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From November 2001 NASW NEWS NASW Social Work Pioneers are a driving force behind the archival project. The NASW Foundation has announced a new project aimed at cataloging and preserving priceless papers and pictures that document the association's history. The Legacy Project (Linking Empowerment, Growth, Advocacy and Caring for 50 Years) will enable NASW to identify and protect key photographs, books, papers and other artifacts. It will provide for the hiring of a professional archivist to centralize the scattered written and visual story that NASW has told over the course of its 50 years. "We want to be able to show the public that this is our impact on history, on social justice," said NASW President Terry Mizrahi. "Our legacy is very important." Camille Rodriguez, NASW senior manager, explained that the U.S. is unique internationally in that it has a thriving nonprofit sector — neither public nor private — which influences policy and shapes the political and social landscape. Almost 50 years ago, seven such organizations came together to form NASW, and their activist roots have grown into the association that exists today. The Legacy Project will be the documented history of that journey, she said. An organized, chronological exhibit of NASW's written and visual history will also serve as a resource for social work students and scholars, said NASW Executive Director Elizabeth Clark. NASW would like to assist chapters in documenting their histories as well, Clark said, noting that some chapters, such as South Carolina and Pennsylvania, have already assembled oral histories. Clark and Rodriguez stressed that the NASW Social Work Pioneers are a driving force behind the archival project, having recognized the intrinsic historical, educational and cultural value of preserving the past. According to Ruth Knee, co-chair of the Pioneers, "One of the most important things to understand is the relationship of the past to the future." She said that the Legacy Project will "give acclaim to those who have fought many hard battles and helped improve the lives of people in this country." Some of the pictures the association possesses are mementos of seminal political eras. There are pictures that predate the association's inception of social workers with Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt. There is a picture of a social worker with President Truman. And on the front page of the May 1964 NASW News, there is a picture of President Lyndon Johnson telling social workers assembled in the White House Rose Garden that a civil rights bill will be passed. Clark said she hopes that by the year 2005, which is NASW's 50th anniversary, the project will be complete and a traveling exhibit will be available. "The Legacy Project is NASW's opportunity to highlight the linkages between social activism and the association's long, comprehensive and activist history," Clark said. Back to NASW NEWS Contents
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