Challenges to African American males' well-being to be explored at Social Work's Diversity Lecture

Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Jordan Davis, Tamir Rice - their untimely deaths have escalated a national discussion about majority privilege and the systemic societal challenges facing African American males. But what exactly are those challenges - and how can they best be addressed?

On March 26, Waldo E. Johnson, Jr. of University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration will deliver the Wayne State School of Social Work's Ninth Annual Diversity Lecture, "What Have We Seen with Our Own Eyes? A Social Work Perspective for Addressing the Life Course Challenges Facing African American Males," from 1 to 3 p.m. at Wayne State's Community Arts Auditorium. A family researcher affiliated at University of Chicago's Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, Johnson will present interdisciplinary social science research to support his sobering assertion that, in several key respects, the institutional and systems experiences of African American males in the 21st century are worse than their 19^th century experiences under slavery.

According to Johnson, African American males fare worse than any other group on virtually all social indicators of well-being. Numerous factors contribute to this unfortunate distinction, he notes, including weak school engagement and outcomes, poor preparation for the labor market, limited family and community involvement due to social disorganization, and undiagnosed physical and mental health problems. These poor outcomes leave African American males vulnerable to violence, incarceration, unemployment, and the resultant perception that their lives are inconsequential.

"The School of Social Work develops its research and practice priorities in response to the needs of the nation and in particular of Detroit, which as a predominantly African American city is witnessing the complex, interrelated challenges that Dr. Johnson will discuss," said Dean Cheryl Waites. "Setbacks to African American males are setbacks to their families and their communities. We cannot achieve social and economic justice in America if any group is left behind."

Johnson, who is also affiliated with the Program for Research on Black Americans at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, is a national expert on the impact that social and environmental factors have on African American males' developmental, physical and mental health status, particularly in urban contexts. His lecture will promote a social work framework for assessing the problems that African American males face for the purposes of research, advocacy, public policy, and social work practice.

Following his lecture, Johnson will be joined for a panel discussion by Cedric R. Hendricks of the District of Columbia Superior Court; Anthony E. O. King, WSU adjunct professor of social work, and Savala N. Trepczysnski of Wayne State's Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.

This FREE event is open to students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the public. It has been approved by the MI Social Work Continuing Education Collaborative for 2 CE contract hours at a cost of $10 under CE Approval #: MICEC-0058. No pre-registration is required. For parking & building accessibility information visit: http://maps.wayne.edu/printable-maps/. For free student attendance tracking, please forward a copy of your class roster to Lauree Emery at ab7097@wayne.edu. For additional event details contact Lauree Emery at ab7097@wayne.edu or 313-577-9348 or visit events.wayne.edu.