Using classroom vignettes, this article portrays the experiences of four White social work educators with minority-view inclusion and conflict management that is a result of divergent perspectives in the classroom. The use of reflexivity is explored as a strategy for understanding educators' biases and assumptions in teaching. In addition, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics is applied as it refers to helping social work students learn to think critically to meet the needs and rights of clients and to address social inequalities, diversity, privilege, and oppression. The authors provide recommendations based on their experiences and reflections.

To address the challenges present in urban communities and develop social work leaders who are equipped to confront a myriad of social and economic justice issues, Coppin State University established the Dr. Dorothy I. Height Center for the Advancement of Social Justice (DHC). Housed in the Department of Social Work, the DHC is a community-based resource whose mission is to heighten awareness regarding national and international human rights and social justice issues that impact marginalized communities. The DHC utilizes social work interns who focus on community engagement as operationalized via social justice–related advocacy, research and education initiatives. This article will highlight the experiences of these student interns and the impact of the internship on their development in the areas of social justice and leadership.

This article unpacks the pedagogical reflections of a Black male professor, bringing attention to issues associated with teaching while Black and preparing students for urban social work practice. The article asserts that contemporary forms of injustice cannot be understood without grasping critical historical analyses of race and racism in the United States. Ideas related to critical race theory, racial oppression, and social identities are explored. Finally, the article explicates the importance for students to become comfortable talking about racism and racial injustice in the context of working with clients.

Substance use disorders continue to have adverse consequences for a significant number of individuals and families. Despite the increasing need for behavioral health clinical social work practitioners trained to effectively work with this population, social work programs continue to lag behind in providing courses, which will adequately address this need. According to the Council of Social Work Education, approximately 4.7% of accredited social work programs had one or more required course offerings related to addressing substance use disorders. The purpose of this article is to address the identified gap by describing the development of a content-specific curriculum related to addressing substance use disorders while also providing a working framework for other Master of Social Work programs to consider.

Little is known about mothers’ and fathers’ opinions related to the roles that fathers should prioritize in their parenting. To fill this gap, this study analyzes data collected from parents receiving services from an urban Healthy Start program related to coparenting relationship quality, attitudes toward fathers’ involvement, and the roles that fathers should prioritize in their parenting. The results revealed that mothers had divergent opinions from fathers about the roles that fathers should prioritize in their parenting. Qualitative analyses revealed a link between coresidence and reports of good fathering. Furthermore, the reported discrepancies were related to fathers’ expectations that mothers facilitate their involvement and mothers’ expression of fatigue and resentment from feeling responsible for having to facilitate fathers’ involvement.

The disproportionate rate of life stressors coupled with the unexpected lower rates of mental disorders among African Americans demands concurrent consideration of their cultural coping capacity. Racial identity (β = −.15, p < .01) and the interaction term assessing the moderating effect of racial identity on the relationship between life stressors and depressive symptoms (β = −.08, p < .01) remained significant when controlling for social demographics, despite the significant relationship of age, income, educational status, and work status. Findings from the analyses indicate that higher racial identity significantly reduced the relationship between life stressors and depressive symptoms, and lower racial identity significantly increased the relationship between life stressors and depressive symptoms even in the presence of social demographics.

Parental incarceration represents a life-altering event for children and families. This study speaks beyond the statistics, highlighting the voices of fourteen young adults who experienced parental incarceration during adolescence. Participants shared their retrospective experiences through interviews focused on the following qualitative research questions: 1) What adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) did participants identify? and 2) What supports or protective factors did participants experience? Participants identified various ACEs, with 11 out of 14 participants revealing four or more. Key areas of support include family, school, friends, and extracurricular activities. Findings have implications for practitioners assisting children and families affected by criminal justice involvement, and for organizations most likely to play a pivotal role in addressing children’s needs.

The health trajectory of Black immigrants receives little attention in minority health discourse despite Black immigrants representing a notable share of the Black population. One aspect of their health that requires increased attention is the immigrant health paradox. This draws attention to the deteriorating outcomes of immigrants as they assimilate into the host country. Although a few scholars have acknowledged the role of race in this trajectory, few have examined it from a critical perspective. This article embraces critical race theory to argue that racial processes intersect with other forms of structural oppression to produce the immigrant health paradox. An understanding of this health trajectory of Black immigrants is instructive in understanding the impact of race on minority health.

