Mapping an Integrative Critical Race and Anti-Colonial Theoretical Framework in Social Work Practice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18060/24952Keywords:
Anti-colonialism, Critical race theory, racism, social work, white supremacyAbstract
The social inequities highlighted by the racial injustice protests of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic challenge the social work profession to respond to the past and present social consequences that disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We argue that social work's commitment to social justice has not taken up an explicit anti-racism mission to eradicate white supremacy, racism, and coloniality in the profession. We further argue that although social service agencies often include a commitment to cultural competence/humility, practices continue to be rooted in color-blind approaches to service and treatment. Social work's failure to address racism poses challenges for those from racialized backgrounds experiencing psychological distress due to racism and other inequities. Building upon the theoretical foundations of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Anti-Colonialism, we provide a conceptual framework for practice and service delivery with BIPOC clients through social work praxis. This conceptual framework offers three overarching directives that include integrated critical race and anti-colonial theoretical concepts for social work practice and service delivery. We discuss the implications for application of this conceptual framework in practice and service delivery.
References
Abrams, L. S., & Dettlaff, A. (2020, June 18). An open letter to NASW and allied organizations on social work’s relationship with law enforcement. https://alandettlaff.medium.com/an- open-letter-to-nasw-and-allied-organizations-on-social-works-relationship-with-law- enforcement-1a1926c71b28
Abrams, L., & Moio, J. (2009). Critical race theory and the cultural competence dilemma in social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 45(2), 245-261. https://doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2009.200700109
Adjei, P. B., & Minka, E. (2018). Black parents ask for a second look: Parenting under "White" child protection rules in Canada. Children and Youth Services Review, 94, 511–524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.08.030
Ahmed, S. (2006). Declarations of whiteness: The non-performativity of anti-racism. Meridians, 7(1), 104-126.
https://fas.columbia.edu/files/fas/content/Ahmed%2C%20Nonperformativity%20of%20Antiracism.pdf
Almeida, R., Rozas, L., Cross-Denny, B., Lee, K., & Yamada, A. (2019). Coloniality and Intersectionality in social work education and practice. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 30(2), 148-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/10428232.2019.1574195
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project [ACLED], The. (2020, August). US crisis monitor releases full data for summer 2020. https://acleddata.com/acleddatanew/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ACLED_US-Crisis-Monitor-Summer-2020_Overview.pdf
Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (2003). The empire writes back: Theory and practice in post-colonial literatures. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203426081
Atteberry-Ash, B., Nicotera, N., & Gonzales, B. (2019). Walk the talk of power, privilege and oppression: A template analysis. Journal of Social Work Education, 57(1), 7-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2019.1661917
Badwall, H. (2014). Colonial encounters: Racialized social workers negotiating professional scripts of whiteness. Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, 3, 1-23. https://journals.library.mun.ca/ojs/index.php/IJ/article/view/996/1004
Bailey, Z., Feldman, J., & Basset, M. (2020). How structural racism works — Racist policies as a root cause of U.S. racial health inequities. New England Journal Medicine, 384(8), 768-773. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMms2025396
Banks, L., Hopps, G., & Briggs, H. (2018). Cracks in the ceiling? Historical and contemporary trends of African American deans of schools of social work. Research on Social Work Practice, 28(3), 288-299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731517706552
Baskin, C. (2016). Strong helpers' teachings: The value of Indigenous knowledges in the helping professions. Canadian Scholars' Press.
Beck, E. (2019). Naming white supremacy in the social work curriculum. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 34(3), 393-398. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109919837918
Becker, S., & Paul, C. (2015). It didn't seem like race mattered: Exploring the implications of service-learning pedagogy for reproducing or challenging color-blind racism. Teaching Sociology, 43(3), 184–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X15587987
Bell, D. (2018). Faces at the bottom of the well: The permanence of racism. Hachette UK.
