Celebrating Black Voices – 28 October 2021
Following the positive feedback received from the previous event in May 2021, and to round off Black History Month, we held a second Celebrating Black Voices event to continue to hold this important space to celebrate Black voices. In particular, we wished to celebrate the voices of two Black colleagues from our partner organisations who had contributed pieces to the book ‘Outlanders – Hidden Narratives From Social Workers Of Colour’. This publication aimed to showcase a rich and diverse collection of essays, poems, stories and reflections from workers from Black and other Global Majority Communities showcase, providing unique and spellbinding insights.
The afternoon featured presentations from Sherifa Adenmosun (Independent Reviewing Officer, Sutton) and Anneta Pinto-Young (Workforce Development Consultant, Croydon) that included readings from their pieces in the book as well as background on why they had written what they had.
Sherifa’s presentation focused on a day in the life of an Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) during COVID, and highlighted the importance of being able to conduct visits and meet with people with lived experience in person, in order to be able to pick up on key issues that may be missed otherwise. There were discussions on how best to connect with and support the children and young people in care that colleagues work with.
Anneta presented her piece of writing, which had been inspired by finally feeling able to speak about race and racial issues, and actually being heard and listened to. A number of attendees reflected that her words were very powerful, and shared their own similar experiences. We discussed the importance of being able to have these conversations now.
This was followed by a montage celebrating notable Black voices and time for open discussions. To view the montage slideshow, please click here.
The response to the montage was very positive, with many attendees commenting how powerful and inspiring some of the videos and quotes were. Overall, the response to the event was that it had been thought-provoking, with amazing discussions and speakers!
A huge thank you to Sherifa and Anneta for sharing their experiences, and to everyone who attended and participated on the day!
Resources:
Harris, John (2003) “The Social Work Business” – a good insight into the change of mindset for Social Workers.
Outlanders – Hidden Narratives From Social Workers Of Colour
