The accomplishments of people of color are often overlooked in American history. That is also true of social workers of color.

Lester Blackwell Granger is one such historical figure, a social worker few people know about who should enjoy wider acclaim. As Black History Month closes, it is appropriate we take a closer look at this NASW Social Work Pioneer.

Born in 1896, Granger lived during and time of tremendous upheaval and change in our nation.

He served as executive director of the National Urban League (NUL) from 1941 to 1961, presiding through World War II and the Korean War, and the birth pains of the modern civil rights movement.

Granger served in the military during World War I and experienced first-hand the racism inflicted on Black soldiers who fought for freedom abroad, only to return to home to second-class citizenship and even violence in the form of lynching.

While at the helm of NUL, Granger joined the leader of the NAACP, the Black press and others to push for desegregation of the U.S. military. The campaign lasted a decade but culminated in President Harry Truman signing Executive Order 9981 in 1948 to desegregate the military. Granger also drew up the Navy’s post-World War II integration plan and helped solve problems related to desegregation in the Navy.

For his efforts, Granger was awarded the President’s Medal of Merit by President Truman was later lauded by President Dwight Eisenhower.

Granger was leading figure in emerging social work profession

Granger attended Dartmouth College and one of his first jobs as a social worker was in New Jersey, assisting youth at a vocational school. “In fact, Granger became a leading figure in the new social work profession,” Herbert G. Ruffin II writes for blackpast.org.

The National Association of Social Workers Foundation lists Granger as one of the NASW Social Work Pioneers® because he “introduced civil rights to the social work agenda as a national and international issue.

From his Pioneers bio: “He focused attention and advocacy energy on the goal of equal opportunity and justice for all people of color, even while focusing on the condition of Black people in the United States. He is credited with leading the development of unions among black workers, as well as integrating white unions.”

Granger joined NUL in 1934 and led the organization’s Workers’ Bureau, which sought to educate and mobilize Blacks as they migrated from the rural South and sought industrial work in urban centers.

The NUL’s focus on jobs and self-help was often contrasted against the goals of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which concentrated more on ending discriminatory laws and stopping lynching of Black people.

Hugh B. Price, NUL president from 1994 to 2003, said Granger realized each aim was vital. “If you’re to function on a daily basis, you need food, clothing and shelter,” Price said. “And you want the right to vote and the right to not be lynched. All of that.”

“The Urban League’s cause was rooted in social work and helping Blacks during the Great Migration,” Price continued. “Helping them get situated when they came to town and deal with what was in their faces on a daily basis. And (scholar W.E.B.) DuBois and the NAACP were perfectly appropriate in fighting for people’s rights, etc. and etc. What you began to see with Granger – and subsequently all of the successors – was the league deal with both realities.”

Granger used role in “Black Cabinet” to push for military desegregation

Price said Granger was active with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s so-called “Black Cabinet,” an informal advisory group of Black leaders who lobbied for integration and equal access to New Deal opportunities. Not long after Granger was appointed head of the NUL in 1941, his focus shifted from unions to uniformed services.

The South didn’t have anything on the military in terms of upholding Jim Crow.

More than a million Black men and women served in the armed forces during World War II, and nearly all were assigned to segregated units commanded by white officers. Tensions were simmering when James V. Forrestal became Secretary of the Navy and shortly thereafter, in March 1945, appointed Granger as a special representative to study race relations within the branch. “In his first six months, Granger traveled 50,000 miles and visited 67 naval installations home and abroad,” Charles Wollenberg writes in the California Historical Society magazine (Spring 1979).

Granger continued to fight for military desegregation, lobbying a committee in the President Harry S. Truman administration. The executive order to desegregate the military came in 1948.

Granger was also active in the modern civil rights movement that gained momentum after the murder of Emmitt Till and the Montgomery Alabama bus boycott. By the late 1950s, Granger was discussing civil rights legislation with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Martin Luther King Jr., who led the Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), Roy Wilkins of the NAACP, and Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Granger helped educate new generation of social workers

As the NUL began fading and giving way to direct-action groups like the SCLC, Granger transitioned into a college professor who cast his vision of social work as a weapon.

He began at Dillard University, a historically Black institution, immediately upon retiring from the NUL in 1961. “We tried hard to understand his position on the civil rights movement, for he was not as militant as we thought he should be,” former student Annie Woodley Brown, DSW, writes in “Filling the Ranks,” a 2004 journal article.

Garner saw social work as a tool to complement the raging civil rights struggle, and he encouraged his students to broaden their thinking and consider the field.

