Breaking barriers: What an antiracist world would look like in social work

Social work practitioners were empowered to recognise and address racism and intersectional oppression in their practice at the BASW UK conference in Manchester last week.

Led by Shantel Thomas (pictured right), MA Course Lead for Social Work in an NHS Trust; and Dr Sylvia Smith (pictured left), an independent consultant with almost 40 years post qualifying experience in social work, the session looked at how advancing innovations in inclusion in social work can tackle racism and sexism, through the lens of intersectionality.

The session started with the audience asked to go into groups and discuss ‘what an anti-racist world would look like’, which provided vibrant discussion throughout the participants in the lecture hall.

Reporting back, attendees shared concerns around using ‘messy’ or ‘wrong’ language.

“The term I like to use is ‘clumsy and courageous’”, Shantel explained. “It kind of speaks to that idea that you may fall over, but you get up, you brush yourself off.”

“You don't give up just because you said something incorrectly or you've made a judgment.”

“There's something about learning from that.”

Other participants expressed concern about the idea of moving towards a ‘colour blind’ society.

A participant reported that their group thought that such a society ignores trauma, and also erases a ‘rich cultural history’.

“It’s kind of like seasoning your meat,” Shantel added. “What if everyone just seasoned it with salt and pepper, no jerk. What would that taste like?”

Another participant shared concern that a ‘colour blind’ society would not address inequalities that already exist, sharing a story from training she had delivered. She explained she gave participants a scenario with a white child, and asked whether their choices would change if the child involved was Black. She said most of the people in the training said their choices would not change ‘because they thought that was the right answer’.

“I was like it should be [different] because you've already told me that you've got disproportionality in terms of exclusions, disproportionality in terms of your youth justice system. So if you don't do anything differently, then a Black child is going to be another one of those statistics.”

The session then moved to a conversation between facilitators Shantel Thomas and Dr Sylvia Smith to talk about their respective journeys and the barriers they faced.

Shantel explained how she founded a growing organization the Anti-Racist Movement (ARM), of which Dr Sylvia Smith is also a core member, detailing how it is “a group of Black females who literally come together to help each other to heal and build up.”

“We also championed so many different projects and work, but ultimately we are about creating that community for ourselves, you know, really thinking about what that means in an anti-racist world. Instead of banging at the doors and wanting people to do things differently. We just had to create a space for ourselves in order to develop.”

The organization won the Social Justice Advocate Award at the 2024 Social Worker of the Year Awards, and appears to be going from strength to strength as more people learn about the collective.

“I just needed a space where I can just be with other Black women and I can be with others to just offload without apologizing,” Shantel said.

“I think it's important that the work we do translates into something or translates into making a difference and it starts with self.”

Dr Smith also shared key reflections from her social work career, which as of next month, will have spanned 40 years.

“40 years just feels like yesterday. I remember very vividly when I qualified and I was going to change the world and my preoccupation at that point was very much about community work, before we got into what we have now, which is very bureaucratized very marketized, very procedural.”

Dr Smith also reflected on what she saw as a changing culture with the students she now works with compared to those when she studied.

“The students in the polytechnic I attended were very progressive – a bit crazy – but they were very progressive, very enlightened. There were a cohort of us who were black students and we were very, very committed to black history. We were very committed to learning about our levels of consciousness – prior to which mine were pretty low – so I think I've got a little strength from being in that kind of program.

“We did have a few run ins with our lecturers, mind you, who had a few things which we didn't agree with and we felt able to challenge. We felt courageous enough to challenge them and they actually listened.

“So when I contrast that to what I hear from my students now. Students now who are fearful of doing that because they fear what might happen in terms of their qualification, their training, it's saddens my heart because it means these folks are going to be going out there to advocate for others, when they're struggling themselves for themselves and I'm sure a lot of you will recognize that.”

The facilitators Shantel and Sylvia, alongside Dr Roma Thomas, will be guest editing a special issue of the British Journal of Social Work to be released later this year.

The issue is set to be the first issue with an entirely Black, female editorship featuring contributions from Black, female authors.

“The special issue represents a profound and much-needed shift in the field of social work. Its focus on addressing anti-Black racism and advocating for transformative changes within social work practice, policy, and pedagogy is essential in confronting the deeply embedded colonial, Eurocentric, and racialised structures that persist today,” the Journal’s preview states.

The session ended with some final reflections from the audience and an inspiring call to action for just ‘one bold step’.

“What one bold step can we take back into our organisations to move this on? Inclusive innovation, justice is action. I’ll leave it at that,” Shantel said.