© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Chapter 25 Social Work Practice with African Americans Slides developed by Christine K. Fulmer Cedarville University

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Social Work Values Service Social justice Dignity and worth of the person The importance of human relationships Integrity Competence

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Characteristics Many barriers still exist. However, African Americans still demonstrate: –Strength –Resilience –Strong faith and hope –Steadfast endurance for achieving Social, economic, and political justice

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Overview Services need to be client focused Practitioners need to seek to dismantle barriers preventing client assistance The struggle for social, economic, and political justice continues Systematic economic and social isolation provides opportunity for advocacy

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Social Work Ethnicity Social workers are not as diverse as the populations they serve in terms of: –Race, ethnicity, and gender 7% of social workers & 13% of the general population are African-American 86% of social workers & 68% of the general population are non-Hispanic white

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Demographics In 2006, there were approximately 39 million African Americans in the U.S. “The Great Migration” marked a time when many African Americans moved north –Jobs, better living situations, & life chances Migratory trend reversed itself in 1970s when African Americans moved south for jobs

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Persistent Poverty Poverty is strongly correlated with other issues such as: –Nutrition, health, housing, and education The general population in 2006 experienced poverty at ~12.3% The African American poverty level was nearly twice as high at ~24.3%

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Black families had ~23.1% poverty rate compared with ~6.1% for white families African American female-headed household experienced a poverty rate of 39.2% Whites in this same category experienced poverty at a rate of 22.5% Persistent Poverty

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Family Challenges 2 views of the challenges faced by families –Result from dysfunctional family structure and cultural deficiencies –Stem from structural bias resulting from long- standing racial and cultural patterns Shifts in the economic structure affecting opportunities for African Americans in local communities

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Education Blacks have been focusing on obtaining equal educational opportunities for years –Example: Brown vs. Board of Education in 1959 In 2006 ~17.8% of African Americans age 25 and over had less than a high school diploma –Compared with 9.4% of non-Hispanic whites Concerns over gap in tests scores

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott African American females have the fastest growing rate of newly reported HIV/AIDS Gender imbalance –There are twice as many African American females as there are males available for marriage –Contributes to the lower marriage rate among black females Women and Men

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Women and Men African American males have: –Significantly more involvement with the criminal justice system 37% of all inmates held in custody –Are more likely to be the victims of homicide –Continue to be plagued by high rates of new cases of HIV/AIDS infection

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Health Significant difference in life expectancy between blacks and whites African American males can expect to live, on average, six fewer years than white males There is a five year disparity between African American females and white females –More health problems than whites

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Historical History in Africa of political leadership, scholarship, and empirical rulers ~15 million Africans were unwillingly transported to the U.S. as slaves –Still suffer from discrimination economically, socially, and politically

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott 1863 The Emancipation Proclamation 1954 Brown v. Board of Education 1964 Civil Rights Act 1965 The Voting Rights Act 1968 The Fair Housing Act Historical

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Environmental-Structural Access to economic resources influences the nature & quality of care received Lack of economic resources has a profound impact on: –Health, educational, social, and political participation

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Cultural The tendency is for majority culture to force minority cultures to conform Acculturation and assimilation are hallmarks of the U.S. establishment African American values of interdependence, unity, & cooperative economics are counter to: –Independence, self-reliance, & individualism

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Family Family’s role is to pass on to the next generation the: –Cultural artifacts, language, & customs –Values, strengths, and coping patterns required for participation in society The role of religion as a source of strength and support

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Individual Components in social functioning –Biological, psychological, and social capacity and capability of an individual –Parental nurturing experiences Must confront an ideology of great historical force that attempts to detract from: –Their human and intellectual value

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Practice Social workers need to be mindful of the distrust of whites –Stemming from slavery, broken promises, and institutional racism Social workers need to be aware of their personal biases & potential impact on a client

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, Updated 12e Morales, Sheafor, and Scott Emerging Considerations Suggestions for additional study –African American history, culture, values, & traditions –Help-seeking behaviors for African Americans –Theories of black identity development –Alternative perspectives on intelligences –Oppression theory, etc.