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Racism
BACKGROUND
Racism is pervasive
in American society and remains a silent code that systematically
closes the doors of opportunity to young and old alike. Visibly
identifiable members of racial and ethnic oppressed groups continue
to struggle for equal access and opportunity, particularly during
times of stringent economics, strident calls for tax revolt, dwindling
natural resources, inflation, widespread unemployment and underemployment,
and conservative judicial opinions that are precursors to greater
deprivation. Unless curbed, these conditions invariably lead to
greater ethnic and racial rivalry and to greater political, social,
and economic oppression.
According to the
NASW Code of Ethics (1996), "Social workers. . . should advocate
for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions
in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.
. . . Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination
of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group,
or class" (p. 27). It is therefore appropriate that NASW assume
greater leadership in developing both internal and external policies
and programs to end racism in society and in the social work profession.
Education
The educational
system in the United States systematically denies equal access
and opportunity to children and adults of color, especially those
who are poor. Adequate attention is not paid to the negative impact
of societal forces such as racism, segregation, poverty, and urbanization
on educational achievement. Nor is adequate attention paid to the
impact of educational systems that discriminate against students
of color and their families. The necessity for comprehensive multilingual
and multicultural curricula is not sufficiently recognized in national
policy or local practice. In higher education, people of color
are not proportionately represented at staff, student, faculty,
or administrative levels. Insufficient financial resources exacerbate
these and other problems.
Employment
Racism is rampant
in all areas of employment. For many members of oppressed racial
and ethnic groups, there is always an economic depression. Often
people of color are the last hired and the first fired. As a result,
budget cuts, downsizing, and privatization may disproportionately
hurt people of color. Furthermore, there is a growing shortage
of manufacturing and other jobs that people of color have historically
held. In February 1995 the unemployment rate for African Americans
was 10.1 percent as compared to 4.7 percent for white Americans
(Berry, 1995). The unemployment rate for adolescents of color is
approximately four times that of white adolescents. Women and men
of color continue to be underrepresented in decision-making and
administrative positions. Affirmative action programs are not sufficiently
enforced and supported and in some cases have produced conflict
and polarity among employees. Tokenism, rather than genuine compliance
with affirmative action and equal employment requirements, is too
often the rule.
Housing
Many people of
color have little choice as to where they live and pay higher rents
for less adequate housing. Mortgage and lending institutions continue
the illegal practice of redlining. As recently as 1994, an $11
million settlement regarding redlining mortgages in minority neighborhoods
was agreed to in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Studies
conducted by the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD), and the Urban Institute have found
persistent discrimination against African Americans and Hispanics
by financial institutions, landlords, and real estate agencies
(Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, 1995). Illegal discriminatory
practices, such as steering, discourage visibly identifiable racial
and ethnic group members from renting or buying in specific neighborhoods.
The maintenance
of public housing continues to be a serious problem. In the 1980s
housing programs were dramatically reduced. In the 1990s homeless
shelters too often became the solution for housing millions of
men, women, and children. The fact that African Americans and other
oppressed groups are so disproportionately affected by homelessness
further aggravates this inequality.
Health Care and
Mental Health Services
The current dual
health care systems of fees-for-service and public care are not
meeting the needs of people of color. Most health care costs continue
to increase, while for many the quality and accessibility of services
decline. Furthermore, too many health care facilities, mental health
services, and health care providers tend to be located in areas
that are inaccessible to low-income urban neighborhoods and rural
districts, where many people of color reside. Many cannot obtain
private health or mental health care because they have neither
the money nor the access to medical insurance coverage.
With the decline
of free public hospitals and of public or low-cost mental health
care, people of color often go without care. Public services, such
as sanitation, are more likely to be neglected in low-income areas,
thus creating additional health hazards. Inadequate housing and
poor nutrition make chronic illness and early death common problems.
For example, in the United States life expectancy for people of
color is significantly less than it is for white people (Dunkel & Norgard,
1995).
