Anti-Racism in Social Work Practice

Anti-Racism in Social Work Practice is an edited volume that addresses the effects of racism in social work programmes. With a primary focus on the specific experiences of black students, the central theme of the book concerns tackling the effects of racism in social work education. Drawing on their experiences as social work educators, the authors use a critical lens to explore the subtle and overt ways discrimination, oppression and privilege is played out in the learning environment. They argue that the commitment to fighting racism has been abandoned and advocates for the critical language of anti-racism. The book is organised into seven chapters and includes an introductory chapter setting out the rationale and giving an overview of the book. Chapters 1 and 2 set out the historical and legislative context of anti-racist debates in the UK and trace the history and development of anti-racism in social work education. The authors conclude that although race has been on the agenda of social work education for the last two decades, it is fair to say that the discourse has moved away from a focus on anti-racism to a broader focus on anti-oppression, as well as towards narratives that are more muted and couched in terms of difference and diversity.