Background: The role that fathers play in the lives of their families, particularly, the lives of children, is vitally important. Research has found positive associations between father involvement and factors, such as infant cognitive outcomes, children’s school-readiness where levels of mothers’ supportiveness are low, better socioemotional, and academic functioning in children. Black males, many who are fathers, are disproportionately overrepresented within the criminal justice system. High incarceration rates have significant economic and social impacts on families and communities. Objective: This article examines differences in father involvement among Black fathers with criminal records and explores relationships between fathers’ involvement, the amount of time served in jail, fathers’ employment status, and fathers’ education levels. Method: Secondary analysis of the third wave of Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing (FFCW) public-use dataset was used for this article. The FFCW study follows a panel or cohort of 4,700 children born to unwed (3,600) and married (1,100) parents. The Fragile Families study employed a stratified random sample of 75 hospitals across 20 U.S. cities with populations over 200,000. Findings: The results of the analyses found (a) that the time served in jail had no effect on fathers’ involvement, (b) no statistically significant differences in fathers’ involvement based on fathers’ education level, and (c) fathers who were working were more engaged in the lives of their children, as compared to fathers who were not working and under correctional supervision. Conclusion: This article’s exploration of differences and relationships between father involvement and socioeconomic variables among Black fathers with criminal records further demystifies the complexities of fragile family compositions and circumstances while informing future policy, practices, and research.

The purpose of this article is to present an application of two tools the ecomap (Hartman, 1995) and cultural ecogram (Yasui, 2015) used sequentially so that it may help in the process of assisting health professionals in determining ways to improve culturally informed, instead of culturally competent healthcare provision. Both tools have been developed in the context of clinical delivery of social services, have some known research that points to the benefits of their use in health and mental healthcare (Lloyd, 2005), but have not yet been applied to promoting the cultural sensitivity with awareness in healthcare management of diabetes type 2 with urban African American grandparents who are caretakers of children.

While global learning among undergraduate students of color has slightly increased over the past decade, there are major research gaps regarding students of color attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), more specifically, the number of undergraduate students of color majoring in social work. The primary goal of this article is to discuss barriers that may prevent students of color who attend HBCUs from participating in global learning experiences. Also, provided in this article is a discussion regarding a Global Learning Visits Program within an undergrduate social work program at Bowie State University, an HBCU, which can serve as a model to assist students with addressing and overcoming barriers in order to take advantage of study abroad learning opportunities.

Recent high-profile killings of unarmed Black males underscore a stark reality in America: though Black men have the same constitutional rights as all other citizens of the United States, in practice their rights are often violated. The negative stereotype that all Black males are criminals has created an environment that perpetuates the killing of unarmed Black males by police officers as justifiable self-defense. In this article, critical race theory (CRT) provides a theoretical lens to examine and understand the persistent racism underlying the social inequities that have been thrust upon Black males in the United States of America. The authors conclude with implications and recommendations for social work education.

Research on the effect of arrests or convictions on college admissions decisions, while limited, suggests that college admission is a major hurdle for applicants with criminal histories. The purpose of this study was to examine admission application policies and practices at undergraduate social work programs in the South for justice-involved individuals or persons with criminal backgrounds. The qualitative study design recruited program directors through professional relationships for interviews and selected programs in urban cities in the South using the Council on Social Work Education’s Accredited Program Directory. The surveys consisted of three questions and the interviews consisted of eleven semi-structured questions focusing on the policies and practices associated with the application process. Study results reveal that slightly more than one half of all programs asked questions about criminal backgrounds, firm policies are not in place, and practices vary from institution to institution.

Empowering social work students to address structural challenges and inequalities on their university campus through partnerships with other disciplines is an opportunity to engage in interprofessional education experiences. This article presents a social work student-led initiative to develop an interprofessional group on their college campus to address the emotional and racial climate. This article recommends ways to create interprofessional education opportunities on college campuses to bring awareness to health issues faced by vulnerable groups. Recommendations and implications for social work education and practice are offered.

