The Black Social Workers’ Oral History Project: When heritage is powerful and political

Historically, SW practice has not always met Black children’s identity needs. In the 70s, it was standard practice to place Black children in white homes. In 2002, legal policy was amended to emphasize children's religion, race, and culture in finding permanent homes. However, in 2014 the legal requirement to consider ethnicity was removed, allowing transracial placements. Many frontline social workers did not agree with this change, arguing that by removing ethnicity, the law devalued the significance of ethnicity to individual children’s identity. Against this backdrop of policy U-turns, and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, this heritage project explores Black SWs historical navigations around identity – how did they perceive and experience these changes?