As the new president of the DC Metro Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, I wanted to reach out personally at this emotional time in our nation’s history to invite you to attend our important virtual town hall this Wednesday, June 10 on “Advancing Racial Justice and Equity.”

We need to talk—but we especially need to listen. As a forensic social worker for decades, I’ll be facilitating the event, which runs from 6 to 7 p.m., but you as DC Metro social workers will be the conversation drivers. I want to hear how you’re feeling right now. The murder of George Floyd has shocked us all. Those of us who experience white privilege not only grieve alongside all Americans, but also are enraged alongside all African Americans. 

Bring your pain, your frustration, and your anger on Wednesday—tell us your story. And if you want, please also bring your hope, ideas, and suggested actions. This will be a safe forum for blunt conversation.

I know I’m not alone in thinking that we as social workers—especially in DC, where 46% of residents are Black—have failed to push as hard or as widely as needed to create the radical, uncomfortable change necessary for racial equality. Despite our training on entrenched racism and our witness to it in our daily jobs, we’ve let down our Black colleagues and clients, and I am deeply disappointed in my own role in this legacy.

The chapter’s town hall will be our inaugural effort to recommit to racial equity, in large part through greater understanding and listening. I sense, though, that there is some fear among well-intentioned, genuinely committed white social workers about asking questions and digging into nuances around language, labels, experiences, and Black culture. No one wants to offend anyone, so they keep quiet because the words feel awkward or unsure—and frankly, everyone is rightly feeling pretty thin-skinned right now. COVID-19 has wrung us out--we’re all trying to keep up our professional facades for the sake of our clients, but inside we’re crying, angry, and frustrated.

I’m asking everyone to attend this critical event—you’ll find love and support there among the other emotions. I’m also asking everyone to come with an open heart and mind, to give peers the benefit of the doubt so we each can speak honestly in the only way we know how from our various privileges and life experiences. 

I don’t know what result, if any, will come out of the town hall, to be honest. I’m setting aside my usual propensity to set professional goals for every meeting in order to just be present and to listen—and to allow others to do the same.

Maybe it’s too early to even think about the healing needed to begin the types of honest dialogue and collaborations required to disrupt 400 years of suppression and abuse in so many segments of our society. But I know I’m re-awakened. I know I’m reminded of why social work became my calling. I know I do NOT want to live in a society where some people are seen as less-than or who feel less-than. I know from the hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters nationwide and in DC that they don’t either.

Please come to the free town hall meeting if you feel the same—again, it’s this Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. from the comfort of your couch. See the Zoom link below to join the discussion and please read the chapter’s Statement on Racial Justice and Equality on our website.

Thank you so much for your consideration. I am honored and humbled to be leading the revitalization of our chapter and its mission at this tipping-point moment in our country and profession.