Social Workers Must Be Political

Nancy Humphreys is one of those people who when you meet them, you wish you had met them many years before.  When I first got the idea to create an institute to complement the Congressional Social Work Caucus, Betsy Clark suggested that I talk to Dr. Humphreys.  That I did not know much about Nancy Humphreys betrayed my late entry into social work as a profession.  Many of the social workers I know have been at this work for decades; I just got started about 10 years ago.  So, I am still getting to know people in social work and appreciating their many years of contributions to the profession.  In many respects, I am still a newbie. The one problem about entering the game at a late stage is that you don’t have much of a track record.

At least I was smart enough to take Betsy Clark’s advice and scheduled a meeting with Dr. Humphreys at the University of Connecticut’s School of Social Work where her Institute for Political Social Work is located.  She schooled me on the realities of getting people to work together in our profession.  I listened.  I learned and the Institute is off to a decent start.

I really learned to appreciate Nancy Humphreys when I got the opportunity to hear her speak at the National Association of Social Workers’ conference last June. I am pretty good with words and people have told me that I have given a memorable speech or sermon, but Dr. Humphreys blew me out of the water.  She had a command of the moment that I had rarely seen and I have been fortunate to hear some pretty great orators such as Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, President Barack Obama, and the much revered Rev. Dr. Jesse Jackson.  She can stand with any of them.

She challenged social workers to become more involved in politics and she told us that the number one issue was campaign reform.  She said it was up to us to carry the message because everyone else had seemed to give up on the issue.  I sat there listening to this great speaker and said to myself, “No, she didn’t.”  Because when you put something out there like that, you put people on the spot.  I wondered how social workers would respond.  I wondered if her message would fall on deaf ears—not so much that we don’t understand the gravity of the issue, but because we may feel that we are powerless to do anything about it.

Anyone who knows anything about Congress knows that money in politics has corrupted our system of government.  We don’t want to believe this because we need to know that our government has integrity.  People and corporations give money to elected representatives because they need the money to get elected and re-elected.  Representatives take the money because they want to stay in office and do the best possible job.  Despite differences in ideology and policy, I believe the vast majority of people on both sides of the aisle work as hard as they do because they really believe they are helping this country.  They work hard to play by the rules, but they have to take the money if they want to stay in office.

Dr. Humphreys says we need people in office who not only play by the rules but want to change the rules so that money doesn’t rule.  She believes social workers can make a difference if we are willing to seek elected office and work on behalf of the right candidates.  She’s right.  Just like social workers understand that providing direct services alone without attention to policy shortchanges the people we serve, focusing on policy without being politically active is also an exercise in futility.  Those of us who focus on policy would love to be pristine and be nonpartisan and apolitical, but the real deal is that politics matter.  If we are to be true game changers, then we must be politically involved.

What that means in the 21^st century needs to be explored.  It may take marches and rallies, but it will take much more than that.  We are involved in a battle of ideas—who has the better ideas for creating a more just and equitable society where there is ample opportunity for all citizens.  There will never be equal opportunity, but there certainly should be a chance for all of our children to live healthy and productive lives.

Written by Dr. Charles E. Lewis Jr.
President of The Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy

Twitter: @CharlesELewisJr.
Email:    celewisjr@gmail.com

Dr. Charles E. Lewis, Jr. is President of The Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy. He has served as deputy chief of staff and communications director for former Congressman Edolphus “Ed” Towns and was the staff coordinator for the Congressional Social Work Caucus. He was a full-time faculty member at Howard University School of Social Work prior to joining Rep. Towns’ staff and now is an adjunct associate professor. As staff coordinator for the Social Work Caucus, Dr. Lewis helped to plan and to coordinate numerous briefings and events on the Hill and in the 10th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.

Originally Posted at http://crispinc.org/?p=824