“He didn’t think everybody had to do the same thing or use the same tactics in the struggle for racial equality,” Brown writes. “He wanted us to think of other ways we could contribute to the civil rights movement – participating in leadership councils, teaching in universities, managing social service organizations.”

Brown writes that Granger “really believed the profession had the potential to make a significant contribution in the area of racial, social, and economic justice.” She includes a passage of his writing in 1940 that “seemed capture the vision of social work he tried to impart on us:

“What is required … is that the social worker shall join the battle against social injustice, shall help to remake or eliminate those forces that have twisted and blighted the lives of millions of Americans in our own generation. No one is better qualified than the social worker to bring to such planning a shrewd analysis of the individual and family needs of the community: no one is more responsible for devising ways of serving these needs.”

Price said Granger brought the social work background to focus on discrimination and access to job opportunities.

“But he also moved the field and the Urban League more into advocacy and other rights issues. He’s a giant but sort of underappreciated historically, Price said. The general public might be largely unaware of Granger, but his mark on the profession continues.

Kerri Criswell, a manager with the NASW Foundation, said Granger’s dual mission of advocacy and social justice is part of the NASW Code of Ethics.

“Our Pioneers are responsible for so many things that lots of us enjoy, like social security and employment rights,” Criswell said. “They laid the groundwork and he was one of many to make a lasting impact.”

Granger’s legacy largely forgotten

Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., who led the NUL from 1971 to 1981 and later became a close advisor to President Bill Clinton, bemoaned that “little attention” was paid to Granger’s death in January 1976.

Some older people vaguely recalled the name and others registered a blank, he said.

Jordan called the lack of knowledge “shameful” and stressed the importance of recalling figures who not only survived blatant racist oppression but led the fight.

“Lester Granger once defined black goals as ‘the right to work, the right to vote, the right to physical safety and the right to dignity and self-respect,’” Jordan wrote in the Oakland Post shortly after Granger died.

“The struggle for those goals is still with us and by keeping the memory of Lester Granger and the multitude of other unsung Black heroes before us, we have a better chance of fulfilling those goals.”

Deron Snyder, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., is an award-winning journalist and Howard University graduate who lives in metro Washington, D.C.

NASW recognizes June as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Month. PTSD impacts millions of people in the United States. “According to the National Center for PTSD, a program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, about seven or eight of every 100 people will experience PTSD in their lifetime.”¹  Although PTSD has commonly been associated with the military and veteran populations, it affects people of all ages, communities, gender, and social economic background. Social workers are the largest group of mental health providers in the United States and treatment of PTSD is one of their specialty areas.

To raise awareness of PTSD, NASW shares with its members the following Webinars and other resources:

Upcoming Webinars   

June 3, 2022
Time Moves Different in Here: Clinical Implications for Working with Populations of Color, Complex Trauma and Dissociation in the Age of COVID 19
This training can be accessed through the NASW CE Institute. Participants will gain deeper understanding of the impact of neurobiology on symptomology presentation for individuals with complex PTSD. Learn a combination of diagnosis and interventionist tools of dissociation to consider when engaged in treatment of populations of color. Identify future areas of work/growth, boundaries as practitioners as the continued need for mental health treatment remains an essential service during the COVID 19 pandemic in the U.S.

June 7, 2022
Racial Trauma and Minority Stress: The Culturally Competent Clinician’s Guide to Assessment and Treatment
In this PESI one-day event, Dr. Gibson will give clinicians tools and guidance to better align with their clients’ race-based experiences, strengthen the therapeutic alliance and more capably treat clients with trauma rooted in racism.

June 18, 2022
Understanding Intergenerational Trauma Legacies
Zur Institute teaches clinicians how to appropriately inquire about and recognize intergenerational transmission of trauma, understand the mechanisms of transmission, and comprehend treatment principles.

June 21, 2022
Treating PTSD and Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure
The Center for Deployment Psychology will be hosting a 90-minute webinar entitled “Treating PTSD and Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure.” Additional information, including an expanded event description, learning objectives and CE details, will be added as the event date nears. This event is open to the public and intended for behavioral health/healthcare providers who treat military personnel, veterans, and their families.

Additional Resources

A Broad Look at Emotional Trauma
This pocket guide is intended as a tool for mental health providers as they offer services to individuals, communities, and agencies working with people who have experienced traumatic events. Some of the concepts described, such as resilience, retraumatization, ethno-racial trauma, and the study of Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma-informed services, are basic elements to take into consideration when offering trauma-focused services.

Addressing Diversity in PTSD Treatment: Clinical Considerations and Guidance for the Treatment of PTSD in LGBTQ Populations
Published in March of 2020, this review highlights existing evidence-based practices, current limitations, and provide recommendations for care in the absence of established guidelines for treatment PTSD among LGBTQ patients.

