Described as an activist, educator, researcher, and administrator, Inabel Burns Lindsay served as the first dean of the Howard University School of Social Work, and her extraordinary accomplishments have served as a beacon for generations of social work educators and practitioners. During her formative years as a social worker, she honed in on the importance of examining culture in delivering services in the public welfare system. As she built a school of social work, which she described as “second to none,” she served as a moral conscience for the profession and repeatedly demonstrated through her writings and actions an uncompromising pursuit of social justice for all, both inside and outside the profession. This article profiles the courage and leadership skills of this transformational leader and uses her struggle against racism and sexism to inform the current realities of the profession.
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