It’s a big and busy role, there’s no doubt about it,” smiles Millie Kerr, England’s first ever local authority Anti Racist Lead Practitioner. “It’s a role I’m really passionate about, and I think it’s brave of Brighton & Hove to create this role with an explicit focus on enhancing anti racist practice within children’s services and social work, to enable our teams to work better with our Black, Minoritised and Global Majority children and families. “After the murder of George Floyd, there was a flurry of organisations writing anti racist strategies, but there’s a sense that many of those strategies have remained strategies, with limited action. We are working hard to ensure we’re progressing our Anti Racist action plan, and bringing it to life, so that we can better meet the needs of the community we serve. “And while many places scrambled to employ EDI officers or anti racist leads on short term contracts, my role is a permanent position, highlighting the fact that anti racist work is not a quick
fix. It’s a lifetime journey, and in fact I don’t think we’ll fix it completely in my lifetime. It will take time, as the next generations become more proactive.” Millie first moved to Brighton over 20 years ago, after qualifying in 1994, and cutting her teeth in frontline children protection work in boroughs across London. Since taking on this role in November 2020, Millie has quickly turned ideas into actions, facilitating weekly anti racist discussion groups, and providing consultations and case formulations with social workers. “Some people may think that weekly anti racist sessions must be a bit intense, but it is working for us, and everyone - from senior leadership to admin - is expected to attend on a rota basis,” she says. “Every six weeks, I do a themed discussion workshop, on issues like stereotypes, perceptions of Black knife crime, or working with Black dads. These sessions are geared towards getting people to think a bit more deeply about cultural sensitivities, and to reflect on cultural bias, prejudice,
assumptions, and discrimination. Every step of the way, Brighton & Hove is working with families with lived experience of racism. They are best placed to tell us how we can do better.” Millie explains that a big part of her work is facilitating ‘uncomfortable conversations.’ “I always start our sessions by acknowledging that, of course, it’s uncomfortable to have uncomfortable conversations about race, but that the reason for these discussions is to enable us to sit with that discomfort. “I GIVE PEOPLE PERMISSION TO GET IT WRONG NOW, IN THIS SAFE SPACE, AND BE REFLECTIVE, SO THAT WE CAN GET IT RIGHT GOING FORWARD WHEN IT MATTERS, FOR THE BLACK, MINORITISED, GLOBAL MAJORITY CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WE ARE SERVING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. “Somebody may come and want to discuss a family or young person they’re working with, and the challenges they’re experiencing.