Session: Decolonizing Social Work History: Leveraging Historical Research to Advance Racial Equity and Social Justice in the Next 30 Years of Social Work Science (Society for Social Work and Research 28th Annual Conference - Recentering & Democratizing Knowledge: The Next 30 Years of Social Work Science)

How can understanding the historical roots of social work help us create a more inclusive and equitable profession? This symposium critically examines the historical roots of the social work profession, aiming to envision a more inclusive, equitable, and decolonized future for social work research and practice. Comprising four distinct yet interconnected studies, this symposium explores the lives of historical actors, institutional legacies, and methodological approaches in social work history.

The first paper, "Exploring Local Legacies of Segregation and Exclusion in Women's Reform Work in Athens, Georgia," unpacks contributions of early 20th-century social reformers Mary Ann Lipscomb and Judia Jackson Harris in addressing racial inequity within their respective communities. This analysis highlights the importance of examining local historical cases to better understand and address contemporary racial disparities in social work research and practice. The second paper, "Social Work Leaders: Historical Democratic Discourse during Times of National Crisis," demonstrates the power of democratic discourse in driving social change during periods of democratic crisis. By examining the discourses of social work leaders during the Progressive Era, Great Depression, and Civil Rights Era, the author offers valuable insights into how present-day social work leaders can construct compelling social responsibility arguments for today's democratic crises. The third paper, titled "Trailblazers for Change: Uncovering the Impact of the 1970s CSWE Multicultural Task Forces in Steering Social Work Towards Anticolonialism, Antiracism, and Abolitionism," examines five Council on Social Work Education's Multicultural Task Forces. By examining their influence on social work research and practice, the study highlights the importance of acknowledging the unique and concurrent needs of diverse populations of color. Consequently, the study underlines the critical role of integrating antiracism, anticolonialism, and abolitionism within the social work profession. The final paper, "Beyond Our 'Mothers': Social History for Social Work," advocates for a critical model of historical social work research that centers the lived experiences of historically marginalized people. By employing methods of social history, the author contends that social work research should prioritize sensitivity to context and lived experience, guiding the profession to tackle complex historical questions and more effectively address contemporary challenges.

The symposium explores how the social work profession can address its past failures in confronting colonialism, racism, and gender inequality by centering the voices and experiences of social workers of color. Through historical research, we can advance social work science and promote a more inclusive and equitable profession, empowering marginalized populations and centering their perspectives in the research process. Additionally, the symposium highlights the historical efforts by social workers of color that can inform and shape social work research and science in the future, with a focus on advancing racial equity and social justice. These presentations also encourage critical reflection on how social work research can better achieve social change by reckoning with social work's past and examining the profession's role in perpetuating oppression. In summary, this symposium demonstrates the value of history as a research method to drive social work research forward towards a more just and equitable society.