Getting Started
This page is a collection of selected scholarly and popular sources to support research and teaching about racism, oppression and social injustice in social work and other social sciences. If you have any recommended resources relevant to social work research to add to this page, please contact me. For additional information, visit the following research guides:
Tips for Research
To find research articles and resources on antiracism within the library databases:
- Start with developing keywords around the topic. For example: antiracism, white supremacy, anti-Blackness, systemic racism, oppression
- Then, using the search strategies detailed on the research guide, combine some of your terms to form a search query. For example: systemic racism AND anti-Blackness
- Use the USC Libraries search or select one of the recommended databases and journals on the scholarly sources page of the social work research guide to find research materials.
Teaching and Additional Resources
- #Blacklivesmatter library, teaching, activism resources listCompiled and published by Que(e)ry (https://www.queeryparty.org/), 2016 - present
- Actions for Solidarity: #BlackTransLivesMatter"This resource document was a collaborative effort between people who stand in solidarity with Black trans women and wanted to make a difference, and some of the foremost Black trans leaders in community and culture".
- Anti-racist Resources for Building Allyship and AdvocacyAn ongoing list of resources to start the anti-racism process - USC Student Affairs - Student Equity and Inclusion Programs
- Antiracist Pedagogy CollectiveThe Antiracist Pedagogy Collective (ARPC) was formed by graduate students from the USC English department in 2016 after the presidential election and its attendant controversies about race and identity, which pervaded USC classroom discussions.
- Library Resources for Developing Anti-racist Pedagogical Strategies"The Anti-Racist Pedagogy research guide—a collaboration of the USC Libraries and the Antiracist Pedagogy Collective—provides resources for developing anti-racist pedagogical strategies and syllabi. The guide suggests classroom resources, including e-books and streaming films, and recommends scholarly sources on methods and challenges, pedagogy and whiteness, and other related topics" (USC Libraries).
- Resources for FergusonThis guide is meant to serve as a jumping off point for students and faculty to gain a better understanding of the events of Mike Brown's murder, subsequent protests and unrest in Ferguson in 2014.
- Suzanne Dworak Peck School of Social Work DEISocial Work DEI webpage for teaching resources, readings, and updates on initiatives
- Understanding systemic racism in the United States"This list focuses specifically on structural racism - the institutions, policies, and practices that systematically exploits and disadvantage Black people and other people of color in the United States. It also includes numerous resources to help white folks and non-Black people of color better understand and dismantle their own knee-jerk responses to challenging conversations about race issues the first step toward meaningful self-education and productive conversations."
- USC Dornsife Antiracism ResourcesDigital resources compiled by the Dornsife Community
- USC LGBTQ Resource Center"Social, fun and networking events and activities are great, but without the education of our supportive Allies and the members from within the LGBT Community, the center could not have transformed USC into the supportive environment it is today. Education continues to create change and acceptance at USC."
- USC Race and Equity Center"At the USC Race and Equity Center, we aim to be helpful. Actionable intelligence, as well as scalable and adaptable models of success, inform our ongoing quest for racial equity. Our work matters because race continues to matter in our country. Dismantling an issue as big as racism requires a robust interdisciplinary network of expert scholars, as well as a wide range of strategies, tools, partnerships, and resources." (USC Race & Equity Center)
Recommended Syllabi
- Black Lives Matter SyllabusBy Frank Leon Roberts - the nationally acclaimed, public educational curriculum that provides resources for teaching BLM in classroom and community settings.
- Charlottesville Syllabus"The Charlottesville Syllabus is a resource created by the Graduate Student Coalition for Liberation to be used to educate readers about the long history of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia"
- Ferguson SyllabusA collection of research articles used to inform the arguments in the public statement on the events in Ferguson
- Pulse Orlando Syllabus"This living document exists as a resource to understand our pain and grief, sadness and healing in the wake of the shooting at Pulse Night Club on June 12, 2016. We are living through each other and within our collective knowledge of LGBTQ2S and QTPOC spaces. We make visible the deep cultural heritages of Latinx communities among queer subcultures." (Jamie Berrout @jamieberrout, Venus Selenite @venusselenite, Oliver Baez Bendorf @queerpoetics, and Lydia Willoughby @willoughbirch)
Documentaries and Other Films
Stream films and documentaries available through USC Libraries. Social and Systemic Injustice films and documentaries are available through Kanopy, and Black Thought and Culture is available through Alexander Street Press.
Also check out these other collections through Kanopy:
Selected Twitter Hashtags
- #BlackintheIvoryCoined by Joy Melody Woods and Sharde Davis, it is a space on Twitter where Black academics share their experiences of racist abuse while in the ivory tower.
- #CiteBlackWomenIn November 2017, Christen A Smith created #CiteBlackWomen to push people to engage in a radical praxis of citation that acknowledges and honors Black women’s transnational intellectual production.