Social work values require its educators to teach a history that represents diversity and inclusion, yet its history routinely omits the contributions of pioneering social workers of color. This omission promotes White hegemony as characterized by the emphasis on White reformers in the American settlement movement and the exclusion of Black social workers and activists. Using critical race theory, this article posits the need to dismantle White hegemony by examining the American settlement movement and the parallel settlement movement as a counter response by Black social workers, specifically, an unrecognized Black social worker of the 1930s, W. Gertrude Brown. This recognition portends the need for social work to critique its ahistorical perspective and perchance to rewrite its history.

Culture and racial or ethnic background are important variables to consider when conceptualizing families and resilience. Working effectively with Black families requires culturally competent interventions that honor and build upon their strengths and give attention to the intricate dynamics of relationships. This paper offers an examination of the unique stressors and adversity experienced by Black families as well as factors influencing their adaptive functioning. Enriched structural family therapy (ESFT), a versatile, skill-based, systems approach, is introduced as a viable model to promote resilience in Black families. Through ESFT interventions, Black families are able to successfully manage and cope with stressors while improving overall functioning.

This qualitative research study explored the perceptions and lived experiences of African American male social work students attending a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). Seven (N = 7) individual interviews and a focus group (N = 4) were collected and data were analyzed using qualitative iterative processes. This inductive analysis generated four broad themes, The Village, Social Justice Warrior, Iwoegbe, and Sankofa. Participant narratives are juxtaposed with values of African American social work pioneers and the contributions of HBCUs to instill pride and resiliency in serving the African American community. Presented in an Afrocentric framework, findings reveal culturally relevant factors in recruiting and retaining African American males to the social work profession. Strength based curriculum and pedagogical strategies that correspond to each theme are offered.

This sequential, mixed methods study assessed economic growth and transportation infrastructure development in a suburban Texas boomtown, where population growth exceeded 100% over a 20-year-period. Researchers applied empowerment theory to investigate and compare how environmental justice (EJ) and non-EJ residents perceive the growth. Results from 200 surveys and four focus groups were analyzed and paired with GIS mapping. Findings confirmed incongruence between transportation infrastructure development and economic growth, suggesting a lack of intentional planning, with the consequence of reinforcing societal inequities. Findings underscore need for innovative and inclusive urban planning in the context of rapid growth.

Urban-dwelling African American older adults are disproportionately victimized by systems, which relegate them to disparities in health, education, and economic security as well as inequitable access to resources that support overall wellness (Brown, 2010; Jackson et al., 2004; Kahn & Pearlin, 2006; Zhang et al., 2016). The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020–2021 revealed poorer outcomes and a “double jeopardy” for African American older adults who suffered poor health outcomes (Chatters et al., 2020). As a result, avenues to promote healthy aging through health and wellness literacy, self-empowerment, and social-community connections are critical (Chatters et al., 2020; Pourrazavi et al., 2020; Waites, 2013). A qualitative study was conducted with African American older adults in Detroit to understand how to promote health literacy and overall wellness for those who are aging in place. An empowerment-oriented wellness framework (Dunn, 1961; Dunn, 1977; Hettler, 1976) was employed. Findings indicated that these African American older adults aging in the urban communities strived to maintain their independence while recognizing that they may need some assistance as they age in place. While some elders defined themselves by their disability and expressed feelings of being pushed aside by family and society, many rejected stereotypes associated with aging and reinforced a sense of pride and empowerment. They called for programs to: 1) assist older adults with health literacy and a comprehensive understanding of overall wellness; and, 2) provide activities and tools to support proactive overall wellness; and 3) employ strategies that actively encourage social engagement as well as outreach to their less engaged peers. Participants also suggested that a strategy to enlighten younger generations about the “senior world,” and aging is also crucial.

The national emergence of Black Lives Matter, the #CollegeBlackOut, and the #MeToo demonstrations across university campuses as a response to race and gendered-related police brutality, violence against women, and racism has captured the need for social work education to develop spaces within the academic setting to foster knowledge of racial inequalities, create critical dialogue and personal reflection, broaden racial and social consciousness, and mobilize student activists. This article will suggest the usefulness of integrating a Black feminist framework into social work education and practice, demonstrate the importance of developing student-led Black feminist organizations as a catalyst for social change, and share student perspectives and involvement with the Black feminist organization.

