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Black Ink
Tuesday, Feb. 25,1986
A LEGACY TO REMEMBER: SOClAl WORK AND
THE BLACK COMMUMTY
by Audreye E. Johnson
Special to the Ink
The contributions of African
Americans to their self-development
and general welfare has been ignored
in all areas of American life, including
the field of social welfare, and the
profession of sodal work. Recent
efforts have focused upon a correction
of this oversight, but much more will
need to be done before Black self-help
and its dual system of social welfare
service will be readily recognized,
accepted, and appreciated. This
neglect encompasses not only White
Americans but also Blacks; reflecting
the omission of a people from the
history of the country.
The one-sided view of social
welfare and social work has served to
strenghten the perception of African-
Americans as dependent, inferior,
child like creatures who were and are
today on the receiving end of social
welfare and social work services, i.e.,
that the primary recipients of Aid to
Families with Dependent Children are
Black. The truth is that over 50 per
cent of such recipients are White.
And, social work which expresses con
cern for the quality of life of people,
their environment, and their humane
ness has not always readily accepted
the quality of life for all without
regard to race, sex, creed, or color.
Black History affords an opportunity
to share past developments, and to
bring into consciousness the utility of
such information for the present and
future. We note that beginning in
colonial times Blacks took respon
sibility for their welfare utilizing the
court system to redress the unlawful
extention of indentured servitude,
(1644). Similar petitions to the courts
over citizenship rights were initiated
by Blacks; continuing even today.
The American social welfare
system was influenced by the English
Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601; a series
of laws over the years which
culminated and became known as the
1601 Law. As Blacks were forced from
indentured servitude to slavery they
were not included in the concepts of
responsibility for the care of the poor
and needy. This attitude was
enhanced by the growth of the slave
laws and codes of the colonial period,
and subsequently those of the fledg
ing United States of America. The
free and the slave African-American
found it necessary to forge for
themselves a means of meeting their
social welfare needs on a humane
basis; slaves were not considered
human, and free Blacks were consid
ered inferior.
To meet their social welfare
needs, Blacks, formally and informal
ly, brought together an aggregate
group of services to enable them to
secure the basics of food, shelter,
clothing, or to promote their well be
ing. And, as social workers they devis
ed methods of enabling other Blacks
to obtain their needs and to develop
their best potential. The slaves used
their older people as social service
agents (social workers) in caring for
the young, maintaining community
gardens, looking after the sick, pro
viding a fictive kinship base (extended
family) for those in need with the sup
port of the younger slaves. This
resulted in a respect and sense of car
ing for the young and the old. seeking
to be protective as far as they were
able of their people, basing their
eligibility on need alone. While the
Church as a social service agency
flourished in both the slave and free
Black communities, and became a sup
portive network for the unrecognized
Black family, it put forth social
workers in the form of preachers,
deacons and elders, and the ladies’
auxilaries. The institutionalization of
social welfare organization, which
became the formal social work serv
ices, in the free Black community was
started by Richard Allen and
Absalom Jones. They organized the
Free African Society of Philade'phia,
April 12,1787; the same year that the
Constitution of the United States was
drafted which counted Blacks as
3/5ths of a person. The Free African
Society operated as a social service
agency and more, it had a religious
overview, and directed its attention
toward the care of widows, orphans,
and sought to bury the dead.
Moreover, in the yellow fever
epidemic of 1793, these same men and
their organization provided services
to the White population as well;
nursing care and burial services.
Other pioneer social workers also
sought to promote the well being of
their people and to devise programs
and organizations: Prince Hall began
the first Black Masonic lodge, 1787,
established a school for Black
children, and sought legislative action
against slavery, and the enslavement
of Blacks. Catherine Ferguson, a
former slave, opened the first Sunday
School, 1793, in New York. Of the 48
children she collected from the
almshouses, 20 were White. Those
who were born free or who escaped
from slavery were ever mindful of the
plight of those enslaved for they had
first hand knowledge from those like
Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman,
Sojourner Truth, to name a few, and
the case histories of William Still who
helped to run the Philadelphia Anti
slavery Society office.
William Still can be called the
first modern day social worker. His is
the only account of the Underground
Railroad from the view of the people
who used it, the fugitive slaves. His
book is often cited to provide first
hand information about the fugitives.
His work in providing social welfare
and social work services to African-
Americans covered more than 50
years. Still’s activities were numerous
providing social work services as a
caseworker, group worker, com
munity organizer, fund raiser, case
manager, record keeper, and con
cerned citizen for the free Blacks of
not only Philadejphia but of the
United States.
The above are but a few of the
early Blacks who provided the basic
foundation for Black social welfare
and social work. Given their status by
law and custom within the society,
African-Americans have not had the
luxury of concentrating their energies
in only one direction. Coupled with
their recognition to be involved with
policies and services which would
improve their lot, these pioneers
worked individually and collectively
to leave a legacy of self-help which has
continued today. The Church, Civil
Rights Organizations, various clubs,
groups for males and females, and
social work groups have continued
their quest for liberation and justice.
They provide social welfare and social
work services which cannot always be
found in the wider society with digni
ty and respect. These modern gate
keepers pushed for passage of the
1964 Civil Rights Act which laid the
current foundation against discrimi
nation on the basis of race, sex, creed,
or color, and the 1965 Voting Rights
Act which forbade the same type of
discrimination. Ov^r 100 years ago
there was passage of the 13th and
14th Amendments to the Constitution
prohibiting slavery and providing due
process of law, without consideration
to race, sex, creed, or color. These
past laws and the more recent ones
provided legal protection to African-
Americans, but they also provided the
same protection to Whites, especially
women, as well as others who had
been previously excluded from the
White male dominated privileges of
first class citizenship in this country.
In social work there is continuous
struggle to recognize the intercon
nectedness of the similarities of
mutual exclusion. Because of the
differences based on race, even when
Blacks have been at the forefront of
pushing for change which benefits not
only Blacks but others who have faced
discrimination, the racism is so
imbedded that there is the desire to
deny that other groups benefited, i.e.,
White women, homophiles, the elder
ly, etc., from the cited laws. Often per
sonal values supercede professional
values. These attitudes call attention
to the fact that the contributions of
African-Americans to a better life still
cry out to be recognized, accepted,
and appreciated.
Audreye E. Johnson is an. associate
professor in the School of Social
Work at the University.
ScroUers
photo by Tammie Foust
Sa[
J/
k
Starting Wednesday, February 19th take
advantage of our Attic Sale. Everything in
our t>acl^ room will l>e priced*at $10.00 and
under. Sale lasts through Saturday, March
1st. (Don t forget we have great accessories
and jewelry for formals).
BACKTHFN ^ W. Franklin St.
i-i P Ghapel Hill
VIMAqE ClotkERS