Defending Our Freedoms, Defending Our Values

Ethnic and Religious Diversity

September 14, 2001

The National Association of Social Workers is ever mindful of the occurrence of prejudice and discrimination. Since the events of September 11, there have been daily reports about harassment of Arab-Americans and Muslims. To brand all people of a particular religion, or of a particular culture or ethnicity, as supporters of terrorism against the United States of America would be mindless prejudice. This is a time to call on our best judgement. We must continue to fight against discrimination, oppression, poverty, religious intolerance and other forms of social injustice. We must defend America's rich cultural, ethnic and religious diversity.

The Code of Ethics of the social work profession makes it emphatically clear that we "do not practice, condone, facilitate, or collaborate with any form of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, political belief, religion, or mental or physical disability." We call on our colleagues, friends and neighbors in communities across this country to recognize the importance of guarding against prejudice. We call on our nation to recognize that hate crimes are not expressions of patriotism. Rather, there is strength in unity and defending those principles on which this nation has been built: "liberty and justice for all."

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