Public Welfare
Public welfare
is a fragmented, chaotic, and irrational system. It is an expression
of the unwillingness and inability of the major beneficiaries of
our "free market" economic system to accept responsibility
for providing jobs to all who can work and for providing a level
of income that is adequate to maintain a decent standard of life.
The welfare system has been used to keep wages low and to maintain
a pool of people available to work at menial, unskilled jobs. Furthermore,
many unskilled jobs available in the past have disappeared. Public
welfare services usually do not include coplanning for services,
job training, educational, child care, family planning, or unemployment
insurance services that would empower the individual to benefit
from the economic system. Disregard for personal rights and human
dignity, inconsistent policies, and violation of regulations have
often characterized the administration and delivery of public assistance
and keep visibly identifiable people of color who apply for assistance
at a disadvantage.
Social Services
Social services
tend to direct people of diverse racial and cultural backgrounds
into a system that is designed for European Americans and serviced
by workers from European American groups. Often the result is nonuse
or underutilization of available services by people who confront
racial, cultural, and linguistic barriers. Although desperately
needed, social services often mask symptoms of larger problems,
such as racism, unemployment, illiteracy, and poverty. Social workers
further empower the established system when their clients are not
fully informed or encouraged to use entitlements.
The need for social
services often is created by economic policies and practices. Too
often society "blames the victim" and focuses on adjusting
the individual to existing societal conditions, disregarding the
need for environmental and institutional change and responsiveness.
Political Activity
People of color
are grossly underrepresented in federal and local elective and
appointive positions. Thus, legislation affecting all people is
produced by nonrepresentative legislative bodies. A 1991 study
by Mary Sawyer found an apparent pattern of harassment against
African American elected officials in the United States using tactics
of Internal Revenue Service audits, surveillance, phone taps, recall
movements, and so forth (Congressional Black Caucus Foundation,
1995).
ISSUE STATEMENT
Racism is the ideology
or practice through demonstrated power of perceiving the superiority
of one group over others by reason of race, color, ethnicity, or
cultural heritage. In the United States and elsewhere, racism is
manifested at the individual, group, and institutional levels.
It has been institutionalized and maintained through educational,
economic, political, religious, social, and cultural policies and
activities. It is observable in the prejudiced attitudes, values,
myths, beliefs, and practices expressed by many people, including
those in positions of power. Racism is functional—that is,
it serves a purpose. In U.S. society, racism functions to maintain
structural inequities that are to the disadvantage of people of
color.
Organized discrimination
against members of visibly identifiable racial and ethnic groups
has permeated every aspect of their lives, including education,
employment, contacts with the legal system, economics, housing,
politics, religion, and social relationships. It has become institutionalized
through folklore, legal restrictions, values, myths, and social
mores that are openly supported by a substantial number of people,
including those who maintain control of the major institutions
of American society.
The history of
racism in this country began with the genocide of American Indians
and includes the atrocities of slavery, colonialism, and the internment
of Japanese Americans. Historically, racism has been used to justify
the conquering of people of color—American Indians, African
Americans, Native Alaskans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and Native
Hawaiians—to obtain land, forced or cheap labor, and strategic
military outposts. These conquered population groups became involuntary
U.S. citizens. As other people of color immigrated to the United
States as legal or undocumented immigrants, especially those entering
the United States after the immigration laws of the mid-1960s,
they too often faced many of the same stereotypes, myths, and prejudices
that the conquered populations had faced. Among the other immigrants
encountering racism are Pacific Islanders and other Asians, Dominicans,
Cubans and other Latinos, and West Indians and other people of
African heritage. The effects of racism are seen in poor health
and health services, inadequate mental health services, low wages,
high unemployment and underemployment, overrepresentation in prior
populations, substandard housing, high school dropout rates, decreased
access to higher education opportunities, and other institutional
maladies.
