My dear community,
The School for Social Work supports President McCartney’s message speaking out against anti-Asian hatred and violence. As the dean of the school and a Japanese American, I know too well of all the large and small ways that anti-Asian hate and bias can live. Like so many Issei and Nisei families, mine was put into an internment camp during the war, losing everything but each other in the process. This most recent surge of anti-Asian violence has long roots, and over decades each and every Asian community in the United States has been impacted.
As social workers, we came to our profession because we were committed to bringing greater justice within our systems and policies and to addressing racism and oppression and their tolls.
The need for passionate, committed social work and social workers is great. Thank you to all of you who confront bias and oppression every day and advocate for greater racial justice in your communities and organizations.
I hope you will join me in taking time to acknowledge the lives lost in Georgia this week and all the lives that have been lost to racialized violence.
For those who are most impacted by ongoing racialized violence, we see you and value you. Please take care of yourselves and reach out to get support.
Sincerely,
Marianne R.M. Yoshioka, MBA, Ph.D., LCSW
Dean and Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor
Co-editor, Smith College Studies in Social Work
Smith College School for Social Work
