In December 2022, I was removed from my role as dean of the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston. The termination of my dean role was the result of my abolitionist views and my efforts to move the college toward incorporating an abolitionist perspective in social work since the summer of 2020.
The irony is that I was let go precisely for hewing to the ethos of my profession. Social work has been called to challenge injustice and fight oppression since its earliest origins in the late 19th century. This commitment was strengthened in 2021, when revisions to the National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics added new language: “Social workers must take action against oppression, racism, discrimination, and inequities.” It is the only phrase in the code that uses the word must. If this is meant to be more than rhetoric, this call must include taking action against the systems and structures that perpetuate racism, discrimination, and inequality—among them policing, prisons, and child welfare.