Blackstock, C. (2009). The occasional evil of angels: Learning from the experiences of Aboriginal peoples and social work. First Peoples Child and Family Review, 4(1), 28-47. https://doi.org/10.7202/1069347ar
Bridges, P. (2020). Navigating the silences: Social worker discourses around race (Doctoral Dissertation/Antioch University). https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/560
Brown, S. L., Johnson, Z., & Miller, S. E. (2019). Racial microaggressions and black social work students: A call to social work educators for proactive models informed by social justice. Social Work Education, 38(5), 618-630. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2019.1594754
Bryant, D., & Kolivoski, K. (2021). The stories we tell: Examining the persistence and impacts of normative-whiteness and White supremacy within social work education. Advances in Social Work, 21(2), 481-499. https://doi.org/10.18060/24158
Calero, S., Kopić, K., Lee, A., Nuevelle, T., Spanjaard, M., & Williams, T. (2017). On the problematization and criminalization of children and young adults with non-apparent disabilities. The Ruderman White Paper. https://rudermanfoundation.org/white_papers/criminalization-of-children-with-non-apparent-disabilities/
Campbell, E. (2015). Transitioning from a model of cultural competency toward an inclusive pedagogy of "racial competency" using Critical Race Theory. Journal of Social Welfare and Human Rights, 3(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.15640/jswhr.v3n1a2
Canadian Association of Social Work [CASW]. (2020, June). CASW statement of mourning, solidarity and call to action. https://www.casw-acts.ca/en/casw-statement-mourning-solidarity-and-call-action
Canadian Association of Social Work Educators. (2020, June 3). Addressing anti-Black racism in social work. https://caswe-acfts.ca/addressing-anti-black-racism-in-social-work/
Carlton-LaNey, I. (2001). African American leadership in social work history: An empowerment tradition. NASW Press.
Carten, A. (2016, August 21). How racism has shaped welfare policy in America since 1935. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-racism-has-shaped=welfare-policy-in-america-since-1935-63574
Chapman, C., & Withers, A. (2019). A violent history of benevolence: Interlocking oppressions in the moral economies of social working. University of Toronto Press.
Clarke, J. (2015). Beyond child protection: Afro-caribbean service users of child welfare. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 23(3), 223–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/10428232.2012.719119
Constance-Huggins, M. (2019). Critical race theory in social work education. Critical Social Work, 13(2), 2-16. https://doi.org/10.22329/csw.v13i2.5861
Corley, N. A., & Young, S. M. (2018). Is social work still racist? A content analysis of recent literature. Social Work, 63(4), 317-326. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swy042
Council on Social Work Education [CSWE]. (2021, March). An Update From the Anti-Racism Task Force. https://www.cswe.org/news/news/an-update-from-the-anti-racism-task-force/
CSWE. (2020, June). CSWE Statement on Social Justice. https://www.cswe.org/news/press-room/cswe-statement-on-social-justice/#:~:text=The%20CSWE%20Educational%20Policy,or%20create%20privilege%20and%20power.
CSWE. (n.d.). About CSWE: Vision. https://www.cswe.org/About-CSWE
COVID Tracking Project, The. (2021). COVID-19 is affecting Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color the most. The Atlantic. https://covidtracking.com/race
Craig de Silva, E., Jackson, V., Oldman, V., Schacter, R., Wong, J., & Lopez, L. (2007). Institutional racism and the social work profession: A call to action. https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=SWK1aR53FAk%3D&portalid=0
Crampton, A. (2015). Decolonizing social work' best practices' through a philosophy of impermanence. Journal of Indigenous Social Development 4(1), 1–11. https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1162&context=socs_fac
Crenshaw, K. (1995). Critical race theory: The key writings at formed the movement. State University of New York Press
Danforth, L., Hsu, H. T., & Miller, J. W. (2020). Color-blind racial attitudes among social work students: Exploration of individual and social network correlates. Journal of Social Work Education, 56(3), 412-427. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2019.1661910
Delgado, R. (1990). When a story is just a story: Does voice really matter? Virginia Law Review, 76, 95-111. https://doi.org/10.2307/1073104
Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical race theory: An introduction. New York University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.51089
Dettlaff, A. (2020, July). A call to act against racism and white supremacy now. The New Social Worker. https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/call-to-social-workers-act-against-racism-white-supremacy/
Dettlaff, A., Weber, K., Pendleton, M. Boyd, R., Bettencourt, B. & Burton, L. (2020). It is not a broken system, it is a system that needs to be broken: The upEND movement to abolish the child welfare system. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 14(5), 500-517. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2020.1814542
Dominelli, L. (2017). Anti-racist social work. British Association of Social Workers. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53420-0
Douglas, F. (1881). The color line. North American Review. University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). The souls of Black folk: Essays and sketches. A.C. McClurg & Co.
Egede, L., & Walker, R. (2020). Structural racism, social risk factors, and Covid-19 — A dangerous convergence for Black Americans. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(e77), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2023616
Este, D., Sato, C., & McKenna, D. (2017). The coloured women's club of Montreal, 1902-1940: African-Canadian women confronting anti-Black racism. Canadian Social Work Review, 34(1), 81-99. https://doi.org/10.7202/1040996ar
Fanon, F. (1967). Black skin, White masks. Grove Press.
