NASW Offers Recommendations to Address Racism, Gun Violence and Mental Illness

After the mass shooting on June 19 at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) issued a statement saying it would support initiatives to end racism in our nation, enact sensible gun control laws, and improve delivery of mental health.

We took some criticism in social media for focusing on all three issues instead of merely the racism that prompted a young white man to take the lives of nine innocent black people who had gathered for weekly Bible study.

Here is why NASW is calling for our nation to focus on all three issues in order to prevent such hate crimes from reoccurring. We also offer recommendations to address these issues:

The number of racist organizations in the United States is growing

The assailant was on a mission that was directly tied to a racist philosophy that goes back to the 1950s.

In the days that followed the massacre, investigators found that he closely identified with the Council of Conservative Citizens(CCC).  For years, CCC was one of the most prominent white supremacist organizations in the United States

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http://www.socialworkblog.org/advocacy/2015/06/6628/