From Dean Delva: Standing Against Racism
May 31, 2020
Dear members of the SSW Community,
It is painful to watch the recent events that continuously remind us of the racist society we live in. As an immigrant and a person of color and a parent raising multi-racial children in this world, I recognize many of us do not need reminders of the threats to our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being posed by white supremacy culture. These threats persist for people of color from all walks of life.
Our social work profession and the Boston University School of Social Work have a longstanding history of and commitment to building a just and more compassionate world. We envision a society that promotes the health, wellbeing, and empowerment of all peoples. We recognize that particular attention needs to be paid to oppressed groups, those most affected by institutional racism and an economic system that prioritizes the profits of a few over the wellbeing of the many.
As a value-based profession, we are horrified at the events over the last week; from the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man by Minneapolis police officers, to the brutal murder of Ahmaud Arbery by racists in Georgia. Unfortunately, these tragedies are completely predictable. They are a result of our culture of white supremacy and racial capitalism.
White supremacy culture is responsible for Breonna Taylors’ murder in her own home by Louisville police and for a black man being reported to the police for daring to ask a white woman to leash her dog in Central Park, New York. Our system of racial capitalism causes people of color to die of COVID–19 at much higher rates than whites, experience greater levels of economic insecurity, and an increased risk of evictions and foreclosures. As social workers, we know another world is possible, but we have to, and we will, fight for it. In the words of Frederick Douglass: “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will.” We demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Moreover, we demand that the agents of societal systems, structures and institutions value black lives. We demand policies that center the health and wellbeing of black people.
Our Social Work Code of Ethics requires us to stand against oppression and work for the liberation of all. At BUSSW we are committed to identifying and eliminating the toxicity of white supremacist culture through our social justice learning communities, reflecting team labs, and the rigorous evaluation of our syllabi and course content. Many of our educational priorities, from public health to participatory research, are attempts to “bend the arc” toward justice. Most recently, students, staff and alumni have successfully organized for an eviction moratorium in Massachusetts, called for police budget cuts, supported Medicare for all, and advocated for restorative justice programs and prison abolition. We also want to stress the importance of discussing and addressing in class these acts of racial violence and the system they are borne from.
Under the leadership of our school’s inaugural Associate Dean for Equity & Inclusion, Prof. Dawn Belkin Martinez, and our Equity & Inclusion Committee, we at BUSSW will continue to strengthen our external commitment through community partnerships, initiatives calling for an end to structural racism, and to developing a system that takes care of our multiracial communities and planet.
Dean Delva