Overview
Clark Atlanta University Whitney M. Young Jr. School of Social Work was founded in 1920 in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Atlanta School of Social Work to prepare social workers for practice in underserved black neighborhoods. Spearheaded by black scholars and progressive whites during an era of racial segregation, 2020 marks its centennial as the first accredited social work program at a historically black college and university. In this book, social work professor Alma J. Carten describes the School's transitions from its beginnings amid the pervasive racism sanctioned by Supreme Court rulings in the Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson cases, through the decades of 20th century progressive civil rights reforms, and into the new conservatism of the 21st century. Referencing archival documents, Carten illustrates the School's commitment to the democratic principles of the profession despite the blatant racism of the segregated South and the less visible structural inequalities following desegregation from which mainstream social work education was not immune. The book describes the influence of iconic thought leaders on the School's culture and academic programs, beginning with Jesse O. Thomas's speech on the need for a black school of social work, given from the segregated section of the 1920 National Conference on Social Work; and including W.E.B. DuBois' Atlanta University Studies that pioneered the model of social progress powered by science; E. Franklin Frazier and Forrester B. Washington, who championed ""black social work"" and the integration of race critical content in the curriculum of all schools; and Whitney M. Young, Jr., who chastised social workers for their waning interest in advocacy for marginalized populations and encouraged them to become politically active. Carten examines the evolution of the School within the context of changes in US social welfare policy, CSWE accrediting standards, and NASW Code of Ethics. Highly readable, the book brings to light the under-reported contributions of HBCU social work programs to social work education, and it thoughtfully engages with the School's efforts to legitimize the Afrocentric perspective and the humanistic values embraced by HBCU social work programs.
Full Product Details
Author: Alma J. Carten (Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Work, Adjunct Associate Professor of Social Work, New York University)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 23.60cm
, Height: 3.30cm
, Length: 15.50cm
Weight: 0.794kg
ISBN: 9780197518465
ISBN 10: 019751846
Pages: 468
Publication Date: 17 November 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
This text will open the world to social work students through its insightful and humane discussion of human rights and social development. * Mark Lusk, LCDC, LMSW, EdD, University of Texas at El Paso * By bringing forward uncomfortable topics, Susan C. Mapp inspires readers to critically engage with and act on current social issues. This is a rich, comprehensive, timely, and engaging book on the complexities of global social issues and human rights. * Shirley Gatenio Gabel, MS, MPh, PhD, Fordham University * Susan C. Mapp unpacks thorny ethical dilemmas for social workers in practical and helpful ways in this book, making this is an excellent introduction for social work students to the world of international social work. * David Androff, MSW, PhD, Arizona State University * Alma Carten was a student of my father, Whitney M. Young, Jr., and has been a longtime friend. She has advocated for many years for this book about the Atlanta University School of Social Work, where my father was a longtime dean. She captures the path that he took, from lifting up the School which now bears his name to the way that he lifted up both the work and the need for not only social workers but people of color in the profession. It is an exceptional piece of historical research and at the same time lovingly done. And it is timely. * Marcia Y. Cantarella, PhD, President of Cantarella Consulting * Find a Way or Make One critically examines the development of America's oldest school of social work founded in 1920 for and by black Americans, the Whitney M. Young Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University. As a masterful social historian, Dr. Alma Carten places the School's development into the context of a century of American socioeconomic, political, and cultural history, marked by the lingering effects of race-based inequalities rooted in doctrines of Eurocentric white supremacy. Dr. Carten's tour de force is a significant contribution to the literature, providing insight into historical developments in social welfare policy and education from a race-critical, Afrocentric perspective. * Edward J. Mullen, PhD, Willma and Albert Musher Chair Professor Emeritus, Columbia School of Social Work, Columbia University and Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Bibliographies in Social Work * Dr. Carten offers persuasive evidence for the need to focus on race.... If what our society seeks is true pluralism, then the need for people of color to create and sustain institutions that protect and advance their cultural particularity is essential. Otherwise, we will continue to go down the road of Eurocentric cultural oppression and universalism. Dr. Carten's analysis of the Atlanta School gives us a historical and contemporary justification for an oppressed group to institutionalize its unique contributions to the improvement of humanity. * Jerome H. Schiele, DSW, MSW, Professor and Chair of the PhD Department, Morgan State University's School of Social Work * There is both a lack of knowledge and acknowledgement of the important contributions of Black social workers. This historical account is needed to better understand contemporary social welfare philosophies and theoretical frameworks that inform our practice and scholarship. It affirms the extraordinary commitment of Black pioneer social workers in their quest for social justice. Carten's discussions of the historical treasures from those who established the school and laid the foundation for its success is very intriguing, and I was intellectually stimulated and reaffirmed by everything revealed about the relationships and networks that existed during the early periods of our history. * Sandra Edmonds Crewe, PhD, ACSW, Dean and Professor, Howard University School of Social Work *
Author Information
Alma J. Carten, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, is a 1964 alumni of Atlanta University School of Social Work and has spent over 25 years as a faculty member at New York University Silver School of Social Work where her scholarship has focused on racial inequities impacting families of color. She is a recipient of the School's Dorothy Height Humanitarian Award, the NIH Mental Health Fellowship, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Social Work Education Association, and the Council on Social Work Education Minority Fellowship Award.