Racism negatively
impacts both the oppressed and the oppressor. Institutional racism
has historical roots in injustices perpetrated by our ancestors
on indigenous and other populations in conquering and populating
this country. Recognition of historical injustices is the beginning
step in combating racism. One has to acknowledge the fact that
the sons and daughters are not responsible for the sins of their
parents, but the sons and daughters must analyze the present reality
to ascertain if as a result of the historical injustices perpetrated
by our parents results in one group in society being in a more
advantageous and favorable position over and at the expense of
others. It is incumbent in solidarity with those groups who are
subordinate to join forces together with the profession of social
work to bring about a more just and equitable society in which
power, status, wealth, services, and opportunities are enjoyed
by all. Even those who are not consciously racist tend to accept
white privilege and the benefits of discrimination against others.
Racism limits and minimizes the contributions many citizens can
make to U.S. society.
Social workers
often hold jobs where they confront the damaging effects of racism:
greater poverty, higher mortality rates, inadequate housing, higher
unemployment and underemployment, more prevalent illiteracy and
limited educational opportunities, greater inaccessibility to health
care services, higher incidence of mental illness, disproportionate
involvement in the criminal justice system, and disproportionate
involvement in unpopular public welfare programs. As professional
administrators, educators, organizers, planners, case managers,
supervisors, consultants, caseworkers, and other practitioners,
social workers have firsthand knowledge of the difficulties that
many racial and ethnic group members encounter in their efforts
to combat white privilege, gain access to resources, and obtain
a professional education. Most social workers also witness the
scarcity of racially and ethnically diverse professionals available
to act as role models and to provide services to diverse client
populations. Furthermore, employment opportunities in the upper
echelons of the social work delivery systems have historically
been elusive for African American, Latino, American Indian, Pacific
Islander, and Asian social workers.
POLICY STATEMENT
NASW supports an
inclusive society in which racial, ethnic, social, sexual orientation,
and gender differences are valued and respected. Racism at any
level should not be tolerated. Emphasis must be placed on self-examination,
learning, and change to unlearn racist beliefs and practices in
order to be fully competent to join others in the full appreciation
of all differences.
The association
seeks the enactment of public social policies that will protect
the rights of and ensure equity and social justice for all members
of diverse racial and ethnic groups. It is the ethical responsibility
of NASW members to assess their own practices and the agencies
in which they work for specific ways to end racism where it exists.
The basic goal should be to involve social workers in specific,
time-limited educational and action programs designed to bring
about measurable changes within provider agencies and within NASW
national units, chapters, and local units. This is based on the
premise that to engage in constructive intraprofessional relationships
and to effectively serve clients, social workers must engage in
self-examination of their own biases and stereotypes and work to
develop an unbiased attitude. Racism is embedded in our society
and unless we identify specific instances and work to remove them
we are part of the problem rather than a mechanism for the solution.
Education
NASW advocates
the following:
- adoption of
a national policy calling for the development and implementation
of comprehensive multilingual and multicultural curricula—such
curricula must call attention to white privilege, the pain of
oppression, the legacy of racism, and the contributions of racially
oppressed groups
- implementation
of programs and policies designed to produce high-quality education
through a range of effective approaches
- the addressing
and seeking of censure against educators and educational systems
that practice discrimination against students, faculty, and staff
of color and their families
- creation of
educational systems in which faculties, staff, students, administrators,
and boards of education reflect the diversity of neighborhoods
and the larger society
- the upholding
of the highest standard to assure that fair and adequate funding
and treatment is the goal of all educational systems.
Employment
NASW advocates
the following:
- implementation
of a national policy of full employment
- development
of comprehensive job training programs
- maintenance
and strengthening of affirmative action plans so that they have
the necessary authority and resources to be implemented successfully
as demonstrated by measurable outcomes
- an adequate
minimum wage that reflects the realities of the economy
- effective, affordable,
comprehensive, multicultural, multilingual, and accessible child
care
- establishment
of workforce policies that minimize the negative impact on employees
and communities of color.
