Clinical Topics & Methods Category

The Whitewashing of Social Work History

How Dismantling Racism in Social Work Education Begins With an Equitable History of the Profession

1 CE Hour
154 members have taken this course

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About the Course

Severe racial inequity has characterized the incorporation of ethnic minorities’ contributions to U.S. history and advancements (Sandoval et al., 2016). These disparities are inextricably connected to White Supremacist ideologies and practices, and are perpetuated in higher education through textbooks, pedagogy, and research. Social work, like many disciplines, teaches about its early roots with a whitewashed historical lens. Indeed, review of the social work literature reveals the scarcity of attributions to Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC). Without a more racially diverse perspective on social work’s history, social work scholars promote and sustain White Supremacy. The implications of this are crucial since social work education is predominantly populated by privileged White students who adopt this mentality, unaware of Black, Brown, Latino, Asian, Native or Other ethnic “Jane Addams” who have massively promoted the social welfare of communities for decades without historical recognition or the privileged positions of Addams and Richmond. Historical distortions also potentially discourage BIPOC social work students’ self-efficacy and future efforts to contribute and excel in the discipline. To properly address this issue, social work history must be refaced with a more equitable and just lens.

This course is based on the reading online article, The Whitewashing of Social Work History created by Kelechi C. Wright, Med, LCPC et al in 2021.

Publication Details

Publication Date: 1st Edition Summer 2021

Course Material Authors

Course Material Authors authored the material only, and were not involved in creating this CE course. They are identified here for your own evaluation of the relevancy of the material this course is based on.

Kelechi C. Wright, Med, LCPC

Kelechi Wright is a doctoral student at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. Her research and teaching interests encompass criminal justice and immigration policy intersections, social welfare institutional and policy analysis and implementation science and qualitative and mixed methods research approaches. Her hope is to generate greater research and practice methods where social work- based initiatives can influence criminal justice policy and practice.

Kortney Angela Carr, MSW, LCSW

Kortney Angela Carr, MSW, LCSW is a Professor of Practice and a doctoral student at the University of Kansas in the School of Social Welfare. She is in private practice and has had three articles published in peer reviewed journals.

Becci A. Atkin, PhD

Becci Akin is Associate Professor and PhD Program Director in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas. Dr. Akin has taught at the BSW, MSW and PhD levels including courses in community practice, social work policy, research methods, and community-engaged program design and evaluation. She also collaborated with other faculty to develop a child welfare certificate program in the School. Dr. Akin has published over 45 works in peer-reviewed journals and books, and presented over 110 papers at national and international conferences and proceedings.

Course Creator

Allison Brown, LCSW 149014591

Allison Brown holds a BS degree in Criminal Justice with a Psychology focus and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who currently works at a Long-Term Insurance company bringing clinical experience to claim processes. Additionally, she developed and continues to lead the Continuing Education Program for Social Workers and Nurses and often leads complex process improvement projects Prior to this, her primary focus was in mental health and worked in both the outpatient and inpatient settings providing support to adults with mental illness.

Target Audience

Counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists and social workers. This course is appropriate for all levels of knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Describe the gap in the literature pertaining to the need for a great integration and infusion of racially diverse social work historical contributions in several ways.
  2. 2 Recognize the future research needed in this area to dismantle raciest perspectives in social work history.
  3. 3 Identify strategies to help social work educators and researches address this critical issue.

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Material Authors

Any relevant financial disclosures for course material authors can be found in the article.

Course Creator

Allison Brown, LCSW 149014591 – No relevant financial relationships.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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Joint Accreditation (JA)

1 Social Worker CE credit hour Cultural Competency
Eligible until Feb 1st, 2028
In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems, LLC, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
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Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB ACE)

1 CE credit hour Cultural competency
Eligible until Feb 1st, 2028
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, CE Learning Systems LLC is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 1 cultural competency continuing education credit(s).
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Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling (FL CSW, MFT, MHC)

1 CE credit hour
Eligible until Mar 27th, 2027
Impact CE, a service of CE Learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling (Provider # 50-315).
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New York Education Department Board of Social Work

1 contact hour
Eligible until Mar 30th, 2027
CE Learning Systems, LLC, (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers. Provider #0060.
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Course Details

1 CE Hour
Reading Online
Course 103143

Profession Group

  • Behavioral Health

Related Topics

Race & Ethnicity

Availability

This course is available until Jan 4th, 2031.

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