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Editorial: Advancing Our Commitment to Antiracist Scholarship

2020; University of Chicago Press; Volume: 11; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/711561

2334-2315

Todd I. Herrenkohl, Nikki R. Wooten, Lisa Fedina, Jennifer L. Bellamy, Alicia C. Bunger, Ding‐Geng Chen, Jeffrey M. Jenson, Bethany R. Lee, Jungeun Olivia Lee, Jeanne C. Marsh, Phyllis Solomon, Anne Williford,

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Previous articleNext article FreeEditorial: Advancing Our Commitment to Antiracist ScholarshipTodd I. Herrenkohl, Nikki R. Wooten, Lisa Fedina, Jennifer L. Bellamy, Alicia C. Bunger, Ding-Geng Chen, Jeffrey M. Jenson, Bethany R. Lee, Jungeun Olivia Lee, Jeanne C. Marsh, Phyllis Solomon, and Anne WillifordTodd I. HerrenkohlUniversity of Michigan Search for more articles by this author , Nikki R. WootenUniversity of South Carolina Search for more articles by this author , Lisa FedinaUniversity of Michigan Search for more articles by this author , Jennifer L. BellamyUniversity of Denver Search for more articles by this author , Alicia C. BungerThe Ohio State University Search for more articles by this author , Ding-Geng ChenUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Search for more articles by this author , Jeffrey M. JensonUniversity of Denver Search for more articles by this author , Bethany R. LeeUniversity of Maryland Search for more articles by this author , Jungeun Olivia LeeUniversity of Southern California Search for more articles by this author , Jeanne C. MarshUniversity of Chicago Search for more articles by this author , Phyllis SolomonUniversity of Pennsylvania Search for more articles by this author , and Anne WillifordColorado State University Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreSocial work prides itself as a profession committed to improving the lives of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. Achieving this mission requires candid conversations about racism as a social justice and public health issue and the role of social work in dismantling white supremacy and promoting racial justice. At its core, research on social work practice and policy should focus on examining how racism and inequality undermine the health, well-being, and social mobility of diverse and marginalized populations. We write this statement as a call to social work researchers to prioritize pursuits that will surface and motivate action to address the causes and consequences of racism. We also call on researchers to renew their commitment to scholarship that alleviates the suffering in Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color.Social work research is a foundation on which social policies and services are developed and advanced. Extensive research points to the ways in which systems and structures oppress and produce negative impacts on the health and safety of individuals and families of color, and recent events—including those involving police brutality—show that racism is rampant and unrelenting. During this time of deep uncertainty and social unrest, each of us must strengthen our commitment to antiracist scholarship, and we must prioritize research that disrupts patterns of oppression and white supremacy and interrogates the reasons why racism persists.Social work research can bring about meaningful and lasting changes to communities and society so that vulnerable individuals and populations are protected and uplifted, but this requires a concerted effort to clarify and potentially change how and for what purpose research is conducted. Social work research should directly embody the values and ethics of the profession and energize emerging lines of scholarship that generate new evidence for social change. Research that fails to advance knowledge in support of social work’s mission further perpetuates harm, upholds white supremacist culture and systems, and slows progress in achieving racial justice. We must examine innovative and thought-provoking questions about racism, discrimination, and inequality if we are to achieve the lasting transformation of racial injustices nationally and internationally. In this work, time is of the essence.In June 2020, the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Board of Directors published a statement condemning recent acts of police violence and calling on social workers to bring about an end to institutional racism and white supremacy by “building on our connections to grassroots organizing” and leading efforts to shape policy and programs that can “eliminate state sanctioned violence.” The board also urged us to make transparent the implications of racism and white supremacy in social work scholarship, incorporate the voices of marginalized and oppressed groups in our research, and disseminate research findings for social change and advocacy. (Read the full statement here: https://secure.sswr.org/sswr-call-and-commitment-to-ending-police-brutality-racial-injustice-and-white-supremacy/).We support these recommendations and offer in this statement several specific strategies to advance racial justice through social work scholarship. We invite others—social work researchers, authors, reviewers, and editors—to suggest additional strategies and welcome dialogue on these topics as we continue to explore ways in which social work scholarship can most effectively promote an antiracist agenda.Since its founding in 2009, the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research (JSSWR) has led efforts to disseminate quantitative and qualitative research on social problems, programs, and policies. Articles featured in the journal engage timely and important questions about race and racial inequities in a number of ways, sometimes pointing specifically to how racist policies or gaps in services and service systems are biased against people and communities of color. Research published by JSSWR has also highlighted shortcomings in theories, methods, and modalities of research when viewed through an antiracist lens. At the same time, JSSWR articles—like those in other social work journals—can do better at identifying and examining the myriad ways that racism shapes the institutions in which we work and practice, as well as the models we apply to deepen knowledge about racial and social justice.As scholars and authors, we should center racism and racial disparities