The NASW Foundation and NASW are proud to celebrate Black History Month and honor the rich history of black social workers. Celebrate with us!
Participate in our February 26 NASW Facebook Live with NASW President Mit Joyner, a member of the NASW Social Work Pioneers®, on the legacy of Whitney Moore Young, Jr.:
NASW Honors Black History Month video: NASW takes a look at the rich tapestry of achievement by black social work pioneers.
NASW Social Work Pioneers®:
- Ida B. Wells,
- Dr. James Russell Dumpson,
- Dr. George Edmund Haynes,
- Dr. Dorothy Irene Height
- Dr. Bernice Catherine Harper,
- Dr. Whitney Moore Young, Jr.
- and there are so many others deserving of recognition.
NASW Social Work Pioneer Dr. Bernice Catherine Harper video:
Dr. Harper is a hospice care innovator who was a medical care advisor at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, now known as the Department of Health Education and Welfare. Hear from Dr. Harper, herself, about her incredible story, a lifetime of breaking barriers.
The NASW Foundation’s Verne LaMarr Lyons Memorial Scholarship, is awarded to MSW candidates who demonstrate an interest in or have experience with health/mental health practice and have a commitment to working in African American communities. Previous recipients now work in hospitals, medical clinics, and social services agencies that provide treatment and specialized services to African American clients and others have gone into broader leadership services.
The scholarship program is a memorial to Verne LaMarr Lyons, a social worker and NASW national staff member who died in 1989, while waiting for a heart transplant. Lyons committed his life to increasing awareness of pernicious health concerns affecting African Americans such as insufficient prenatal care, infant mortality, AIDS, cirrhosis, and general life expectancy.