Fellows, M. L., & Razack, S. (1998). The race to innocence: Confronting hierarchical relations amongst women. Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice, 1(2), 335-352. https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1278&context=faculty_articles
Fortier, C., & Hon-Sing Wong, E. (2019). The settler colonialism of social work and the social work of settler colonialism. Settler Colonial Studies, 9(4), 437-456. https://doi.org/10.1080/2201473X.2018.1519962
Gara, M. A., Minsky, S., Silverstein, S. M., Miskimen, T., & Strakowski, S. M. (2019). A naturalistic study of racial disparities in diagnoses at an outpatient behavioral health clinic. Psychiatric Services, 70(2), 130-134. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201800223
Gerstel, N. (2011). Rethinking families and community: The color, class, and centrality of extended kin ties. Sociological Forum, 26(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1573-7861.2010.01222.x
Gosine, K., & Pon, G. (2011). On the front lines: The voices and experiences of racialized child welfare workers in Toronto, Canada. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 22(2), 135-159. https://doi.org/10.1080/10428232.2011.599280
Gregory, J. R. (2020). Social work as a product and project of Whiteness, 1607–1900. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 32(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10428232.2020.1730143
Harms, L., & Pierce, J. (2020). Working with people: Interviewing and assessment skills for human service and social work practice. Oxford University Press.
Haynes, S. (2020, June 22). As protesters shine a spotlight on racial injustice in America the reckoning is going global. Time. https://time.com/5851879/racial-injustice-protests-europe/
Humphries, B. (2003). What else counts as evidence in evidence-based social work? Social Work Education, 22(1), 81-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615470309130
James, J. (2016). Forward. In A. Carten, A. Siskind, & M. P. Greene (Eds.), Strategies for deconstruction of racism in health and human services (pp. i-ix). Oxford Press.
Juliá, M. (2000). Student perceptions of culture: An integral part of social work practice. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24, 279–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(99)00036-X
Kempf, A. (Ed.). (2009). Breaching the colonial contract: Anti-colonialism in the US and Canada. Springer Science & Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9944-1
Khan, M. (2019). A social work perspective on indigenous knowledges, anticolonial thought, and contemplative pedagogy. Journal of Critical Anti-Oppressive Social Inquiry, 2, 8-46. https://caos.library.ryerson.ca/index.php/caos/article/view/1313/1293
Knowles, V. (1997). Strangers at our gates: Canadian immigration and immigration policy, 1540–1997. Toronto and Oxford, Dundurn Press
Kolivoski, K. M., Weaver, A., & Constance-Huggins, M. (2014). Critical race theory: Opportunities for application in social work practice and policy. Families in Society, 95(4), 269-276. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.2014.95.36
Lavalette, M., & Penketh, L. (2014). Race, racism and social work. In M. Lavalette & L. Penketh (Eds.), Race, racism and social work: Contemporary issues and debates (pp. 1–16). Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.46692/9781447307099.001
Levine, A., & Ghezzi, M. (2022). Pedagogical strategies for teaching the DSM: Centering diversity and equity. Advances in Social Work, 22 (1), 133-144. https://doi.org/10.18060/25617
Lo, C. C., Cheng, T. C., & Smith, G. P. A. (2016). Racial attitudes characterizing social work students at a southern university. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 86(2), 156–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377317.2016.1149347
Maldonado-Torres, N. (2007). On the coloniality of being: Contributions to the development of a concept. Cultural studies, 21(2-3), 240-270. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162548
Margolin, L. (1997). Under the cover of kindness: The invention of social work. University of Virginia Press.
Mayes, R., & Rafalovich, A. (2007). Suffer the restless children: The evolution of ADHD and pediatric stimulant use, 1900-1980. History of Psychiatry, 18(4), 435-467. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957154X06075782
McMahon, A., & Allen-Meares, P. (1992). Is social work racist? A content analysis of recent literature. Social Work, 37, 533–539.
Memmi, A. (1991). The colonizer and the colonized. Beacon Press. (Original work published 1965)
Merino, Y., Adams, L., & Hall, W. J. (2018). Implicit bias and mental health professionals: Priorities and directions for research. Psychiatric Services, 69(6), 723–725. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201700294
Morris, T. (2006). Social work research methods: Four alternative paradigms. Sage.
