Fostering Racial Justice in Social Work Education

The term “anti-Black racism” resonates strongly, particularly within the United States. This Viewpoint column reflects on our teaching experiences as racial minorities. Although this text focuses on anti-Black racism in social work education, we begin with a broader construct: cultural competence. According to the Council on Social Work Education (2022) Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, cultural competence has been a core part of social work education. However, our students are also immersed in a society where adverse microsegregation frequently occurs. Future social workers must be equipped with a deeper understanding of cultural competence. Within this context, we summarize definitions of anti-Black racism. The recent police killings of Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and other Black individuals have exposed the continued existence of anti-Black racism in the United States. Rooted in White supremacy, anti-Black racism assumes the inherent inferiority of Black people, those whose ancestral roots can be traced to the African diaspora. Black individuals are continually subjected to violence, persecution, dehumanization, and marginalization through both structural and systemic mechanisms (Baker-Bell, 2020).