Conclusions: Anti-Racist Social Work as Transformational Practice

I conclude with suggestions about: how anti-racist social work can empower both black and white people who access services; the skills that social workers need for such work; and the different levels in which anti-racist interventions are necessary. Racial inequality continues to bedevil society. Deeply embedded forms of racism trouble our planet, whether perpetrated by white people or not. The struggle to establish egalitarian social relations among people is a source of optimism, but setbacks, like the failure of the Durban Summit to shift attitudes, make the task seem intractable. I conclude by calling for an egalitarian world that people create by forming racially equal and just societies wherever they live. I identify policies and resources to assist anti-racist work in the profession and broader society and offer guidelines for practice. Anti-racist social work aims to change the behaviour of those who benefit from inequalities and those disadvantaged by them. Anti-racist social work practice is part of an emancipatory approach to working with service users and arose from the radical social work movement of the 1970s. It is committed to a social justice that now includes environmental justice (Dominelli, 2012) and transformative social change.