. Carla noted upon her first meeting with Maria that she had difficulty reading the materials that were put in front of her. She had perhaps anticipated the possibility that language might be a problem. She noted subtle clues in Maria’s actions, such as staring at the papers, shuffling them around, and appearing embarrassed.
Carla learned from Maria that Rodney had prevented Maria’s education in English, and she had observed and assisted Maria as she sought other mainstream services. She had even accompanied Maria to some appointments because Maria had reported difficulty in those offices.
The conversations with Head Start workers confirmed for Carla her suspicions. She perceived a bias against Maria because of her lack of English reading skills. To Carla, they seemed uninterested in helping. Carla was suspicious, especially after Andrea’s statement that “they are all like that,” a blatantly prejudiced statement. The statement suggested that discriminatory behavior might be likely to follow. Carla may have accurately diagnosed discrimination, or it is feasible also that Carla was being overly suspicious of that possibility. Perhaps her own experiences with discrimination as a Black woman contributed to her alertness to this possibility for Maria.
Carla seemed to be knowledgeable about and was attentive to special needs that immigrants have, especially related to literacy and discrimination. She seemed to anticipate or expect that Maria would have these needs. Apparently, she did not think Maria needed an interpreter, as many immigrants do. Social workers should ensure that clients have interpreters when necessary.