The anti-racist social worker : stories of activism in social care and occupational therapy

Includes chapter by Victoria Hart who was at the time of writing a social worker at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (chapter 8: "If not now, when? On Jewishness and challenging anti-Semitism").

Introduction Tanya Moore and Glory Simango Ch 1  Mentoring for Inclusion Glory Simango and Tanya Moore Ch 2 SWAction21 Tanya Moore Ch 3 The Road to Activism Diana Katoto & Omar Mohammed Ch 4 Activism in Academia Zoe Thomas Ch 5 Journey to Allyship Liz Howard Ch 6 Rewiring My Racist Brain Jo Williams Ch 7 The Romani and Traveller perspective Dan Allen, Doreen Dove, Allison Hulmes & Mairtain Moloney-Neachtain Ch 8 If not now, when? On Jewishness and Challenging Antisemitism Victoria Hart  Ch 9 Dialogues on Race in Communities of Practice Lydia Guthrie & Marie Otton Ch 10 Moving Forward together: Developing an Anti-Racist social work team Jen Hooper & Akwasi Sefa-Boakye Ch 11 Let’s Talk about Race Baldish McGurrin Ch 12 Creation of Anti-Racist Organisation Liz Fergus and Chi Nyasvimbo Ch 13 The Social Care WRES Mark Harvey, Nimal Jude and Zohal Shafiq Ch 14 It’s not Black and White Sherlyn Graham and Catherine Greenlaw Personal Pledges

This is the story of an anti-racist campaign staged by social workers and allied health professionals which encourages readers to consider their own possibilities for anti-racist action.

The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and subsequent expression of anger, frustration and grief at the continued existence of racism led to more sophisticated and honest conversations about racism and its impact. Social work also started to recognise its own problem with racist systems and its failure as a profession that strives for social justice to have addressed this in any meaningful way.


The Anti-Racist Social Worker describe a successful campaign of anti-racist direct action that was staged by a small group of social workers and occupational therapists. The opening chapter tells the story of the campaign from the coming together of the campaign group to the concluding day of action. Subsequent chapters are written by campaign members at different stages of their career, from student social worker to Chief Social Worker for England. Each describes journeys to and stories of anti-racist activism. These stories are about either the writers' experiences of racism and how this translated into action or their growing understanding of the impact of racism and subsequent decision to take personal action. Importantly, each chapter offers a personal case study and therefore a suggestion of individual anti-racist action that can be taken by social workers.

The Anti-Racist Social Worker is a call for action told through individual stories. It shows how those in social care and allied health professions can contribute in a meaningful way to the creation of the change we need and encourages everyone to consider their own roles in dismantling racism.