- #NotYourAsianSideKickCreated by organizer Suey Park to facilitate a conversation around Asian American women and feminism.
- #SayHerNameCoined by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies (CISPS), the #SayHerName hashtag has principally served to highlight recent incidents of black women's fatal encounters with police and anti-Black violence
- #SolidarityisforWhiteWomenStarted by Mikki Kendall, the hashtag serves to facilitate conversation around "how or whether to make space in the world of feminism for people who aren't white (or upper middle class or straight or able-bodied)." (npr.org)
- #MeTooa social movement against sexual abuse and sexual harassment where people publicize allegations of sex crimes committed by powerful and/or prominent men. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in 2006, on Myspace, by sexual harassment survivor and activist Tarana Burke.
Antiracism in Social Work
- Antiracism for Social Workers and TherapistsIncludes webinars, self care resources, recommend readings and websites
- A Beginner's Guide to Antiracist Social WorkThis guide was created by current students and graduates of the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. The materials were curated by the Latino Alumni Advisory Board and the USC Latinx Social Work Caucus.
- Intersectionality in Social WorkThis guide provides resources and information about intersectionality within the practice of social work. Intersectionality refers to the intersection of identities that shapes an individual's experiences throughout society.
- Resources Related to Antiracism Social Justice and ActionA list of web based training, workshops, webinars and books from the Michigan State University School of Social Work
- Trauma Informed LATrauma Informed LA was created to foster resilient communities that promote healing and well-being through collaboration, education, and community engagement
Decolonizing Social Work
"Decolonization can be seen as a continuation of social work’s advocacy on social justice and of progressive elements within the profession that challenge hegemonic forms of practice" (Gray, C. (2016). Decolonizing Social Work. In Decolonizing Social Work. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315576206)
"Social workers need to understand the history and current issues created by colonization to work effectively with people who have been colonized" (Tamburro, A. Including Decolonization in Social Work Education and Practice, Journal of Indigenous Social Development, Volume 2, Issue 1, September 2013)
- (Re)generation: Indigenous Social Welfare Caucus of the School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley.Developed by Indigenous social welfare graduate students and supported by the faculty and staff of the School of Social Welfare and the American Indian Graduate Program (AIGP)
- Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & SocietyDecolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society solicits any work purposefully engaged in the decolonization process, regardless of discipline or field, encouraging work that actively seeks undisciplinary connections that work both against and beyond the Western academy.
- Humboldt State University Department of Social Work Decolonization ResourcesThis is a place where one can learn about decolonization in the social work field and beyond. It encompasses theory, ethics, and part and current events. It is a resource for teachers and students alike.
- Indigenous Social Welfare Research GuideThis guide to resources was created in collaboration with members of (Re)generation: Indigenous Social Welfare Caucus of the School of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley. It includes recommended books, journals, databases and research methods.
- Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and PracticeIntersectionalities is a peer-reviewed, open access journal sponsored by Memorial University's School of Social Work. The journal is international in scope, and publishes articles relating to social work analysis, research, polity, and practice.
- Journal of Indigenous ResearchThis Journal was created in response to community requests for information about research that has been conducted among their people. The focus of this publication is to obtain articles about research conducted with Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian, Maori populations- written for laypeople - and approximately 1500-2000 words.
Recommended Books
Algorithms of Oppression
In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, specifically women of color. Through an analysis of textual and media searches as well as extensive research on paid online advertising, Noble exposes a culture of racism and sexism in the way discoverability is created online. As search engines and their related companies grow in importance--operating as a source for email, a major vehicle for primary and secondary school learning, and beyond--understanding and reversing these disquieting trends and discriminatory practices is of utmost importance.
Decolonizing Social Work
Decolonization seeks to weaken the effects of colonialism and create opportunities to promote traditional practices in contemporary settings. Establishing language and cultural programs; honouring land claims, teaching Indigenous history, science, and ways of knowing; self-esteem programs, celebrating ceremonies, restoring traditional parenting approaches, tribal rites of passage, traditional foods, and helping and healing using tribal approaches are central to decolonization. These insights are brought to the arena of international social work still dominated by western-based approaches. Decolonization draws attention to the effects of globalization and the universalization of education, methods of practice, and international 'development' that fail to embrace and recognize local knowledges and methods. In this volume, Indigenous and non-Indigenous social work scholars examine local cultures, beliefs, values, and practices as central to decolonization. Supported by a growing interest in spirituality and ecological awareness in international social work, they interrogate trends, issues, and debates in Indigenous social work theory, practice methods, and education models including a section on Indigenous research approaches.
The End of Policing
"This book attempts to spark public discussion by revealing the tainted origins of modern policing as a tool of social control. It shows how the expansion of police authority is inconsistent with community empowerment, social justice--even public safety. Drawing on groundbreaking research from across the world, and covering virtually every area in the increasingly broad range of police work, Alex Vitale demonstrates how law enforcement has come to exacerbate the very problems it is supposed to solve."
