Social work education in the beloved community

Abstract

Abstract Despite the impact of Dr. King and his vision of a beloved community upon the lives of many individual social work educators and social workers, one finds very little in social work literature analyzing the relevance of King's social philosophy and strategies, or applying them to either social work education or social work practice. This study explores ways in which Dr. King's conception of a beloved community can be applied to social work education. It focusses on his synthesis of basic assumptions from the locality development and social action models of community organization, and his consequent struggles with the tension between the values and goals of social justice and reconciliation. It further suggests implications of beloved community for the teaching of social work values and for incorporating the issue of racism in social work curricula.