Murray-Lichtman, A., Aldana, A., Izaksonas, E., Williams, T., Naseh, M., Deepak, A., & Rountree, M. (2022). Dual pandemics awaken urgent call to advance anti-racism education in social work: Pedagogical illustrations. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 2022, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2022.2070899
Murray-Lichtman, A. & Elkassem, S. (2021). Academic voyeurism: The White gaze in the social work academy. Canadian Social Work Review / Revue canadienne de service social, 38(2), 179-205. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/cswr/1900-v1-n1-cswr06746/1086125ar/abstract/
National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (2017). Code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
NASW. (2021, June). Undoing racism through social work. NASW report to the profession on racial justice priorities and action. https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=29AYH9qAdXc%3D&portalid=0
Norcross, J. C., Beutler, L. E., & Levant, R. F. (2006). Evidence-based practices in mental health: Debate and dialogue on the fundamental questions (pp. xv-435). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/11265-000
Omi, M., & Winant, H. (1994). Racial formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Park, Y. (2006). Constructing Immigrants: A historical discourse analysis of the representations of immigrants in U.S. social work, 1882-1952. Journal of Social Work, 6(2), 169–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017306066673
Park, Y. (2008). Facilitating injustice: Tracing the role of social workers in the World War II internment of Japanese Americans. Social Service Review, 82(3), 447–483. https://doi.org/10.1086/592361
Peterson, C. (2013). The lies that bind: Heteronormative constructions of "family" in social work discourse. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 25(4), 486– 508. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2013.829394
Pon, G., Giwa, S., & Razack, N. (2016). Foundations of anti-racism and anti-oppression in social work practice. In A. Al-Krenawi, J. R. Graham, & N. Habibov (Eds.), Diversity and social work in Canada (pp. 38-58). Oxford University Press.
Pon, G., Gosine, K., & Phillips, D. (2011). Immediate response: Addressing anti-Native and anti-Black racism in child welfare. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 2(3/4), 385–409. https://doi.org/10.18357/ijcyfs23/420117763
Pradia, M. R. (2013). Clinicians behind the curtain: Are White Smith students addressing race and racism? (Masters Thesis, Smith College). https://scholarworks.smith.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2061&context=theses
Ramirez, M. (1999). Multicultural psychotherapy: An approach to individual and cultural differences. Allyn & Bacon.
Roberts, D. (2020, June 16). Abolishing policing also means abolishing family regulation. Chronicle of Social Change. https://imprintnews.org/child-welfare-2/abolishing-policing-also-means-abolishing-family-regulation/44480
Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Vintage Books.
Sakamoto, I., & Pitner, R. (2005). Use of critical consciousness in anti-oppressive social work practice: Disentangling power dynamics at personal and structural levels. The British Journal of Social Work, 35(4), 435-452. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bch190
Salsberg, E., Quigley, L., Mehfoud, N., Acquaviva, K. D., Wyche, K., & Silwa, S. (2017). Profile of the social work workforce. https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/sphhs_policy_workforce_facpubs/16
Santiago, A. M., & Ivery, J. (2020). Removing the knees from their necks: Mobilizing community practice and social action for racial justice, Journal of Community Practice, 28(3), 195-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2020.1823672
Saraceno, J. (2012). Mapping whiteness and coloniality in the human service field: Possibilities for a praxis of social justice in child and youth care. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 3(2-3), 248–271. https://doi.org/10.18357/ijcyfs32-3201210869
Schiele, J. H. (2007). Implications of the equality-of-oppressions paradigm for curriculum content on people of color. Journal of Social Work Education, 43, 83–100. https://doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2007.200400478
Seltzer, M., & Haldar, M. (2015). The other Chicago school -A sociological tradition expropriated and erased. Nordic Social Work Research, 5(1), S25–S41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2156857X.2015.1067638
Skott-Myhre, H. A. (2004). Radical youthwork: Creating a politics of mutual liberation for youth and adults. Journal of Child and Youth Care Work, 19, 89–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8975-8_13
Spivak, G. C. (1988). In other worlds: Essays in cultural politics. Methuen.
Stephens, T. N., & Rock-Vanloo, N. I. (2020). Talk about race: using critical race theory to support black social work students and prepare a representative and critical workforce. Social Work Education, 41(3), 370-386. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2020.1841155
Sue, S., & Zane, N. (2006). Ethnic minority populations have been neglected by evidence-based practices. In J. C. Norcross, L. E. Beutler, & R. F. Levant (Eds.), Evidence-based practices in mental health: Debate and dialogue on the fundamental questions (pp. 329-337). American Psychological Association.
Varghese, R. (2013). Transformation in action: Approaches to incorporating race and racism into social work practice and curriculum (Dissertation, University of Massachusetts Amherst). https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1741&context=open_access_dissertations
Wade, F. (2021, July 6). Gayatri Spivak: 'The subaltern speaks through dying'. The Nation. https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/interview-gayatri-chakravorty-spivak/
Weng, S. S., & Gray, L. (2020). Racial microaggressions within social work: perceptions of providers. Journal of Social Work Practice, 34(1), 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2018.1553871
Yee, J. Y. (2005). Critical anti-Racism praxis: The concept of whiteness implicated. In Hick, S., Fook, J., & Pozzuto, R. (Eds)., Social work: A critical turn. Thompson Educational Publishing.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Siham Elkassem, Andrea Murray-Lichtman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
