Racism and Social Work: A Panel Discussion

FEATURE STORY

Cynthia Okafor, MSW, RSW,

Is a partnership specialist with The City of Calgary

Rosemary Ignacio, MSW, RSW,

Is an instructor and Chair of the Social Work Program at the Red Deer College

Lana Bentley, MSW, RSW,

Is Director of Program Strategy at YW Calgary and an instructor at Mount Royal University

The following panel discussion is edited for clarity and lenth.

WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE PHRASE “RACISM AND SOCIAL WORK”?

ROSEMARY: Social workers should be the champions of anti-racist work. Working towards anti-racist practice…to me it looks like a more equitable world. This will be going against the status quo. And it doesn’t matter where you work, this is something that we continually address. Even in my years of practice, I find that I often have to be the one to say, ‘Have you considered?’ or ‘Have you thought about?’ because it’s not on other people’s radar so to speak.

One of the things we boast about in social work is our commitment to anti-oppressive practice; that’s anti-racist practice and we are fighting against anything that oppresses people. Anti-oppressive practice is the most used term, but its popularity grew out of anti-Black racism.

CYNTHIA: Even though as social workers we pride ourselves on challenging various forms of injustices, inequality and oppression, we cannot forget the role that social work has played in oppression and other forms of discrimination. For me, notable examples include the role we’ve played historically with residential schools where we accompanied Indian agents onto Aboriginal reserves and removed Aboriginal children from their homes, or even the role we’ve played with the Sixties Scoop where we apprehended Aboriginal children and placed them in non-traditional homes. We [also] cannot forget the role we as social workers have played in implementing policies and measures against the Black community. A good example includes school segregation policies where Black children were barred or prevented from schooling with white children. Another example is the overrepresentation of Black children in children’s services. It’s an issue not only for the Black community, but for the Aboriginal community as well. [Racism] is very much entrenched in our profession as social workers.

LANA: If we look at the composition of where we find racialized people working in our profession, it does tend to be in a front-line capacity. But as we go up the chain of command, we see fewer racialized faces in positions of authority where they can influence the policies and working environments where other racialized people practice within our profession.

There does need to be a commitment within our profession to create more visibility for people of colour to be reflected at every level of decision making. When we look at those institutions that fundamentally shape our ability to activate our profession, we simply don’t have enough representation from the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) community.

Acknowledge the discomfort around the subject of racism. Why are we afraid to have the conversation? Let's start there. Cynthia Okafor, MSW, RSW

AS IT PERTAINS TO RACISM, WHAT ARE SOME IDEAS ABOUT HOW WE CAN UPHOLD THE CASW CODE OF ETHICS AND HOLD EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE?

CYNTHIA: Racism is a systemic and institutional problem and I look to those systems and institutions to hold us as social workers accountable to these standards. How can we uphold ourselves to such a standard when we haven’t been adequately trained to do so? In my education, we had some courses in diversity or multiculturalism that were either optional or rushed into a one-week block course. When I mentor young social workers, I find this is still the practice today. If we’re truly serious about anti-racist practice from a professional standpoint, then we need to dismantle the traditional and historical structures that impact our profession.

ROSEMARY: It has to go from micro to macro. From an individual level, we need to ensure we are not ourselves engaging in racist practices before we try to hold other people accountable. We do this by developing a habit of continual self-reflection. Even the best intentioned of us engage in practices that could unknowingly be offensive to other people, and people need to be told when their behaviour is racist. Sure, policy is helpful, but really, it’s in our relationships with the people in our circles where we have the power to influence change.

LANA: The challenge with holding people to account with issues around racism is that some people imagine, by virtue of the fact that they are a social worker, that they are not racist. That’s going to be a tough bridge for people to cross – just because you are in the profession doesn’t make you inherently anti-racist. Unless people can embrace that, and acknowledge that we’re all learning and growing together, it’s going to be pretty tough to apply any of the steps that would be required to actively challenge racism. I think it can happen, but our profession needs to look in before looking out.

ROSEMARY: The expectation is that if you go through this [social work] program, then you hold a certain set of values and attitudes. And while that’s ideal, we cannot make somebody change their behaviour or attitude. That’s internal work that people have to do themselves.

CYNTHIA: As individuals and even as professionals, we are quite segregated. The only opportunities we have to interact with differences is when we’re forced to interact, whether it’s in an educational or work setting. That’s why self-reflection is truly important. Go back to your early experiences with race and differences and look at how it’s impacted you as an individual and as a professional.

There does need to be a commitment within our profession to create more visibility for people of colour to be reflected at every level of decision making. Lana Bentley, MSW, RSW

HOW CAN SOCIAL WORKERS BE CONSCIOUS OF THE MANY POWER IMBALANCES INHERENT IN DAILY PRACTICE? WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

ROSEMARY: Self-reflection is a place where we develop and increase our awareness of power imbalance. What impact does my practice have on the people I work with? How can I create a more equitable environment in which to work? What can I do to share my power with the people I work with? As we increase our awareness, we get to decide how we move forward. It’s one thing to have that ‘aha’ moment, but if we don’t do anything about it, it’s for naught. Education is also an important piece in raising our consciousness. Educate yourself through reading, research, and spending time with people of other races. That’s a hard thing for people to do; it takes effort to step outside our comfort zone. But if we’re really trying to engage in anti-racist practice, these are some easy ways to start doing it.

CYNTHIA: Look to the profession as well. If we’re putting social workers out into the field, we need to ensure they have the training. We need to hold ourselves to account and ask ourselves what it means to put [our Code of Ethics] and principles into practice.

LANA: What does the broader membership want to think, believe and commit to as it relates to equity, diversion and inclusion? Can you be racist and a social worker in this province?

CYNTHIA: Acknowledge the discomfort around the subject of racism. Why are we afraid to have the conversation? Let’s start there. There is no end point… If you’re going to make a true and solid commitment [to being anti-racist] it’s a lifelong commitment. You never stop learning.

Sure, policy is helpful, but really, it's in our relationships with the people in our circles where we have the power to influence change. Rosemary Ignacio, MSW, RSW

THIS DISCUSSION WAS FACILITATED AND EDITED FOR LENGTH AND CLARITY BY KRISTIN BAKER.