Reckonings and Re-Imaginings: Indigenous and Black Offerings to Social Work and Beyond

The School of Social Work at York University was founded by renowned race scholar, peace activist, and community organizer: Dr. Wilson A. Head. An African American sociologist who received his PhD from Ohio State University in 1958, Dr. Head migrated to Canada soon afterwards where he spoke out against and led research into systemic racism, poverty, and war. Wilson A. Head founded and joined many organizations committed to social welfare and racial justice, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association of Toronto, National Welfare Council, National Black Coalition of Canada, Social Planning Council and Urban Alliance on Race Relations. Dr. Head drew attention to racial profiling in the police force and advocated for the abolition of prisons. We draw attention to and pay tribute to his legacy, as we frame this year’s theme: Reckonings and Re-Imaginings: Indigenous and Black Offerings to Social Work and Beyond

The colonial modernist profession of social work continues to harm Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities across multiple interrelated sites where colonialism is alive, well-entrenched, and continually re-configuring. While reckoning with the gravity of the profession’s past and present, we must actively reimagine and rescript social work and beyond for our future ancestors. We invite scholars, students, practitioners, activists, and abolitionists to gather this spring on the land known as Tkaronto to build on the gifts and knowledges held out to us by those who came before. This conference will centre Indigenous and Black offerings, while also welcoming other intersectional discussions (addressing, for example, disability justice, mad and crip epistemologies, neurodiversity, Two-Spirit, queer and trans communities, migration and transnational solidarities, anti-patriarchal and feminist struggles, reproductive and sexual justice, linguistic diversity, ageism and adultism, environmental justice, anti-poverty and anti-capitalist mobilizing – recognizing that any such list is inevitably partial and inviting other conversations that we haven’t even dreamed of), whether in contexts that are majority anglophone or francophone. We seek engagements that aim to dismantle how white supremacy, colonialism, and innumerable interlocking social and political violences shape the life possibilities of our communities as well as the field of social work. We welcome submissions on the theme of Reckoning and Re-Imagining: Indigenous and Black Offerings to Social Work and Beyond. Students, artists, activists, and critical thinkers are invited to the conversation, whether connected to university or not. We are particularly excited and hopeful about hosting intergenerational dialogues among Black and Indigenous thinkers and practitioners working to build possible futures and just worlds.