The election of the first Black president in 2008 and the first Black and South Asian vice president in 2020 may have appeared to some that the United States was a nation beyond race. But these events sit alongside many others that paint an entirely different picture: the killings of unarmed Black men; waves of hate crimes against the Asian-American, Arab-American, and Sikh-American communities; continued maltreatment of Indigenous peoples; and poor health outcomes for people of color.
As a social worker, it is important for you to stay abreast of current events to understand how they may impact the clients, families, and communities with whom you work. You must also consider how you interact with the world on subjects related to race and ethnicity. How do these circumstances shape you and your anti-racist practice?
For this Discussion, you select and analyze a current event connected to race and ethnicity and how you might support the affected population in your practice.
To Prepare
- Identify a current issue or event (within the past year) that speaks to race and ethnicity. It could be local to your community, or it could be national.
- Consider how you would provide culturally competent social work practice to the affected population.
By Day 4
Post a description of a current issue or event that speaks to race and ethnicity. Then explain the following:
- How the event connects to race or ethnicity, and to your current understanding of power, privilege, and oppression
- How you, as a social worker, would approach the population affected. How would you provide culturally competent practice?
- How your approach aligns with and illuminates your personal statement on anti-racist social work practice
