Anti-racist social work in practice

For some social workers, they have the desire to be anti-racist but lack confidence and do not know where and how to begin.  

I have spent the last three years in my role as a Service Manager for Anti-Racist Practice at Essex County Council, observing and responding to the recurring discomfort and silence pertaining to race and racism that permeates social work systems. This silence upholds systemic racism and renders the work to develop anti-racist social care practice slow, and at times, stagnant.  

Embedding anti-racist practice 

The complexities of racism mean that anti-racism is not solved through one-day training or strategies, though both are important. It demands continuous anti-racist education; a recurring process of unlearning, relearning and then acting differently.  

The recently published Anti-Racist Practice Social Worker in Practice book is a ‘how to’ guide to support social workers and social care professionals to enact anti-racist principles. The expertise, words and voices in each page of this book pierce through this silence, show action but readers how to take action. 

We are not criticising social workers, rather we are critiquing methods of practice that are not intentionally anti-racist, offering a practical toolkit to use in their own practice. Each chapter draws on research, practice, lived experience, leadership, frontline reflections and much more, offering frameworks for authentic anti-racist practice. We offer reflective questions that you can answer in solitude at your own pace, or within group settings.  

Having the privilege to contribute to this book has reminded me of the different ways that anti-racism can be enacted and education as a powerful tool for liberation. The words must not stay on the pages of the book, but must be lived out, daily. 

Without understanding how our systems have been built, we cannot fully comprehend how systems leaders must tackle racism, oppression, and discrimination. In a two-part podcast, Dez Holmes talks to Meera Spillett about how our systems leadership could and should eradicate inequalities. They explore the roots of racism, what progress has been made and what needs to be achieved. 

The podcast accompanies an open access Research in Practice briefing that offers an overview of anti-racist systems leadership. The briefing aims to support leaders in developing critical thinking to understand how systemic racism is constructed and perpetuated in policies, tools and practice within individual organisations and partnerships. 

Reflections from Phil Chiza, one of the chapter authors: The start of the journey  

In 2021, I volunteered to take part in a five-week inclusion and diversity ‘quest’, which specifically focused on racial equity. The quest involved a deep dive into all parts of the service by identifying any barriers, possible solutions and then drawing up recommendations for ways in which the service could improve. Following these recommendations, I took on the role of anti-racist manager, drafting up an action plan for continuous improvement and for promoting racial equity.  

What I am most proud of is that we have managed to change the recruitment practices, and that conversations about anti-racist practice are becoming more common among teams. My personal reflection so far is that commitment to anti-racist work is a two-way process. It comes one conversation at a time. There are no silver bullets or quick fixes. It is a journey that we all have to walk together. According to Max DePree, for change to happen ‘we cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are’. Change is hard, it stretches us, its unnerving, but it is inevitable.  

Conversations about culture 

Three years later, I was involved in the chapter of the book that explores conversations about culture in adult social care. I believe that culture is central to the core of who we are, and that good, person-centred practice is built on an understanding of what is important to the person drawing on support. This relational practice involves an examination of the relationship co-created between the person and the practitioner. 

So often, the assumed culture is the white culture. Its prevalence enables its dominance. To actively see, value and support difference is to offer a person-centred response to the diverse needs of the people who draw on social care. But it’s also to disrupt the unspoken assumption of conformity to the dominant culture and to respond to the very different and unequal contexts within which we operate. I consider this to be a basic element of anti-racist practice in adult social care. 

If you are a social worker, researcher, student or anyone who passionate about standing up and with the oppressed, we invite you to join into this movement.