Reflections on Respect and Diversity

Robert Schachter, D.S.W., A.C.S.W.
(May 1993)

At the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) conference held in New York City at the end of February, the overarching theme was "diversity". Apropos of this, the opening plenary speaker was Harry Aponte, a social worker well known for his addressing multicultural issues in practice. As I listened to this softspoken man, I heard compelling experiences, sensitivities and dilemmas drawn from his work in family therapy, urban living, and society in general.

This is the bottom line that I took from his remarks: In acknowledging the diversity among us, we should expect that it will not be easy to understand differences among groups. We all have a strong inclination to feel much more comfortable with what is familiar, and it is not easy to accept those who are different from us.

Aponte is underscoring how profound this reality is. He is telling us that what we need to do is "respect" difference. Then, over time, we can strive to understand and appreciate who people are, what they experience, what they value, and what their goals are.

A veteran of these conferences, someone who knew that this was my first one at CSWE, told me that Harry Aponte's presentation was the worst he had ever heard. I shrunk from telling him how differently I had experienced it. I felt at once completely challenged and not up for engaging this individual any further. My mind raced and I momentarily doubted myself: Was Aponte's point irrelevant, or just obvious? Or was this professor only referring to the speaker's delivery?

I politely said I wished I could have heard some of the other plenary speakers, and we then both walked off in opposite directions. But it is interesting and important to come back now and reflect on this sequence: Aponte's imperative for respect, this veteran's rejection of Aponte's presentation, and my trying to make sense of them both.

This is what I see reflected in this situation:

1. Social work is greatly challenged, more than ever, to understand the relevance of culture and other factors in the lives of the people social workers serve. This also relates to relationships among ourselves. Underscoring this is a heightened expectation by many government officials and administrators that any service provider, whether an individual or an organization, be capable of addressing diversity.

2. Some social workers believe that diversity and respect are inherent in the proper preparation for the profession and practitioners are indeed ready to address diversity. In other words, this is not a new issue for social work.

3. There is a big difference in perspective between the first two points, and this suggests the existence of controversy. Given the nature of controversy, if we as social workers intend to address either point, we are likely to feel challenged in light of the other view.