Challenging Anti-Black Racism across the Curriculum: Situating the Social Work Legacy and Moving Forward

As an introduction for a special journal volume on Challenging Anti-Black Racism across the Social Work Curriculum, this paper situates the volume’s contributions within a larger anti-racist tradition in social work including the often overlooked legacy of the profession’s Black leaders. It discusses multiple strands of anti-racist social work scholarship that provide scaffolding to support current and future anti-racist practices and thought. These include the paradigm shift from cultural competence to critical race theory; interpersonal and behavioral science approaches; Afrocentric perspectives; and decolonization theory. The article previews the volume’s contributions which both reflect these traditions and move beyond them. We argue that the endemic nature of anti-Black racism in the U.S. demands special attention in the social work curriculum.