Abstract
This paper looks at how differential attitudes towards different social groups - African-Americans, those with minority religious views - leads to differential treatment (and thereby outcomes) for the families of abused children. The paper provides scholarly material supporting the above contention and also looks at what the social work profession can do to discourage such sentiments while simultaneously making itself more responsive to victims. As part of its investigation of this important issue, the paper also looks at Piagetian developmental theory and how the accomodationist processes which are pivotal to the cognitive development of children are profoundly affected by violence in the home going unchecked - in part because of social workers being lax in the discharge of their duties.

Tags:social, workers, families

Abstract
This paper explains that, without question, there are many troubling characterizations of African Americans in Harriet Beecher Stowe's, "Uncle Tom's Cabin". For example, the paper notes, the most articulate and "sympathetic" African Americans in Stowe's book are light-skinned, which clearly suggests that lightness of skin and personal merit were correlated in the mind of the author. The paper then argues that, in spite of these characterizations, Beecher Stowe generally sought to portray African Americans in a way that emphasized their humanity and potentiality. Thus, the negative stereotypes in the novel are outweighed by the book's many strengths.

From the Paper
"Obviously, besides the characters highlighted above, other black individuals in Harriet Beecher Stowe's most enduring work need to be looked at carefully - although there is really only room for one. That "one" is Tom, the apparent "accomodationist" whom critics have perceived for generations as a weak-willed and subservient individual who sought to ingratiate himself with whites as opposed to acting as a forceful leader of the African-American cause in his community."

Tags:slave-masters, exploited, light-skinned, christian, accomodationist