In March of 2025, the current Presidential Administration within the United States began to investigate universities across the country for "violations of Title VI". In response to this investigative process, many universities are considering censoring their Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion initiatives to protect themselves from threats to a reduction in federal funding.

It has come to our attention that the School of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB SSW) is also considering censorship in the name of protection against these threats.

As Master's of Social Work students at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), our academic and professional development is rooted in the core principles of Critical Race Theory (CRT). This theory is foundational to the work that we do on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. Thus, we are calling on the CSULB School of Social Work to respond accordingly to the threats from the current Presidential Administration, not with censorship, but instead with resistance. 

As stated on the CSULB's School of Social Work website, the core values of both the MSW program include:

• Academic Excellence
• Inclusion and Diversity
• Community Engagement  
• Quality in Teaching  
• Pursuit of Social Justice
• Commitment to Vulnerable Populations
• Integrity and Ethics

 CSULB's School of Social Work also states on its website that, 

"CSULB SSW is committed to critical race theory through a critical pedagogical framework applied to BASW and MSW coursework. This framework centers the perspectives and needs of the most marginalized and oppressed individuals and segments of our society and directly addresses differences in power, privilege, and status based on race as it intersects with class, gender, sexuality, immigrant status, ability, and other factors at micro, mezzo, and macro levels".

As Master's in Social Work students, we believe that fascism is rooted in censorship. Thus, if the CSULB SSW decides to remove CRT from its website, programming, and/or curriculum, we are not only disregarding the importance of Critical Race Theory, but also the importance that language is power and in censoring language, we are censoring the opportunities, experiences, and safety of so many of our students who we learn alongside every day.

We are calling on CSULB SSW to reconsider a path forward that does not include censorship but instead focuses on the importance of critiquing neoliberalism and aligning further with the principles of CRT to protect their students. Many campuses across the United States are creating collaborative, communal, and cohesive responses to these threats in the name of intersectionality, educational integrity, and democracy. 

Thank you for taking the time to hear our voices and we look forward to seeing the CSULB School of Social Work practice what they preach.