Invited Symposium III: Racism: The 13th Grand Challenge for Social Work

At the root of most of the social problems social workers address are a host of structural and systemic issues that put disenfranchised communities at risk. Racism is certainly at the forefront of these issues. Although many of the scholarly papers that make up the Grand Challenges underscore the need to include race and discrimination as variables, the distinctiveness of racism as an overarching and causal factor is not captured within this collective body of work. This session will highlight the profound impact of racism on society, its importance to social work research, and will demonstrate why it is necessary for race and racism to not only be prominently integrated into every Grand Challenge, but also to emerge as the 13th Grand Challenge for the Social Work profession. The first speaker will provide an overview of the far reaching parameters of racism in society, and how it relates to existing Grand Challenges, and social work at large. The second speaker will provide a specific example of how racism impacts health disparities and attempts to close the health gap. The third speaker will discuss the importance of integrating racism into existing Grand Challenges and designating racism as the 13th Grand Challenge for the Social Work profession.