Why This Project Matters
The majority of social workers in the United States are White and they are less likely to recognize white supremacy and how they embody it. By not seeing white supremacy, White social workers continue to participate in the recursive cycle that maintains the same oppressive system they claim to be working to ameliorate. In fact, White social workers may be more likely to distance themselves from white supremacy given the divergent values between social work and white supremacy. bell hooks captures this in Killing Rage (1995) when she writes:
When liberal whites fail to understand how they can and/or do embody white supremacist values and beliefs even though they may not embrace racism as prejudice or domination (especially domination that involves coercive control), they cannot recognize the ways their actions support and affirm the very structure of racist domination and oppressions that they profess to wish to see eradicated. (p.185)
White supremacy is at the root of nearly all social problems in the United States. It affects all members of society in different ways. However, the system itself insulates White people from recognizing its pervasiveness and impact on society. Social work focuses on the need to name a problem in order to find solutions. Naming manifestations of white supremacy may help White social workers to recognize it as a first step towards disrupting the recursive system.
When liberal whites fail to understand how they can and/or do embody white supremacist values and beliefs even though they may not embrace racism as prejudice or domination (especially domination that involves coercive control), they cannot recognize the ways their actions support and affirm the very structure of racist domination and oppressions that they profess to wish to see eradicated. (p.185)
White supremacy is at the root of nearly all social problems in the United States. It affects all members of society in different ways. However, the system itself insulates White people from recognizing its pervasiveness and impact on society. Social work focuses on the need to name a problem in order to find solutions. Naming manifestations of white supremacy may help White social workers to recognize it as a first step towards disrupting the recursive system.