Reflections on the Insurgency and the Meaning of Justice for Social Work

Written by Professor and Chair Laura S. Abrams and doctoral student Jason Anthony Plummer, members of the Social Welfare Anti-Racism Working Committee (SWARC) at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Last week began with a disappointing announcement that no charges will be brought against the Wisconsin police officer who shot and permanently paralyzed Jacob Blake. Then on Wednesday, January 6, the world witnessed an unprecedented attack on the nation’s Capitol by a group of predominantly white rioters openly displaying white nationalist symbols, including familiar anti-Black and anti-Semitic tropes. …