The Fire Next Time
Warns citizens to examine the actual state of America, the role of blacks, and race relations after a century of Emancipation.
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States
The first history of the United States told from the perspective of indigenous peoples. Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million people, descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. Now, for the first time, acclaimed historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire.
The New Jim Crow
Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as "brave and bold," this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control--relegating millions to a permanent second-class status--even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness.
A People's History of the United States
A People's History of the United States "a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those...whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories." Packed with vivid details and telling quotations, Zinn's award-winning classic continues to revolutionize the way American history is taught and remembered. Frequent appearances in popular media such as The Sopranos, The Simpsons, Good Will Hunting, and the History Channel documentary The People Speak testify to Zinn's ability to bridge the generation gap with enduring insights into the birth, development, and destiny of the nation.
Stamped from the Beginning
The National Book Award winning history of how racist ideas were created, spread, and deeply rooted in American society. Some Americans insist that we're living in a post-racial society. But racist thought is not just alive and well in America -- it is more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues, racist ideas have a long and lingering history, one in which nearly every great American thinker is complicit. In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. He uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to drive this history: Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis. As Kendi shows, racist ideas did not arise from ignorance or hatred. They were created to justify and rationalize deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and the nation's racial inequities. In shedding light on this history, Stamped from the Beginning offers us the tools we need to expose racist thinking. In the process, he gives us reason to hope.
Toxic Communities
Toxic Communities examines the connections among residential segregation, zoning, and exposure to environmental hazards. Renowned environmental sociologist Dorceta Taylor focuses on the locations of hazardous facilities in low-income and minority communities and shows how they have been dumped on, contaminated and exposed. Drawing on an array of historical and contemporary case studies from across the country, Taylor explores controversies over racially-motivated decisions in zoning laws, eminent domain, government regulation (or lack thereof), and urban renewal.
Weapons of Math Destruction
A former Wall Street quant sounds an alarm on the mathematical models that pervade modern life and threaten to rip apart our social fabric. We live in the age of the algorithm. Increasingly, the decisions that affect our lives--where we go to school, whether we get a car loan, how much we pay for health insurance--are being made not by humans, but by mathematical models. In theory, this should lead to greater fairness: Everyone is judged according to the same rules, and bias is eliminated. But as Cathy O'Neil reveals in this urgent and necessary book, the opposite is true. The models being used today are opaque, unregulated, and uncontestable, even when they're wrong. Most troubling, they reinforce discrimination: If a poor student can't get a loan because a lending model deems him too risky (by virtue of his zip code), he's then cut off from the kind of education that could pull him out of poverty, and a vicious spiral ensues. Models are propping up the lucky and punishing the downtrodden, creating a "toxic cocktail for democracy."
Selected Organizations
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)"The American Civil Liberty Union works in the courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States"
- The Audre Lorde Project"The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area."
- Black Lives Matter"Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes."
- Black Youth Project"ABOUT US HISTORY STAFF OUR PROGRAMS CATHY J. COHEN DEMOCRACY REMIXED CSRPC AT U OF C
The Black Youth Project will examine the attitudes, resources, and culture of the young, urban black millennial, exploring how these factors and others influence their decision-making, norms, and behavior in critical domains such as sex, health, and politics." - The People's Council LAPeople’s City Council (PCC) is an actions-oriented coalition of social and climate justice organizations and organizers from all over Los Angeles. PCC emerged in the absence of definitive City action to protect the most vulnerable — the unhoused and tenants.
- Race ForwardFounded in 1981, Race Forward brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity.
- The Whiteness Project"Whiteness Project is an interactive investigation into how Americans who identify as white, or partially white, understand and experience their race."
Selected resources from other institutions
- Antioch University Libraries Racism Guide"The Antioch University Library supports the ongoing protests against systemic racism and police brutality, in our communities and across the globe. This guide contains links to books, articles, activists, scholars, organizations and other resources that are in alignment with an anti-racist curriculum. "
- Cal State Long Beach Libraries Antiracism Guide"Resources to educate yourself and others to be anti-racist." (Cal State Long Beach Libraries)
- New York Institute of Technology Libraries Anti Oppression Guide"This guide attempts to provide general information and a starting point to learn about anti-oppression, inclusion, and privilege, as well as provide knowledge and resources to key social justice issues." (New York Institute of Technology Libraries)
- Simmons University Library Anti-Oppression Guide"This guide is intended to provide some general information about anti-oppression, diversity, and inclusion as well as information and resources for the social justice issues key to the Simmons University community." (Simmons University Library)
Selected Podcasts
The podcast episodes below are a selection that touch on issues like racism, violence, oppression, colonialism and living in overlapping margins or race, gender and sexuality.