more prominently and intentionally in our research—in the language we use, theories we apply, questions we ask, data we collect, and evidence we disseminate. Additionally, scholars who publish in social work journals should consider how race and racial diversity, equity, and disparity are addressed in the implications and limitations of their research while being mindful of their own implicit biases and subjective interpretations.JSSWR and other social work journals can promote an antiracist agenda by encouraging authors to publish research using a racial justice lens that focuses on how racism and white supremacy contribute to disparities in health, education, criminal justice, child welfare, and other domains. Social work journals can also encourage authors to define constructs of race and ethnicity in their work, to avoid deficit narratives, and, at a minimum, address and acknowledge study limitations as they pertain to these important constructs as well as to the communities we study and with whom we collaborate. Further, content in social work journals should not only call out the racial injustice of current events but also make explicit connections between these events and historical patterns of racism and white supremacy so that it is clear how current circumstances are linked to a legacy of racial injustice.As we review and factor the merits of social work scholarship, we must consider how race and ethnicity are defined and how group differences based on race are examined. We must also recognize where interpretations and conclusions derived from research fail to account for or acknowledge the role of structural inequality—including racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia—when dictated by relevant areas of inquiry. As editors, we should ensure that manuscripts accepted for publication thoughtfully and thoroughly examine race and racial disparities, and we should encourage reviewers with the requisite expertise to assess and critique research using the same criteria.Although we are on the right path, we are far from our goals. We can and must do more to propel an antiracist research agenda forward and make scholarship aligned with this agenda as widely and rapidly available as possible. As authors, reviewers, editors, and consumers of social work research, we must proactively renew our commitment and approach to name and interrogate racism as the pervasive, enduring, and destructive problem it is. As stated by our SSWR colleagues, social work scholars are uniquely positioned and qualified to lead an antiracist agenda, but to do so, we must fully devote ourselves to the cause and take the steps necessary to conduct and prioritize research and scholarship that foregrounds racial equity and justice. As social work scholars, we have the expertise to generate new knowledge on racism and the power to disseminate evidence that can shape practice and policy that meaningfully advances racial justice for vulnerable and oppressed populations.NotesTodd I. Herrenkohl, PhD, is the Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor of Children and Families at the University of Michigan School of Social Work and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research (JSSWR).Nikki R. Wooten, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of South Carolina College of Social Work and chair of the Society for Social Work and Research Committee on Publications.Lisa Fedina, PhD, is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work and a JSSWR associate editor.Jennifer L. Bellamy, PhD, is a professor and associate dean for research at the University of Denver School of Social Work and a JSSWR associate editor.Alicia C. Bunger, PhD, is an associate professor in the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University and a JSSWR associate editor.Ding-Geng Chen, PhD, is the Wallace H. Kuralt Distinguished Professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work and a JSSWR associate editor.Jeffrey M. Jenson, PhD, is the Philip and Eleanor Winn Endowed Professor Emeritus at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work and past JSSWR editor-in-chief.Bethany R. Lee, PhD, is a professor in the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a JSSWR associate editor.Jungeun Olivia Lee, PhD, is an assistant professor in the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and a JSSWR associate editor.Jeanne C. Marsh, PhD, is the George Herbert Jones Distinguished Service Professor in the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, director of the University of Chicago Center for Health Administration Studies, and an outgoing JSSWR associate editor.Phyllis Solomon, PhD, is a professor in the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice and a JSSWR associate editor.Anne Williford, PhD, is an associate professor in the Colorado State University School of Social Work and a JSSWR associate editor.Correspondence regarding this article should be directed to Editor-in-Chief Todd I. Herrenkohl at [email protected]. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research Volume 11, Number 3Fall 2020 Published for the Society for Social Work and Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/711561 Views: 415 Citations: 3Citations are reported from Crossref HistoryPublished online September 22, 2020 Keywordsracismsocial changesocial justicesocial work research© 2020 by the Society for Social Work and Research. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Calia A. Morais, Edwin N. Aroke, Janelle E. Letzen, Claudia M. Campbell, Anna M. Hood, Mary R. Janevic, Vani A. Mathur, Ericka N. Merriwether, Burel R. Goodin, Staja Q. Booker, Lisa C. Campbell Confronting Racism in Pain Research: A Call to Action, The Journal of Pain 47 (Feb 2022).https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2022.01.009Jennifer Romich and Maria Y. Rodriguez There and Back Again: A Commentary on Social Welfare Policy in the Wake of 2020, Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research 12, no.11 (Feb 2021): 1–10.https://doi.org/10.1086/713020Audrey Mengwasser Shillington, Sarah Gehlert, Paula S. Nurius, Jorge Delva, Nancy R. Hooyman, Ronald William Manderscheid, and Lawrence A. Palinkas COVID-19 and Long-Term Impacts on Tenure-Line Careers, Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research 11, no.44 (Dec 2020): 499–507.https://doi.org/10.1086/712579