Dual pandemics: creating racially-just responses to a changing environment through research, practice and education

2020 is plagued by two pandemics: COVID-19 & anti-racist uprisings as a result of the murders of Mr. George Floyd and many other African Americans and other people of color due to police violence. While these two pandemics appear to be different in nature, both pandemics attest to the fact that systemic racism continues to be a grand challenge in our society. It is appalling to see how COVID-19 differentially affects communities and people of color as well as socially disadvantaged groups. Systemic racism and police brutality are related to the unacceptable violation of human rights of diverse groups in the US and globally. The present moment provides distinct challenges and opportunities for the promise of the social work profession. Social work has long distinguished itself as a profession ethically bound to stand for social justice. Generations of emerging social workers matriculate in accredited social work programs to uphold this value in service to and with those populations regulated to the margins who have disproportionately suffered from the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and police violence. With years of experience as social work researchers and educators, the editorial board views the special issue as representing the profession’s values of confronting systemic racism. The articles are timely from social work scholars and educators in a time where the threat, at least in one state of the proposed legislation would fire tenured faculty for teaching tenets of critical race theory. Knowledge becomes politicized in the context of the dual pandemics. There has been intense tension across state legislation and schools on whether discrimination and bias should be addressed in education. Many states across the United States have proposed bills to control CRT in schools: https://www.edweek.org/ policy-politics/map-where-critical-race-theory-is-under-attack/2021/06. Refusing to be deterred, the authors of special issue articles offer intellectually sound examination, conceptualization, and rigor in providing viable, socially just, responsive paths forward. This Special Issue includes articles that focus on anti-racist pedagogy in social work education, conceptual discussion contributing to refining a shared understanding of constructs relevant to anti-racist social work, and micro, mezzo, and macro social work practice that aims to prevent or eliminate the negative impact of racism as well as promote racial justice, equity, and inclusion among individuals, families, groups, organizations, or communities. Mental, physical health, and safety should not be considered utopian values. nor dignity and grace of all individuals.