Suchergebnisse

To date, social work continues to be a predominantly white-dominated profession; this is true across all levels of the profession's current and aspiring membership, including students, practitioners, and faculty members. This racial composition is remnant of our profession's history of upholding white supremacy and legacy of white saviorism. Not surprisingly, foundational teachings of social work center and champion white women (e.g., Jane Addams) while neglecting the important contributions of Black and Brown social workers to the profession. The harm done by continuing and upholding these practices extends to all spheres that social work education touches, directly or indirectly. While the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics would lead one to think of social work as a noble profession, the reality demonstrates that we continually fall short of that reputation. Social work education is guilty of exploiting vulnerable and marginalized communities for the benefit of the profession under the guise of promoting social justice. For example, field placement, a cornerstone of social work education, continues to send mainly white students into communities of color for the purposes of learning, often treating the community as guinea pigs in the pursuit of white knowledge through experiential learning. Although in the long run, field placements can have some benefits for communities, we need to be more critical about the practices we engage in and the ways in which they fail to advance social justice and reinforce the status quo. We are at a pivotal moment in our profession as we reckon with the dissonance between our preaching and practice. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the many ways in which social work education haphazardly 1) perpetuates colonialism and upholds white supremacy, 2) harms marginalized communities, and 3) fails to model our code of ethics. We make a call for serious introspection within the field of social work: to evaluate the power dynamics at play, reckon with our past, and plan for a profession that strengthens and lives up to its commitment to social justice. We conclude with recommendations for transformative change within the social work profession.

The summer of 2020 saw a racial justice awakening among predominantly white scholars. While this "awakening" or reckoning regarding the long-standing racism in society is welcomed and necessary, we must recognize the stark differences in how this work is felt and ultimately in how the work needs to be done by different groups in society. While BIPOC scholars worked to balance the need to process and recover, self-preserve, and advocate, white peers formed book clubs and posted black squares to their social media sites. This distinction describes the frustrating reality that many BIPOC scholars experience in the work of undoing racism. We bear the unrelenting burdens of being oppressed, fighting racism, and trying to survive in a society that does not value our inherent dignity and worth. For BIPOC doctoral students who simultaneously navigate the roles of being a student, peer, and instructor, these burdens are threefold. We are expected to do the invisible work of mentoring and holding space for fellow BIPOC students while also educating white students and faculty/administrators on racial justice issues and contending with faculty expectations. These burdens are exacerbated as we see anti-racism quickly go in vogue and then fall out of favor soon after. The aftermath: unfulfilled promises and commitments by self-proclaimed anti-racists, leaving BIPOC scholars to pick up the pieces and solely shoulder the never-ending work of anti-racism. There is a continued lack of sustained commitment to achieving racial equity across the board. The steps that have been taken are often characterized by quick fixes that fall short of the real work that will lead to a racially just, equitable and inclusive community. The purpose of this paper is to bring attention to the challenges within the academy experienced by BIPOC social work doctoral students. Drawing upon our experience with creating a BIPOC-centered support group at a predominantly white institution (PWI), we provide insight and recommendations on how colleagues and administrators alike can take action to hold space, bolster, and better support BIPOC doctoral student scholars by creating inclusive educational environments, offering tailored, concrete, and formal supports, and ultimately creating an anti-racist academic culture free from all forms of oppression.

Nearly one-fourth of all undergraduate degrees received by Black students are from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). HBCUs have both historical significance and present-day relevance in the promotion of Black excellence in higher education, especially in the consideration of behavioral health. The purpose of this work is to examine the present state of research surrounding behavioral health within HBCUs. A scoping review was conducted of the EbscoHost database, yielding a total of 252 articles. A total of 39 articles met the inclusion criteria and were examined within this work. Six studies informed the prevalence of behavioral health issues on campus, while the remaining articles covered a broad range of research from psychological and physical wellbeing, sexual health, violence, identity, and ideology, and finally programs and policies. Gaps and future recommendations for research and practice are discussed.