Find a Way or Make One

Abstract

The book examines the history of a school of social work as it unfolded over a century of US history, when the “separate but equal” doctrine was accepted in both law and custom in the United States. The founding of the School was spearheaded by leading scholars and social activists in Atlanta, Georgia, as an independent institution of higher learning to prepare black social workers for practice in the black community. Using a historical qualitative research method, data for the book were obtained primarily from the Clark Atlanta University Robert W. Woodruff Research Center, which holds the collections of the nation’s most well-known historically black colleges and universities founded in the city of Atlanta. The evolution of the School is described within the context of time and place and against the backdrop of changing US social welfare policy, Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Educational Policy and Accreditation standards, and social work professional trends. The content describes consequential events influencing curriculum renewal from its founding in 1920, when Atlanta was described as the most segregated city in the South; to the mid-1900s, when it was the leading voice on social work practice in the black community; to the post-civil rights decades of desegregation and the CSWE’s new requirements on diversity and inclusion that resulted in both costs and benefits for the School. In 2000, the School was renamed to honor former dean Whitney M. Young Jr. Today it is one of three professional schools of Clark Atlanta University and awards BSW, MSW, and PhD social work degrees.