Malaika Eban
MPP, MSW
I’m Malaika Eban and I graduated from the University of Minnesota's School of Social Work in May of 2020. I do this work because I am a Black woman who joined this profession for the sole aim of helping to keep my community safe. I believe that social workers have a moral imperative to be a part of the fight for justice, and that we will have increasingly important roles in society as the arc of history bends towards justice. I know that for all of us, the work of being good social workers has to begin internally and for it to be successful it must be sustained by communities of care. I want to work with others who are actively striving to live anti-racist lives.
Marci Exsted
MSW
Hello, I'm Marci Exsted. IÂ graduated from the University of Minnesota Master of Social Work program in July 2020. I do this work because I am a white-bodied woman working to continuously recognize and challenge the socialized racism and colonization in my life. My initial reason for joining Social Work was to make sure people felt heard and now I hope to help change the systemic nature of our nation that has intentionally silenced the voices of folks of Color since its founding. I desire to be anti-racist in every aspect of my life, not only working to educate myself and others but also taking action toward change and supporting the amplification of the voices of folks of Color that have already been doing this work far longer than I.
Julia Wilber
MPP, MSW
Hi! My name is Julia Wilber and I graduated from the University of Minnesota's School of Social Work in May of 2020. I do this work because I am responding to the call of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who have done my work for me for far too long. Because their lives are constantly under threat from racist policy, police brutality, and white-body supremacy. Because my white body is a legacy of violence, and I must decide every minute whether I perpetuate this violence or strive to be anti-racist. In order to do this work, I believe that white-bodies must hold other white-bodies in accountable community, especially in the social work profession, where our core value of social justice sits alongside our history and present of complicitness in systems of oppression.