The Social Care Chosen Ones: Celebrating our Success Stories
On 14 May, 16 attendees gathered for “The Social Care Chosen Ones: Celebrating our Success Stories,” presented by Zola Ambiya from Achieving for Children as part of the Black Voice of Social Work discussion group with the Developing Together Social Work Teaching Partnership.
The presentation explored identity, authenticity, allyship, resilience, and systemic excellence within social care. Zola highlighted the importance of understanding personal history and cultural heritage, celebrating Black success stories, and remaining unapologetically authentic while navigating professional spaces. The session emphasised framing diverse representation not as an organisational metric, but as an indicator of profound professional depth noting visible Black representation across entry-level leadership, management, and senior leadership positions. Additionally, the presentation outlined standards for genuine allyship, urging practitioners to move beyond “optical allyship” or passive presence, amplify Black colleagues’ voices, and proactively educate peers to foster collective growth.
Attendees went into three breakout rooms to discuss and share their own success stories, reflecting on moments where their talent met a need with a family, young person, or colleague.
The themes from these breakout rooms were as follows:
- Racism, belonging, and workplace authenticity – Participants reflected on personal experiences of racism, systemic pressures, and navigating workplace stereotypes. Discussion highlighted the pressure on Black professionals regarding communication styles and expectations to appear non-assertive. Attendees noted that remaining true to oneself, staying authentic, and being supported by proactive management such as when leaders challenge discriminatory client requests for white workers.
- Empowering young people and cultural representation – Groups focused on small wins that lead to systemic change, sharing practice examples of supporting children facing cultural identity struggles, race-based bullying, or intersectional challenges. Through advocacy, creating safe spaces, and connecting young people with culturally matched mentors, practitioners helped build confidence and empowerment, enabling young people to feel seen and valued within their schools and wider communities.
- Inclusive education, networking, and sustained leadership – Conversations explored the transition into university and professional settings, addressing how cliques and cultural differences can affect belonging. Attendees highlighted the importance of taking initiative to build connections and praised the long-standing resilience of Black staff networks such as maintaining continuity through organisational restructures and COVID-19 to embed consultative influence at the executive level.
- Systemic advocacy and maternity justice – Practitioners shared powerful advocacy experiences in court and healthcare settings, challenging discriminatory assumptions against Black families. Highlights included challenging racist biases and medical staff who label pain-induced distress as “aggression,” leveraging decades of professional experience to secure fairer court orders that keep care-experienced mothers and their children together.
- Proactive allyship and organisational accountability – Reflections emphasised that true allyship requires continuous self-education, active listening, and challenging inequalities at all levels. Discussions called for expanding non-black staff engagement in diversity spaces, increasing representation across leadership, and embedding actionable anti-racist frameworks across organisations.
