Becoming an anti‐racist institution

Abstract

This paper represents a collaborative effort by students, faculty and administration to present the major changes at the Smith College School for Social Work toward becoming an anti‐racist institution, with a specific focus on the recent three year period (1994–1997) of accelerated change coinciding with the emergence of the Anti‐Racism Task Force. Framed by an historical context, the authors present the emergence of the Anti‐Racism Task Force created in response to a noteworthy student demonstration in the summer of 1994 and functioning as a catalytic agent for anti‐racist change throughout the years. This paper documents the School's anti‐racist efforts with the following areas of focus: the mission statement; curriculum; recruitment and hiring; faculty development and diversity training; and the design of anti‐racist practice infield internships. The conflicts and resistance to institutional change that arose along this journey are introduced to illuminate the complexity of the process.