The present study seeks to explore the correlations of depressive symptoms among African American youth. The sample included 118 African American preadolescents (age range: 9–12, M = 10.54; SD = 1.02) living in an urban environment. The sample was primarily female (64.4%, n = 76) and in the 4th grade (43.2%, n = 51). Depressive symptoms were negatively associated with spiritual well-being, self-esteem and positively associated with exposure to violence and bullying. This study identified correlations as well as predictors of depressive symptoms. The predictors include spiritual well-being, bullying, exposure to violence, and self-esteem. These findings documented individual and social level psychosocial factors as an important determinant of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, these findings provided needed empirical evidence documenting factors that affect depressive symptoms among African American children.

Teen dating violence (TDV) is increasingly recognized as a national health priority, impacting overall well-being and school success. However, there are overlooked barriers to TDV program delivery in schools and youth-serving organizations and these are ideal settings to reach youth universally. In this study, we conducted 10 focus groups with school (e.g., administrators, social workers, nurses) and after-school personnel regarding barriers to TDV programming within a large urban community serving predominantly Mexican-heritage youth. Findings offer practice-driven considerations for the implementation of programs within urban communities. These include attention to limited resources, inhibitive and non-existent policies, competing demands, a lack of training, and demand for culturally competent curricula and wrap-around services.

Research has demonstrated the significance of the relationship that Indigenous populations have with the land. Environmental degradation on Native American reservations not only results in negative consequences for health, but also directly affects the relationship that Native American populations have with the surrounding natural environment or their sense of place. This conceptual paper explores how environmental degradation impacts tribal members residing on Native American reservations, utilizing a theoretical framework of a four-dimensional model of place attachment (Raymond et al., 2010). This place attachment model is comprised of place identity, place dependence, nature bonding, and social bonding. Using this model to understand tribal relationships with the land, or place, I interviewed the Natural Resources Director of the Penobscot Nation in a phone interview in 2016 followed by an in-person interview in 2019. During these interviews, I learned how environmental degradation directly impacted the Penobscot Nation reservation and community, which resulted in health and economic consequences for the tribe. Moreover, I also acquired an understanding of how colonization, capitalism and neoliberalism contribute to the roots of the problem of environmental degradation on Native American reservations. These interviews, concurrent with a literature review, underscore the relevance of social work macro-level community-based initiatives to assist Native American reservations. Community-based initiatives help combat the challenges of environmental degradation. These initiatives also increase awareness of why environmental degradation and its impact on marginalized populations are priorities for the National Association of Social Workers.

Through the lens of a case study, this article suggests ways to increase social work student competence in gerontology and substance abuse treatment to better meet needs of growing numbers of diverse clients in urban settings. Focusing on a client residing in the Bronx, New York, it explores how changing demographics and a lack of workforce preparedness can combine in an urban context to increase risks for older adults and reduce quality of life in late life. Aiming to reduce knowledge and service gaps, suggestions are made on how to improve social work student competence. These include interpreting client cases through a theoretical framework to deepen understanding about the intersection of advancing age and substance use and improving treatment skills.

Hispanic-serving institutions' (HSIs') settings for social work programs present a unique challenge as a context for implementing social work programs due to their unique mandate to serve Hispanic students. Moreover, this context invites innovative and “out of the box” programmatic ideals that address social justice values. This article presents an example of the implementation of critical race theory to frame a social work program at a medium-sized university in Southern California. Testimonios, a LatCrit empirical method, is used in this article to tell the story from the perspective of two of the founding faculty.

Despite the declining national teen birth rates, racial disparities persist. Black and Hispanic teens in some communities continue to experience disproportionately higher teen birth rates. This pilot study explored parental perspectives regarding teen pregnancy and parental self-efficacy in communicating with teens about sex. Seven focus groups were conducted with 35 Black and Hispanic parents who reside in five targeted zip codes with exceptionally high teen birth rates, ranging from 84.2 to 112.9 per 1,000. These rates exceed the 26.5 per 1,000 national teen birth rate by more than 300%. Results reveal cultural differences in parental self-efficacy between Black and Hispanic parents in communicating with teens. Black parents reported higher self-efficacy. Hispanic parents reported cultural beliefs as communication barriers with teens.

