Statement on Recent Anti-Black Police Brutality
TO CLIENTS, PARTNERS, FRIENDS, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS:
I join countless others who are grieving the recent murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, George Floyd, and David McAtee. Their deaths are reprehensible and tragic.
State-sponsored racial violence against black Americans is ingrained in our national identity. The pain, anger, outrage, fear, and disgust amplified by the media at this moment in history are everyday realities for many in the black community. The fact that we have openly accepted over 400 years of anti-blackness and are surprised by this social momentum is a tragedy in itself. These “United States” have always been and continue to be wholly divided by the systemic anti-blackness that permeates our government, law enforcement, education, healthcare, and economy.
The social work profession is no exception. There are countless ways white supremacy operates under the veil of mental health. Social workers hold tremendous power to make (culturally biased) decisions about the lives of others. The very system that was designed to oppress, incarcerate, and kill black people is the same system that decides who can even access this profession - which requires two degrees, years of unpaid field experience, costly licensing requirements, endless bureaucratic restrictions - I could go on.
As a white woman, I benefit from this system in countless ways. I get to choose to spend my time learning how to be “anti-racist” while basking in the ease of living with white skin. I decided to work with marginalized communities and communities of color as my desired response to social injustice, though such a response is not necessitated by my survival.
I am cynical about the ideal of racial justice in America. I am also concerned about the potential for performative activism from myself and others during a time when public shaming and efforts to prove one’s wokeness are actually drowning out important resources (I posted the black square and deleted it). That being said, racial justice is not a goal. It is not some end-of-the-rainbow utopia we are all chasing. Racial justice is a value that equates to valuing black lives through actions that require us allies to relinquish some of our own privileges. Values provide direction through the process of life - an ongoing endeavor to which we must commit fully. Acting in alignment with the value of racial justice despite discomfort, fear, and pain can not only create meaning when all feels futile, but literally saves lives.
As a business owner, I find it imperative to openly share the ways I am practicing anti-racist social work through Real Therapy, but this is not the purpose of this statement. I will be compiling a separate post on these practices with an opportunity for you to provide comments, concerns, or suggestions anonymously through the website. I hope you will.
Until then, take good care of yourselves. There is space for everything you’re feeling.
In solidarity,
Grace