Coping Tips for Traumatic Events and Disasters
People can experience a wide range of emotions before and after a disaster or traumatic event. There’s no right or wrong way to feel. However, it’s important to find healthy ways to cope when these events happen. This publication from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration provides valuable tools to help people during these challenging times.

Dynamics of Abuse
This blog from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence discusses the dynamics of abuse and helpful resources.

Expert Q&A: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
This resource from the American Psychiatric Association provides expert responses to common questions pertaining to PTSD.  

Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Disasters and Other Traumatic Events: What Parents, Rescue Workers, and the Community Can Do
This brochure, from the National Institute of Mental Health, describes common reactions to trauma and what parents, rescue workers, and the community can do to help children and adolescents cope with disasters and other traumatic events.

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)
ISTSS provides a forum for the sharing of research, clinical strategies, public policy concerns and theoretical formulations on trauma around the world. We are the premier society for the exchange of professional knowledge and expertise in the field. Members of ISTSS include psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, counselors, researchers, administrators, advocates, journalists, clergy, and others with an interest in the study and treatment of traumatic stress.

Mighty Oaks Foundation 
Mighty Oaks provides peer-to-peer resiliency and recovery programs that serve as the catalyst to assist our Nation’s Warriors dealing with challenges related to the struggles of daily military life, combat deployments and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS) offered at no cost to our Nation’s Warriors, including travel at beautiful ranches across the US.

Military One Source
Contracted mental health counselors will confidentially speak with soldiers and their spouses about their concerns and offer targeted information that can help deal with difficult situations. Individuals can receive immediate 24/7 person-to-person information by calling 1-800-342-9647.

National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The United States Department of Veteran Affairs has specific information about PTSD, including assessments, information sheets for families and where to get assistance. The site offers free expert consultation, education, and resources to Veteran Affairs providers and civilian (community-based) health care professionals treating Veterans.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) 
This unique network of frontline providers, family members, researchers, and national partners is committed to changing the course of children’s lives by improving their care and moving scientific gains quickly into practice across the U.S. The NCTSN has trained more than two million professionals in trauma-informed interventions. Hundreds of thousands more are benefiting from the other community services, website resources, webinars, educational products, community programs, and more.

National Institute of Mental Health Funded Researcher Dr. Barbara Rothbaum Discusses Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
This video provides information on the signs, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, and the latest research on PTSD.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The National Institute of Mental Health provides information and resources to those who are struggling emotionally or have concerns about their mental health to include those with PTSD.

PTSD Coach
PTSD Coach is designed for those who have, or may have, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This resource was created by Veteran Affairs’ National Center for PTSD and Department of Defense’s National Center for Telehealth & Technology. The app provides individuals with education about PTSD, information about professional care, a self-assessment for PTSD, opportunities to find support, and tools that can help you manage the stresses of daily life with PTSD. Tools range from relaxation skills and positive self-talk to anger management and other common self-help strategies.  An online version of the app is available in English and Spanish.

Veterans Families United
Veterans Families United is a not-for-profit organization that offers a comprehensive website and resource bank for identifying and helping veterans and families who may need assistance in understanding and coping with war-related illness. Financial resources are not available, but information on how to access benefits and assistance is easily found on the website.

Prepared by
Denise Johnson, LCSW-C
Senior Practice Associate, Clinical Social work

¹ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Post-traumatic stress disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved May 11, 2022, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

Multi-year initiative will improve access to social work services, enhance the 

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), as part of an initiative to promote licensure portability for military spouses, has awarded a $500,000 grant for the development of an interstate licensure compact for social workers.

A compact is a legal agreement between states that will allow licensed social workers to practice in those states participating in the compact. Currently, licensed social workers must seek and receive licensure in each state in which they wish to practice.

“NASW is grateful to the DOD for recognizing the need for license portability for the many military spouses who are social workers, and for greater access to social work services,” said Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW, Chief Executive Officer of NASW. “NASW is proud to be a leader in these efforts and ensure a compact framework which reflects the NASW Code of Ethics and meets the needs of both social workers and the clients we serve”.

The grant, awarded through a competitive proposal process, will be provided to the Council of State Governments (CSG), which will oversee the development of the compact. The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) will be the lead on the effort; the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Clinical Social Work Association (CSWA) will be partners. The DOD funding will cover the initial 12- to 16-month phase of a multi-year process to implement a compact. The compact legislation must then be enacted in each state that wishes to participate. NASW chapters will play a key role in advocacy efforts to enact compact legislation in the states. A plan for collaborating on and funding the subsequent phases of this initiative will be developed by NASW, CSWA, ASWB and other national social work organizations.

