I grew up in the Delta of Mississippi, the area that Scott Hartblay writes about in his “Civil Rights Journey” on page 14. I was born after the death of Emmett Till but before Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. I grew up with a deeply disturbing sense that things that I saw and heard every day, while they were “commonplace,” were not “right.”Well, their parents use it [racist language], so they [the children] don’t know any better. Yet, even as a small child, I knew that it was not right. Why did they accept it as just the way things were?

Maybe that’s part of the reason I became a social worker, because of the injustices that I saw. Maybe that’s why I was drawn to the blues and other forms of “social justice” music as an undergraduate music therapy major.

I like Scott’s idea of making a memorial to Emmett Till and others who died in the Civil Rights Movement. There are similar memorials—the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and others—that serve as reminders that these things should never happen again.

Yet, racism still has a strong presence in the U.S. I asked The New Social Worker writer Barbara Trainin Blank to investigate what social workers are doing on an organized basis to help combat racism today. Her special report appears on page 10. Social workers have a commitment to fight the injustices of racism, but much more needs to be done. This is an area I want to explore further.

I want to give a huge “thank you!” to our Career Talk columnists, Regina Trudy Praetorius and Laura Lawson. They have contributed greatly to the magazine over the past three years! Their last column appears in this issue.

See page 9 for an important notice about changes at The New Social Worker.

Until next time—happy reading!

Table of Contents

Student Role Model:
Darnell Morris-Compton
In this issue, Barbara Blank provides a close-up look at Darnell Morris-Compton, MSW student at the University of Maryland.
by Barbara Trainin Blank
page 3

Ethics: Culturally Competent Social Work Practice With Latino Clients
Read about Latino ethnicity and culture, effects of immigration and acculturation, cultural competence, and worker-client relationship issues.
by Amy Seipel and Ineke Way
page 4

Field Placement: Team Supervision—Is It for You?   
You just started your practicum, and you have not one, but a whole team of supervisors! This article is must-reading for you.
by Mitzi A. Lowe
page 8

Special Report: Racism—The Challenge for Social Workers
Despite the decades that have passed since the beginning of the civil rights movement, racism is still a major issue in America. Stories of organized hate groups, individual acts of racism, and institutional racism abound. What can social workers and the profession do?
by Barbara Trainin Blank
page 10

My Civil Rights Journey
Professor Scott Hartblay went to Mississippi last summer. Here he shares the story of what he found there.
by Scott R. Hartblay
page 14

The Inherent Value of Social Work
An essay on social work’s professional identity, sustainability, and future.
by Peter A. Kindle
page 17

Learning From Living: My Mexico Experience
A student learns from life in a new country.
by Erica J. Purkett
page 18

Career Talk: Keeping Track of It All...Building Your Social Work Portfolio
In their final column, Regina and Laura give tips on creating a portfolio to help you sell yourself to future employers.
by Regina Trudy Praetorius and Laura Lawson
page 20

Electronic Connection: Nothing New Under the Sun? Read On (Continuing to Apply New Technology to Social Work)
Just when it seems that nothing more can be said about technology, something new comes along.
by Marshall L. Smith
page 22

Honoring the Legacy: Building a Professional Identity in Clinical Social Work With Families
Social work, more than any other profession or discipline, has accumulated a rich history of assessing, treating, and advocating for families as units. Will you choose to honor the legacy of clinical family social work with your own practice?
by John K. Mooradian
page 25

On Campus    page 23
Books    page 24
Classified Ads    page 32
Social Work Education Directory    pages 27-31