The purpose of this study was to investigate help-seeking behaviors among 228 self-identified culturally Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals living in Washington, DC, and the surrounding metropolitan area. Results indicate that the vast majority of participants reported feeling stressed, worried, or anxious. A large proportion of the sample reported feeling sad, unhappy, or depressed and experiencing discrimination because of being deaf. Despite these reports, more than three quarters of the sample reported that they were unlikely to seek help if they experienced a serious personal or emotional problem. Race and physical abuse were significant predictors of seeking help. Culturally sensitive interventions can contribute positively to Deaf individuals seeking help.

The integration of peer mentors with a history of incarceration is a strengths-based intervention, primarily emerging within large urban U.S. cities. The Credible Messenger Institute is an innovative training program that aims to prepare adults who were formerly incarcerated to mentor justice-involved youth. Through two focus groups, this study explored the change experiences of 11 peer mentors who participated in the 6-week training. Data analysis revealed five themes and one subtheme that identified the change outcomes and the conditions and relationships that supported internal change. Findings suggest that relationships and specific conditions were critical factors in supporting the peer mentor's identity change process. Implications and recommendations for practice and future research on peer mentor interventions with justice-involved populations are provided.

The establishment of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) dates back over 150 years, during a period in history when White institutions denied African Americans access to education. HBCUs made the education of Black people their primary mission, which affected the lives of millions of people around the world (Hopps, 2007; Williams & Ashley, 2004). Subsequently, HBCUs' establishment in and of itself incorporates the fundamental and foundational social work core values established by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Historically, the training of social workers at HBCUs embodies NASW core values: integrity, dignity, worth of an individual, and social justice.

The Autumn Divas study objective was to examine the lived experiences of women of color who achieved doctoral degrees after the age of 50. This study used qualitative methods to reflect the thoughts, feelings and experiences of the participants; the strengths they had in common, the support of family and friends, and the personal, professional, and financial challenges they faced in their respective journeys. This phenomenological study described the meaning of the experience for the participants, as they matriculated through their doctoral programs, explored in three focus group sessions, with nine participants. Results showed that they experienced similar journeys, which led to the advancement of their personal growth, and sought to motivate other women of color. Most participant's pursuit of a doctorate at this time in their lives was a means of self-fulfillment and empowerment. In conclusion, the participants had deferred this goal, but were receptive to new challenges and perspectives, and validated each other's stories in the focus group discussions. Most had a message for the sisters coming behind them: pursue your dreams; make the investment in yourself; be a source of support and wisdom for each other; and contribute to uplifting your community.

Social work students need to learn how to synthesize sociopolitical and psychological theories into an integrative practice approach if they are to become effective agents of social change and social justice. Academic resources used to scaffold these skills oftentimes implicitly presume that the social worker is white and the client is “other”—Hispanic, African American, and so forth. The integrated sociopolitical and psychological analysis model, ISPA, presented and applied herein to the analysis of societal racism, provides an integrative framework for the teaching and practice of social work and social justice. The model promotes the decolonization of social work educational spaces, while providing Hispanic and African American social work students with an integrated framework that decenters “whiteness” and examines its individual and societal effects.

The community of Huntington, an Appalachian city in West Virginia with the highest overdose rate in the nation, participated as an Innovation Community in a grant funded Community Assessment and Education to Promote Behavioral Health Planning and Evaluation (CAPE II) project. Activities entailed designing and implementing an innovative, replicable, and sustainable early warning protocol that addressed a locally determined set of community behavioral health issues. Using 192 publicly available indicators tracked for a year throughout 12 geographic neighborhoods, the authors developed an early warning system and analyzed relationships between key indicators and substance overdose and arrests. Community interventions were designed to address these relationships from the perspective of social workers, law enforcement officers, and community members.

