Chapter 16: Contemporary Perspectives on Spirituality in Education: Interracial and Interdenominational Faculty Partnerships for Social Justice Work

As social work faculty, we have a rare and unique opportunity to partner with people of faith in the work of healing in communities in response to some of the most persistent divides in our society. As professionals, we are able to navigate the realms of difference in areas including race, religion, gender, nationality, and culture. This is accomplished by being involved first as social workers in an official social work capacity while also honoring our faith traditions and taking ownership of our particular faith journeys. Through the balance of professional and spiritual backgrounds, social work faculty and practitioners can provide much needed leadership for communities seeking to bridge centuries-old divides. What follows is a case study of one such project of two social work faculty to bridge racial divides in the era of police accountability.