Keep Fighting the Good Fight
From the President
By Karen Bullock, PhD, LICSW, APHSW-C
We need social workers to be everywhere, doing what no other profession can do better–which is to be problem-solvers with compassion and selflessness. We must be the change we want to see in these turbulent times.
Professional social workers are the largest group of mental health professionals. There are more than 200,000 clinically trained social workers in the United States—more than psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses combined. We represent more than 60% of the mental health workforce. It is critically important that we continue to advance our profession through our commitment to professional standards, competence and professional ethics—whether on the micro, mezzo or macro level.
We need each one of you to stand strong with your commitments and competence to be the best social worker you can be. Collectively we are powerful in carrying the mission of our profession, which is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people.
Social work as a profession is committed to addressing the needs of people who are oppressed, vulnerable and historically marginalized. We lead efforts to empower individuals who otherwise might not be “seen or heard.” We lift up voices and integrate lived experiences into our evidence-based practices. We challenge injustices and lobby to ensure legislation and policies are responsive to human needs in ways that align with our anti-poverty/ anti-oppressive/anti-racist core values, ethics and best practice standards.
These core values—service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence—guide social work and keep the profession centered on diversity, equity and inclusion. In the words of former congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis, who was celebrated as the “Conscience of Congress,” we are still in the business of getting in “good trouble.”
Long before Lewis named it, we social workers positioned ourselves to play a fundamental role in the Civil Rights Movement, advocating for nonviolent protest, racial equality and equity. Little did some of us know we were getting into good trouble by challenging systemic injustices on a level that threatens some elected officials.
As individuals and as a profession, social workers still believe that Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Latino/a/x, Asian and Pacific Islanders lives matter as much as the lives of all other people. And as we continue promoting “racial and ethnic diversity,” we are getting in good trouble.
The point is that we are living in a time when democracy is under threat. As a society, we have moved so far in the direction of erasing people, wrongfully accusing people, detaining people, terrorizing people, and, simply put, killing people under the guise of making America great again.
Beyond the Breaking Point
Many of us feel hopeless, helpless and despondent. During the NASW national conference in June, presenters and speakers challenged us to reclaim our power and collective identity as a profession, and as global community members of a profession that does what no other profession does: “Stand in the gap,” armed with our Code of Ethics. That gap means addressing the social determinants of health, because no one should ever have to go without food when they’re hungry or without shelter when they need a place to rest their head, or without medical care when they are sick.
In this profession, we take an oath to honor our Social Work Code of Ethics, which clearly states that inequities and injustices can take no refuge among us. We must fight against those, and arm ourselves with the awareness, skills and knowledge that enable us to demonstrate cultural competence.
It is essential that we explore various mechanisms for reclaiming our purpose and power as a profession, examining how coalitions are built and what it means to stay in this work when the weight of it may feel untenable and devalued. We must stay the course and fight the good fight to make this world a better place for ALL, not just for some.
As your newly appointed president of NASW, I commit to holding space for you to be seen and heard, and to continue the discourse and dialogue we engaged in during the national conference in Washington, D.C.
We need members to help lead NASW forward in ways that matter to you. My leadership style is collective and inclusive. I welcome your feedback and input. I want to know what it will take to keep you engaged and what we can do to benefit you as a valued member and social work colleague. I have been a member of NASW for more than three decades and have always found value in my membership, but I know that my “why” is not your “why.”
The bottom line is: We need your help to move this association forward, collectively, with our voices being the force that will stand firmly against oppression, discrimination and all the “isms” that come our way. Together we can engage in restorative practices that help us recenter our purpose as a profession.
NASW is a membership association, and we want to be on this journey to sustainability with each of you. I hope you also feel that you have chosen a profession you can support and that supports your career aspirations and values.
These turbulent times shall pass. Let’s commit to moving forward together. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we see you; we hear you; and we NEED you—because members matter.
Contact Karen Bullock at president@socialworkers.org