Housing and Community
NASW advocates
the following:
- enactment and
practice of an open housing policy designed to eliminate externally
imposed segregation in housing as the result of concentrated
public housing, redlining, renovation, and conversion of apartment
houses to condominiums
- establishment
of government and support programs that promote revitalization
in communities of people of color.
Health Care and
Mental Health Services
NASW advocates
the following:
- health and mental
health practitioners learn and use culturally relevant healing
practices when appropriate
- self-study of
health and mental health providers to identify oppressive policies,
practices, and strategies and target dates for change
- availability
and accessibility of health care facilities, mental health services,
and private practitioners in all neighborhoods
- recruitment
and training of people of color as health and mental health providers,
particularly social workers.
Public Welfare
Services
NASW advocates
the following:
- positive regard
and respect for each individualÕs personal rights and human dignity
- elimination
of violations of regulations and inconsistent policies in public
welfare that place people of color at a disadvantage
- the use of racial
and cultural sensitivity in the development and delivery of public
welfare services
- elimination
of broader problems such as unemployment, illiteracy, and poverty
that create the need for social services.
Social Services
NASW advocates
the following:
- development
of social services that target needs articulated by the community
to be served
- development
of model social programs that emphasize empowerment of the community
and stress economic independence
- continuously
addressing the underrepre-sentation of people of color in the
social services professions and policy-making boards of social
services agencies.
Criminal Justice
System
NASW advocates
the following:
- fair and equitable
treatment of racial and ethnic minorities involved in the criminal
justice system
- the monitoring
and promoting of criminal justice policies, statutes, and laws
that do not discriminate against individuals based on race, ethnicity,
class, political affiliation, or place of residence
- strive to end
racism and discrimination in recruitment, hiring, retention,
and promotion in employment of racial and ethnic minorities in
all levels of the criminal justice system; increase the availability
and accessibility of professionally trained interpreters in instances
where language differences may inhibit communication.
Political Activity
NASW advocates
the following:
- passage of legislation
that serves to acknowledge, maintain, or enhance the sovereign
rights of indigenous populations
- election and
appointment of legislators from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds
- growth of public
interest groups that are racially and ethnically diverse
- passage of legislation
that will have a favorable impact on people of color
- massive voter
registration and education
- unseating legislators
who sponsor or support bills that are racist in intent or implementation
- provision of
diversity training for public officials.
Profession
NASW advocates
the following:
- full representation
of groups oppressed because of race, color, or ethnicity at all
levels of leadership and employment—policy formulation,
administration, supervision, and direct services—in social
work and in NASW
- implementation
of the concepts of affirmative action in all facets of the profession
at both the voluntary and paid levels of service, especially
in practice, education, and professional development
- development
of guidelines for multicultural social work curricula that emphasize
social work as a profession that strives to empower those with
less power because of racial or ethnic identification.
REFERENCES
Berry, M. F. (1995,
May). Affirmative action: Political opportunists exploit racial
fears. Emerge, 4, 29-39.
Congressional Black
Caucus Foundation. (1995). The mean season for African Americans.
Washington, DC: Author.
Dunkel, R. E., & Norgard,
T. (1995). Aging overview. In R. L. Edwards (Ed.-in-Chief), Encyclopedia
of social work (19th ed., Vol. 1, pp. 142-153). Washington, DC:
NASW Press.
National Association
of Social Workers. (1996). NASW code of ethics. Washington, DC:
Author.
SUGGESTED READINGs
Banton, M. (1988).
Racial consciousness. London: Longman.
Gray, W. (1996,
May). Speech for the 100th anniversary of Plessy vs Ferguson. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute. (C-Span, August
13, 1996)
Hacker, A. (1992).
Two nations, black and white, separate, hostile, and unequal. New
York: Ballantine Books.
Kivel, P. (1996).
Uprooting racism: How white people can work for racial justice.
Philadelphia: New Society Publishers.
Swoboda, F. (1995,
March 16). Glass ceiling firmly in place: Panel finds minorities,
women are rare in management. Washington Post, pp. A1, A18.
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