Social Work is Political

This might be one of my last political posts but I might not be able to guarantee that as well. Being a social worker is being political. We are obligated to fight for those who are disenfranchised, oppressed, and experience discrimination on many levels. This often does not apply to white people. As a social worker, we are called to speak out against systems and for those who need our voice and often our privilege. This a part of our ethics through the NASW, through our training in school and often part of the mission statements and vision statements of the organizations we work for too. This is also important because much of social work activities performed on a day to day basis are done by white female social workers. If you are a white social worker, you need to be aware of your privilege, how you interact with others, the historical trauma of every group in the United States that is not white, and how your unconscious bias show up everyday in your work. Social work is political but it is also self care.

Self care is more than bubble baths

Self care in social work for a white person shouldn’t be 100% about taking a day off or even a bubble bath. A part of our self care as a social worker needs to be working on our own internal blocks, traumas and working on our learned racism. As a white person, we have been born and swam in the waters of racism within the United States where we have learned certain beliefs, ideas, concepts as well as power differentials that allow us to benefit while others suffer. This work is just as important if not even more important than the clinical work we continue to participate in to keep our licenses and skills fresh.

A few easy resources include books like How to be Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, and So you Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo to websites such as the whiteallytoolkit.com or the work by Resmma Menken. One more good resource is the Black, Indigenours and People of Color Mental Health Resource Guide.

It is exciting that Joe Biden has been elected along with having a Vice President elect who will be the first women, first black woman and first South Asian women in the office. Their election is just the start of the healing process, just the start of the work of being inclusive of all people.

Anti Racism Work is

Self Care in Social Work!