Becoming an anti-racist institution

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 in field internships. The conflicts and resistance to institutional change that arose along this journey are introduced to illuminate the complexity of the process.