Ƶ’s New Center for Black Male Social Workers
Ƶ Professor of Social Work Stefan Battle recalls how much of an impact his first case as a social worker meant to a client.
“The client was a Black woman who had custody of her grandson and in her own way felt that I, as a Black man, could best help her grandson,” Battle says. “That showed me that my very presence as a Black man is sometimes more powerful than the skills and theories I learned to become a social worker.”
After his colleague Associate Professor of Social Work Aswood Bousseau planted the seed in his head last October, Battle moved forward with launching the Center for Black Men’s Empowerment and Alliance (CBMEA). Housed in Ƶ’s School of Social Work, the center’s mission is to empower Black male high school students to develop as academics and scholars in social work; encourage Black male social workers to recruit Black men to the field and retain them; and serve as a refuge where they can express themselves through their authentic voices.
“Many people have told me creating a center like this is long overdue and fills a need,” Battle says.
To build a pipeline of Black male social workers, CBMEA will create a program called Pathways to provide outreach to junior and senior high school students in Rhode Island who don’t know much about social work.
“We are trying to change the perception that what social workers do is take children out of homes,” Battle says. “Some young Black men may have had issues with social workers in a negative respect. What we want to tell them is that they have the power to change that narrative. Social work is about giving back to the community selflessly and advocating for people until they can get back on their feet.”
Another initiative of CBMEA is the creation of a “brother-to-brother” mentorship program that pairs experienced Black male social workers (CBMEA fellows) with Black male high school students (CBMEA scholars). A team of four fellows – social workers Marques Johnson, Larome Myrick, Frank Paul and Kinzel Thomas – will meet with the aspiring scholars for one-on-one mentoring sessions.
“Fellows will check in with their scholars on a weekly or monthly basis, whatever works for the student,” Battle says. “We don’t want the mentors to bombard them. They’ll give the students the space they need but also be there for them.”
The plan also calls for establishing a partnership with the Department of Human Services at the Community College of Rhode Island to identify Black men in their program who are interested in transferring to Ƶ’s B.S.W. program. Additionally, a retention monitoring system would be created to assess how Black men in the B.S.W. and M.S.W. programs at Ƶ are faring academically, socially and emotionally.
At Ƶ, CBMEA scholars are expected to double major in social work and Africana Studies to “learn more about the lived experiences and social complexity of Black people.” A Rhode Map for Pathways will be developed to assist scholars with the two undergraduate majors.
During their senior year at Ƶ, the scholars will engage in research to contribute to a bi-annual online journal. A CBMEA symposium will be held each spring to showcase their research.
“I want these young men to write,” Battle says. “We need to hear their voices.”
For Battle, whose siblings were all social workers, the goal is to see a new generation in the field who look like him.
“In 1989, I was the only Black male in a social work class of 25 students at Boston University, and since then the number of Black males hasn’t changed much,” he says. “There aren’t enough Black men to be role models so younger Black men can say, ‘I see myself in that profession. I want to join.’ This must change.”
Learn more about Ƶ’s Bachelor of Social Work Program.