Recent actions by President Trump and his administration are weighing heavily on the minds of many social workers across the U.S. To address this, the NASW Foundation hosted an online meet-and-greet in March for the Social Work Pioneers, with the aim of inspiring action and building community.
New Pioneer James (Jim) Wayne, LCSW, BCD, gave the keynote address. He was the first social worker with an MSW elected to the Kentucky state legislature, serving from 1991-2019 as a representative of Louisville’s district 35. (At right, Jim Wayne speaks to attendees during the Pioneers 18th Annual Program and Luncheon, held last October in Washington, D.C.)
“Today we are being told, in a tragic twist of reality, that right is wrong and wrong is right,” Wayne bluntly told attendees. “We are living under the oppressive, deceptive, amoral executive branch of the federal government that defies social work values and denies science and the worth of our life’s work.”
This also is a world where guardrails are removed from corporate actions, Wayne said. The Trump administration is dismantling regulations and federal government programs designed to lift all Americans.
This is all in sharp contrast to the 1930s when President Franklin D. Roosevelt made unprecedented reforms to the federal government that aimed to improve the lives of all citizens. FDR created regulations for Wall Street, private enterprise, and the actions of capitalist titans, Wayne noted.
FDR also launched the Social Security Administration, among his many “safety net” programs. It’s essential to note that social worker and Social Work Pioneer Frances Perkins was labor secretary during FDR’s presidency.
Now in the second Trump administration, we are seeing a rapid-fire dismantling of business regulations, including protections for the environment, unions, worker safety, lending practices by banks and more, Wayne said. “This is an economic and defense plan of greed, which only leads to more poverty, destruction of the environment, more illnesses, (and) homelessness.”
Trump also has made enemies of certain groups of people, sharpening his focus on immigrants, refugees, members of the LGBTQ+ community, strong women, minorities and those with disabilities, Wayne said. This leadership uses intimidations, threats, devaluations and temper-throwing in attempts to crush all dissent, he added.
“As social workers, we understand better than most the dangers of Trump and his minions,” Wayne said.
Helping those less fortunate is why social workers must not be passive in this moment in history, he stressed. “There is much we can and must do to resist evil and promote goodness.”
“As Pioneers, you carry the respect of your colleagues and communities,” Wayne said. “Now is when your respect must be used to inspire hope in others and offer a counter vision in a country that is mesmerized by a fascist.”
I encourage you to take time to be alone, he said. In silence away from the noise, that we permit our imagination space.
“The building of the good requires our imagination,” he said.
It is essential to remember the hallmarks of the social work profession: service, social justice, the dignity and worth of each person, the celebration of cultural and ethnic diversity, the importance of personal relationships, integrity and honesty, he said.
Pioneer attendees and guests were divided into regional groups to discuss possible solutions.
Moderator and Pioneer Robert P. Connolly said, “We don’t want to go forward in fear.” He suggested coalition-building with like-minded organizations.
“The worst thing we can do is be silent,” he said.
Others suggested visiting their lawmakers and sharing their concerns as well as reaching out to social workers to build community.
Former NASW President Kathryn Conley Wehrmann, pictured at left with Jim Wayne as he is inducted as a Pioneer in 2024, gave the closing remarks.
“We’d like to thank Jim for an inspiring talk,” she said, “and his encouragement for us to get silent and feed our imaginations so we can continue to go forth. As one member of my (breakout) group said, ‘Getting up and doing what we do every day is part of the resistance.’”