An interstate licensure compact for the social work profession will:

• Improve client access to social work services
• Increase opportunities to practice across state lines (e.g., teletherapy)
• Enhance mobility of social workers and their families
• Support spouses of relocating military families
• Improve continuity of care
• Preserve and strengthen the state licensure system
• Enhance the exchange of licensure verification, investigatory, and disciplinary information between member states.

Over the next 12 to 16 months, CSG will lead social work stakeholders through a consensus-based process to develop the licensure compact language. Stakeholders include current social work licensees, association leaders, regulators, and subject matter experts, and state legislators, among others. There will be opportunities for input from the field.

To learn more, you can access the official announcements from the Department of Defense  and the Council of State Governments.

Meg Kabat, LCSW-C, CCM

President-Elect Joe Biden has tapped social worker Meg Kabat to lead his administration’s transition at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), according to an article in MeriTalk.

Kabat, LCSW-C, CCM, is currently a senior director at the Atlas Group consultant firm, where her clients include the Defense Health Agency and the VA.

Kabat was previously the National Director of the Caregiver Support Program at the VA.

Social workers play a key role at the VA. The agency has more than 15,000 social workers on staff, making it the largest employer of social workers in the nation.

Related: President-Elect Biden taps Social Worker Jared Bernstein for Council of Economic Advisers. 

A recent issue of the journal Health & Social Work, co-published by NASW Press and Oxford University Press, features an article that seeks to explore the concept and application of self-labeling by (a) providing a literature review of self-labeling among military-connected adolescents and (b) relying on modified labeling theory to identify any consistencies or potential nuances. The analysis of the process is strictly hypothetical, but could help to account for widely varying responses, sequence of events, and underlying reasons for the behaviors among some military-connected adolescents identified in the literature review and in light of the U.S. protracted military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The authors conclude the article by highlighting the need for future research to assess the adequacy of this self-labeling framework to ensure the healthy development of military-connected youths.

***

The journal Social Work is a benefit of NASW membership. It is available online or, at a member’s request, in print. Children & Schools, Health & Social Work and Social Work Research are available by subscription at a discounted rate for NASW members, either online or in print. You can find out more about the journals and subscriptions at this link.

NASW was invited to participate in a meeting last Friday, Aug. 23, at the White House to discuss the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) initiative. NASW Chief Executive Officer Angelo McClain and I attended.

NASW CEO Dr. Angelo McClain and Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, Executive Director of the PREVENTS Task Force pose, at the White House.

The meeting included Surgeon General Dr. Jerome M. Adams and key leaders from the Veterans Health Administration, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as well as the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association. PREVENTS was launched in March by executive order of the President. It will conclude next March 2020 when the task force delivers a “national public health roadmap” to the President articulating a plan for preventing and eliminating veteran suicide.

Click here for more details about the National Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End Suicide.

The task force also will deliver by next March a legislative proposal outlining grants to local communities to increase coordination and integration of services and support to promote veteran well-being. This includes elements such as housing and other social determinants. Addressing the role of substance use disorders in suicide will also be a focus.

As a first step, NASW National will be supporting communications-related efforts starting in September. This will include a joint statement with the other provider groups, a Facebook Live event and a Twitter event.

Over the next year, we look forward to providing a much-needed social work perspective for the roadmap and taking other actions to support this initiative.

Anna Mangum, MSW, MPH is Deputy Director of Programs for the National Association of Social Workers. She can be reached at amangum.nasw@socialworkers.org

Photo courtesy of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, one of the largest employers of social workers, this month is running a #BeThere suicide prevention campaign for veterans and service members.

The campaign offers tips we can all do to prevent people from dying by suicide.

Here are other Suicide Prevention Month resources social workers that may interest social workers and the organizations they work for:

• Veteran Crisis Line
• Partner Outreach Hub
• Make the Connection website (video catalog of Veteran telling their stories about recovery from various struggles):
• Veteran Outreach Toolkit

Social workers can also check out the National Association of Social Workers Military & Veterans website.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) calls on President Trump to rescind his plan to ban people who are transgender from serving in the U.S. military.

This change, tweeted on the implementation of a policy change made by the Obama Administration, is blatantly disrespectful to and clearly disregards the honorable service of all transgender and gender non-conforming service members.

NASW is against the military ban and any form of discrimination, including discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.

The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the opening of combat roles to women, and lifting the ban on transgender people share a common value: that a career in the military and military job assignments should be based on merit and not on gender, gender identity or sexuality orientation.

