Reflections With a Forecast: Social Workers Must Take the Lead in Achieving Equality for All

by Mit Joyner, MSW, LCSW

     I was the recipient of the  2017 CSWE Leadership and Service Award, and it was one of the highlights of my professional career. All the committees, boards, and task forces that I served on throughout my career were due to my personal goal to help bend the arc of social justice toward equality  for all. Social, environmental, and economic justice for all ignites my passion for the social work profession. Now is the defining time for the profession of social work to  achieve sustainable change in the area of social justice.    

     Social workers possess the knowledge, the values, and skills on the micro, mezzo, and macro levels to significantly reduce the growing disparities that continue to prey on the most vulnerable populations in our society. Our unifying core is the social work Code of Ethics. Our profession states that every social worker must work to alleviate all discriminatory practices.

     We are in a national crisis. It is time for all social work organizations to get out of the silos, out of our individual organizational missions, and step aside from the busy work that every association must do to stay afloat. And, it is time for every social worker - not only those who are licensed - to join, sustain, and support your social work organizations.

     We know that it takes resources to carry out and change institutional systems that are often the barriers and obstacles to progress. All social workers are change agents; even if you do not practice social work, most of us are committed to work that improves the lives of others. A strong diverse membership base is critical for financial strength, but it also reflects the totality of our talent pool. Having advocates who work in every sector of the workforce is the most powerful tool needed to lobby for legislation.

     Those who teach in social work programs must also be lifetime members. Faculty members serve as role models to social work students, and they are the gatekeepers of  the profession. As an emeritus faculty member, I still hold memberships in BPD, CSWE, and NASW. It is my  duty and obligation to the profession to do so. Let us stop asking what our social work organizations do for us; let us ask what we can do as active participants for our social work organizations.    

     We are living during a national crisis. All social work organizational leaders must respond.  They must come together in an urgent manner and develop a comprehensive plan of action for the social work  profession for those we serve.  Social work cannot sit idly by and only react to injustice. We must be the activists, be the leaders. We must forecast the change that is needed, initiate and execute a plan of action that the world is seeking. I was a “Social Work Wingspread” participant and was chosen to serve on the team. Our charge was to develop plans so social work associations would coalesce into one organization. Honestly, the plan was dead by the time we left the parking lot in Racine, Wisconsin. The group failed. Looking back, one reason the plan failed was that our focus was on dismantling rather than building.  We should have developed a plan of action for the profession of social work that focused on those we served. It was a missed opportunity, but now is the time to reinvigorate the foci.

     No matter your political affiliation, all social workers know that goodness is under attack.  Our social work professional organizations, and we as individuals, cannot fail this time. We must take the inherent risk necessary and speak about oppressive discriminatory acts and the basic denial of our inherent  rights. We must live up to our Code of Ethics for the  profession and be change agents. We must not become disillusioned or disenfranchised.

     As social workers, we will not wait to be led. We will lead the change our nation seeks. It is time for all social workers to save our humanity. We must actively uphold and improve the rights and lives of all people. Collectively, all social workers will bend forcefully and without apology the arc of justice toward equality for all.  

Mit Joyner, MSW, LCSW, is Professor Emeritus of Social Work of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, National NASW Vice President, Board Member of Chester County Food Bank, and DNBFirst Bank Director.