Deconstructing Racism and the White-Supremacist Practices Holding Social Welfare and Public Service Systems Hostage

Abstract

Deeply embedded racism and white supremacist beliefs have made efforts to dismantle discriminatory norms an elusive civil liberty endeavor. In the United States, social welfare policies have historically been founded on prejudicial values of racism and white privilege. Key historical events and political eras have catalyzed the pervasive dominance of white patriarchal values that embody dismissive social constructs that undergird public service institutions. The content of this dialogue will discuss America’s social welfare history beginning with the British era through the Biden/Harris era utilizing critical race theory (CRT) and intersectionality theory to deconstruct the daunting biases that perpetuate racial inequities in the development and administration of social welfare policies. In addition, this conversation will aim to identify strategies to address the structural racism and prejudicial practices within public service institutions in hopes of shifting the dialogue towards evidence-based research, policies, and equitable public administration systems. This Vantage Point commentary provides an opportunity to reflect on emerging issues related to the perpetuation of structural racism and institutionalized discriminatory practices woven into America’s social welfare policies' historical context. Moreover, this timely discussion offers strategies to deconstruct, dismantle, disregard, devise, and disseminate white-supremacist practices embedded within social welfare policies and public service systems.