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is devastating the well-being of college students and society. This article examines the need for attention to collegiate mental health during public health emergencies, with a particular focus on college students in urban settings. The article begins with a brief description of the unique challenges faced by cities during pandemics and continues with a historical overview of pandemics. College students attending three public colleges (n = 719) were surveyed regarding the impact of COVID-19 on their psychological health. Preliminary findings reveal a prevalence of students (44.9%) reporting moderate or severe traumatic stress symptoms in response to COVID-19 stressors. A definition of what we define as “astonishing” is the high trending prevalence of college students reporting that they know someone who died due to COVID-19 (70.6%). The article concludes with recommendations for future research and offers person-centered approaches for social workers and leadership in higher education.

The American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare established 12 social work grand challenges to address critical social problems in America. Some of these social problems include health disparities, income inequality, and the lack of social justice, among others. These social problems are deep and daunting especially for people of color. Tackling these challenges would require a focus on the racial attitudes in society, such as color-blind racial attitudes, that maintain the power structure that fuels inequality. This article introduces color-blind racial attitudes and discusses their impact on social work practice and policy. Lastly, it presents strategies for addressing color-blind racial attitudes related to the grand challenges.

Forensic social workers and criminal justice reform advocates must better understand how correctional and probation officers influence offender recidivism. Justice system reform efforts focusing on policing and the courts often ignore the roles of correctional and probation officers. Returning citizens' internal “persistence” and “desistance” narratives influence future criminality and successful reintegration into their communities. Correctional and probation officers may influence these persistence and desistance narratives. A narrative analysis investigating the experiences of three Black male returning citizens in Baltimore, Maryland, shows that a person's ability to make sense of their interactions with probation officers while serving community corrections sentences and their interactions with correctional officers within prisons may be one of many factors that influence persistence and desistance narratives.

Incorporating residents’ voices in needs assessments and decision-making activities affecting public housing initiatives is supported by various research. This approach of increasing communal empowerment and growth informed a needs and assets assessment to support an urban community center servicing ethnically and culturally diverse public housing residents. This study employed qualitative methods to gather insights from focus group participants about their perceived needs of the community. The data gathered from the focus groups provided an opportunity for community voices to expand on understanding the assets and needs of the community. The five themes that emerged in the focus group discussion were: (1) Yearning for home and community; (2) Appreciation for diversity; (3) Conditions supporting human dignity; (4) Continual growth of programs & affordability; and (5) Emphasis on trust. These insights support the importance of including community voice for future programming, policies, and research.

“The world cannot progress beyond its present impasse...unless we begin to learn again what really happened in the world...to give credit where credit is due and have a different conception of the human being regardless of the race or color of that human.”

-Sertima, 1986

Using semi-structured interviews, 15 African American men were interviewed with the goal of understanding factors that hinder African American males from completing a graduate social work degree (MSW). Afrocentricity theory, which gives authority to Black ideals and values, was used in this qualitative, exploratory study as a framework of organization. Important results fell under three major categories of isolation, racism, and social work curriculum. Statements from men such as “It's hard because people look at you as if you are speaking for everybody but you are speaking from your experience” describe isolation. The men also described racism in many scenarios, one in particular: “I was asked by one of my peers was I awarded advance standing because I was a minority.” In viewing the social work curriculum, some of the men thought, “The curriculum assumed I was female or white male.” Another obstacle shared by the men was financial hardships. Strengths emphasized in the men's statements were the need for support and mentorship. Implications of these findings coming from the respondents' comments suggest additional research and a more inclusive teaching as practice for the social work profession are needed.

This article reports on an exploratory study examining end-of-life planning among members of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) senior center in the Bronx, New York, that provided social work students hands-on qualitative research experience in an urban setting. Despite health disparities such as increased rates of depression and isolation and shortened life expectancy as compared to non–LGBT-identified peers, older members of LGBT communities demonstrate resilience as they face their own aging and mortality without traditional family caregivers. Findings suggest that previous experiences providing care for dying adult loved ones can improve well-being by clarifying personal care wishes, promoting planning for end of life, and diminishing anxiety about death. Implications extend beyond LGBT older adults to persons facing late life without care partners for a variety of reasons.