Hidden Histories: UNCOVERING THE DIVERSE ROOTS OF SOCIAL WORK
Dr. Inabel Burns Lindsay (1900 -1983)
R
ecent discourse among the social work profession has focused on the “white washing” of social work history and education. Social work courses that discuss the history of social work often focus on the formative writings and work of individuals such as Jane Addams, Mary Richmond, Frances Perkins and other white social work luminaries. The website www. bestmswprograms.com features a list of “50 Notable Social Workers in U.S. History,” 42 of whom are white. 1 The Wikipedia page for “social work” mentions only two American social workers by name: Jane Addams and Mary Richmond. 2 A 2014 blog posted on the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work website cites the “9 Most Influential Women in the History of Social Work,” all of whom are white. 3 And a 2018 blog available on the Rutgers University School of Social Work website offers a list of “Influential Women in the History of Social Work.” 4 Of the 10 women listed, all but one, Dorothy Height, are white.
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