The ban is also unjustified because people who are transgender already play an integral role in the military. The Williams Institute estimates there are more than 15,000 active duty members of the military and 134,000 veterans who are transgender.

President Trump’s rationale for the ban is that the military would be burdened with “tremendous medical costs and disruption” if people who are transgender continue to serve.

However, a 2016 RAND study commission by the U.S. Department of Defense notes allowing people who are transgender to serve openly would have a minimal impact on readiness and health care costs.

As a result, President Trump’s decision to enact this ban is manifestly discriminatory and unnecessary. NASW will continue to stand with people who are transgender to ensure they achieve equal treatment in the military and throughout our society.

Metari Garza

Social Worker Metari Garza has been serving veterans for seven years. She is also a writer of poetry and a spoken word artist.

During Social Work Month Garza, LCSW, CCM, shared her poem “Stand Up” with other staff at the VA North Texas Health Care System. The chief of Social Work Services then shared it with our national VA leadership. Garza said she has gotten much positive feedback on the poem and wanted to share it with other social workers.

Here it is:

STAND UP

Advocate

Educator

Change Agent

Mediator

Negotiator

Care Manager

Administrator

These are just a few titles that depict our Professional roles

But the words that stir people the most lie in so Many stories untold

They are the words that don’t end in 4 Letters Preceded by degrees

Compassion – Empathy – Integrity – Ethical – Kindness – Unbiased Spirit

These things cannot be taught or bought

For those we serve these are the qualities most Often sought

Stand Up

Since the beginning we’ve had to Stand Up

The time may not be convenient but had come

No more twiddling and fumbling with your thumbs

Courage is what we need

As we face Valley Lows and Mountain Highs

Keep your heads lifted and your eyes to the sky

Stand Up

Stand Up Sisters….Stand Up Brothers

Stand Up as if it was your

Daddy or Mother

Stand Up not just a special month or time of the Year

PUSH forward daily and have no fear

Stand Up for Women…Stand Up for Men

Stand Up for the

Forgotten

Out casted

Refugees

And so called has beens

Stand Up to the “Isms”

AGE-Ism

CLASS-Ism

SEX-Ism

RACE-Ism

FAVORITE-Ism

Whatever the “Ism” or Opposition

Stand Up

Regardless of your position

Stand Up

Even if you feel you don’t belong

Stand Up

Doing what’s right will always conquer what’s Wrong

Stand Up

Colleagues the time is now

Let your voices be heard loud and proud

Stand Up

Even when it’s unpopular and crowd goes left

Keep moving to the Light…Stay on the side of Right

We’re all Soldiers on the front lines

Advocating for Veterans with determination and a Made up mind

We cannot be Stopped, Blocked, or Compromised

Just like fresh bread baking….Still We Rise

Stand Up

Stand Up for every

Veteran

Client

Patient

Elder or

Child

Help to make their journey easier turning heartache Into a smile

For just wait….in a little while

One day you may find yourself in need

For someone to Stand Up for you indeed

Stand Up

When Georgia Van Cooten walked into New York City’s Penn Station to participate in the homeless count this year, her thoughts went to two people.

A second-year master’s in social work student at Touro College in New York City, Van Cooten also had taken part in the 2015 count. Back then, she talked with a couple resting in a stairwell who had come to New York from Florida for a fresh start.

“They got engaged and had a friend here who was going to help with a place to stay and jobs,” Van Cooten said. “The plan fell through, and they were left at Penn Station.”

The two were offered a place to stay but declined, she said. Since they were not married, they could not stay together in a shelter, and they did not want to be split up.

“All they had was each other,” Van Cooten said. “I could see on their faces how hurt they were, see the frustration. I wish we could do more, but we had to walk away. It was difficult to just walk away. This year I looked for their faces. I didn’t see them, but they were on my mind this time around.”

Homelessness is one of the main challenges social workers are tackling by using programs and resources that address issues like addiction, substance abuse, mental illness or joblessness. Homelessness affects a wide range of people, including veterans, families, single adults or young couples, LGBT youth and teen runaways.

Every year since the federal homeless count began in 2008, volunteers like Van Cooten have hit the streets across the United States to help the government get a better picture of the nation’s homeless population.

Tracking the number of homeless people is the starting point in measuring gains, and progress in reducing those numbers is being made, according to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s 2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Report made to Congress in November.

The report states that since 2010, homelessness decreased overall by 11 percent, and there was a 26 percent drop in the unsheltered homeless population. Veteran homelessness declined by 36 percent, family homelessness was down 19 percent and chronic homelessness dropped 22 percent.

From the April 2016 NASW News. Read the full story here.