Anti-Racist Resources
Where We Stand on Racism
NASW is committed to social justice for all and to ending racism. Across the country, we are mobilized and increasing our efforts in the face of America’s racism pandemic.
Get Resources and learn about our Activities
NASW-WI is committed to ending racism through public education, social justice advocacy and professional training.
Our members understand cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice. These activities may include direct practice, community organizing, supervision, consultation, administration, advocacy, social and political action, policy development and implementation, education, research and evaluation. The resources here can assist all social workers in their anti-racist efforts.
Read Board President Dawn Shelton William’s article from our Latest Newsletter
Read Executive Director Marc Herstand’s Blog on Black Lives Matter
In a joint message NASW, the Association of Social Work Boards and the Council on Social Work Education said just as the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for racial equity in society, the social work profession must look inward to fight institutionalized systemic racism at the heart of its constructs. This includes recognizing that people of color — including Ida B. Wells and George Edmund Haynes — played a key role in creating the profession in the same way as Jane Addams. Take time to read their message.
Briefs and Reports on Racial Justice
NASW Demands End to Excessive Use of Force by Law Enforcement
NASW Seeks to Dismantle Racist Policing
Racism is a Public Health Crisis
NASW joins the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association in calling on nation to declare systemic racism a public health crisis.
Read our op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel
An Important Message About Racism
It has been extremely disappointing and very concerning to learn of racist and unethical comments made by members of our professional social work community. This has caused even greater harm to colleagues facing one of the most traumatic times of their careers and lives.
Read the message from our Ethics, Diversity & Inclusion Department
NASW Seeks to Dismantle Racist Policing
Racism is real and must be eliminated. Police brutality is real and must be eliminated. Oppressive policing is real and must be eliminated.
Read the news release
Social Work in the (In)Justice System
Recent incidents of racist police brutality have highlighted the need for social work to examine its relationship with the larger criminal (in)justice system. This Educator|Resource shows how the adult and juvenile systems have been used as tools to control people of color, especially Black communities. It also addresses the longstanding debate that has currently surfaced regarding whether we need to reform or dismantle our broken justice system.
Provided here are useful resources to help social work students effectively engage in the adult criminal and juvenile justice systems. The resources are organized in a way that covers the entirety of both systems from prevention to reentry. It starts with entry into the system and an overview of prevention efforts, moves to conditions of confinement, then to unduly long-term sentencing, and finally to reentry, which signals the continuation of a self-perpetuating cycle. Works on gender-responsive approaches to the different needs of men/boys and women/girls are included.
Teaching Resources
The resources include recommended books, articles, reports, films, podcasts, and websites. Links have been provided where available. To provide further insight into how to structure a class, links to syllabi that critically consider these systems of (in)justice are included. The syllabus by contributor Dr. Aaron Gottlieb for his course Policy Approaches to Reforming the Adult Criminal Justice System is also included. The resources are organized as they apply to the adult criminal justice system, women in the criminal justice system, and the juvenile justice system.
- Guide to Best Practices for Social Work in the Adult Criminal Justice System
- Best Practices for Social Work With Women in the Adult Criminal Justice System Women
- Best Practices for Social Work in the Juvenile Justice System
Syllabus: Policy Approaches to Reforming the Adult Criminal Justice System
Mental Health Issues Facing the Black Community
- How Racism Causes Mental Health Issues
- The Importance of Culturally Competent Care
- Why Don’t Black People Seek Mental Health Help
- Black Mental Health Providers
Click here for more information and resources
Black Owned Businesses
Black Owned Businesses in Wisconsin
Milwaukee black-owned businesses
Madison black-owned businesses
This document is intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work. If you haven’t engaged in anti-racism work in the past, start now. Feel free to circulate this document on social media and with your friends, family, and colleagues.
Resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children:
- Books:
- Podcasts:
- Articles:
- The Conscious Kid: follow them on Instagram and consider signing up for their Patreon
Articles to read:
- “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer | Atlantic (May 8, 2020)
- Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists
- ”My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag (June 22, 2011)
- The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine
- The Combahee River Collective Statement
- “The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston | Vox (May 28, 2019)
- Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD
- “Where do I donate? Why is the uprising violent? Should I go protest?” by Courtney Martin (June 1, 2020)
- ”White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh
- “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic (May 12, 2020)
Videos to watch:
- Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives: Barbara Smith, Reina Gossett, Charlene Carruthers (50:48)
- Dr. Robin DiAngelo discusses ‘White Fragility’ (1:23:30)
- “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion” | Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools (18:26)
Podcasts to subscribe to:
- 1619 (New York Times)
- About Race
- Code Switch (NPR)
- Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
- Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
- Nice White Parents (Serial and The New York Times)
- Pod For The Cause (from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights)
- Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
- Seeing White
Books to read:
- Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
- Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper
- Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
- How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea J. Ritchie
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- Raising Our Hands by Jenna Arnold
- Redefining Realness by Janet Mock
- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander - The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century
by Grace Lee Boggs - The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe Moraga
- When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America by Ira Katznelson
Films and TV series to watch:
- 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
- American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
- Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent
- Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent
- Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent
- Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
- Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent
- I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy
- If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
- Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.
- King In The Wilderness — HBO
- See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
- Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.
- The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent
- The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Available to rent for free
- When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
Organizations to follow on social media:
- Antiracism Center: Twitter
- Audre Lorde Project: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Black Women’s Blueprint: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Color Of Change: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Colorlines: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- The Conscious Kid: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Families Belong Together: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Justice League NYC: Twitter | Instagram + Gathering For Justice: Twitter | Instagram
- The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- The Movement For Black Lives (M4BL): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- MPowerChange: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Muslim Girl: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- NAACP: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- National Domestic Workers Alliance: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- RAICES: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- SisterSong: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
- United We Dream: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
More anti-racism resources to check out:
- 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
- Anti-Racism Project
- Jenna Arnold’s resources (books and people to follow)
- Rachel Ricketts’ anti-racism resources
- Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism
- Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac
- Showing Up For Racial Justice’s educational toolkits
- The [White] Shift on Instagram
- “Why is this happening?” — an introduction to police brutality from 100 Year Hoodie
- Zinn Education Project’s teaching materials
Document compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein in May 2020.