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An Examination of Late 19Th Century African

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An Examination of Late 19Th Century African AN EXAMINATION OF LATE 19TH CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN SOCIAL WELFARE PIONEERING DEVELOPMENTS IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. by KAREEMA JAMILYA GRAY (Under the Direction of June Gary Hopps) ABSTRACT The study of social welfare pioneers in social work education is important in forming a foundation of understanding the origins of the profession for future social work practitioners and educators. Understanding our past determines actively our ability to understand our present. Social work as a profession directly impacts and influences the lives of people of all different racial, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds; however, the social work pioneers that current social work education focuses on are predominantly White, Christian, and American. Research to date has started to focus on uncovering pioneering work that was conducted in some minority communities, but there are still large gaps in the literature that this study hopes to fill. This study examined the work that late 19th century African American social welfare pioneers were doing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The goal was to bring to light the fact that social work was in fact being done by more than just White, Christian men and women during the time period that social work was becoming a profession. The purpose of this study was to describe, critique, and discuss the roles assumed by African American social change agents during the Progressive Era in the late 19th century in the struggle for social rights, human rights, social and humanitarian service delivery for freed slaves and Blacks in Philadelphia, PA. There were four research questions directing this study: (a) what roles did late 19th century African American social change agents play in the struggle for social rights, human rights, and service delivery for freed slave and Blacks in Philadelphia, PA.? (b) what were the social service delivery systems that were developed and used by the early African American social welfare pioneers in Philadelphia, PA? (c) did these initiatives have any correspondence or parallels with other movements during this period? and (d) what, if any, cross racial alliances were negotiated and what bridges if any were built between Black and White reformers? This historical qualitative study utilized an approach from the social change theoretical base and included in-depth and extensive examination of documents and artifacts from social welfare change agents in Philadelphia, PA. The sample included documents and artifacts that had been previously categorized as being from African American men, women and organizations that were advocates for social change during the late 19th century. Analysis led to the conclusion that the work that was done in the Black community was just as important and relevant to social work as a profession as the work that was being done in the White community. This work deserves to be discussed and examined just as much as the work that currently dominates social work education. Recommendations for refinements of the analysis, implications on social work education, future evaluation and research are discussed. INDEX WORDS: Black pioneers in Philadelphia, Social welfare pioneers, Social change theory, Social change agents, Social work, Social change, Social conflict AN EXAMINATION OF LATE 19TH CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN SOCIAL WELFARE PIONEERING DEVELOPMENTS IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. by KAREEMA JAMILYA GRAY B.A., Lafayette College, 1994 M.S.W., The University of Georgia, 2003 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2009 © 2009 Kareema Jamilya Gray All Rights Reserved AN EXAMINATION OF LATE 19TH CENTURY AFRICAN AMERICAN SOCIAL WELFARE PIONEERING DEVELOPMENTS IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. by KAREEMA JAMILYA GRAY Major Professor: June Gary Hopps Committee: Cheryl D. Dozier Tony B. Lowe Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2009 iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my ancestors and the many men and women who gave their lives in the fight for freedom and for social justice. It is on their shoulders that I stand today. I thank them for their determination, their resilience, their courage, their quest for social justice, and their unwillingness to back down or turn away from the struggles that people of color face in this nation. My hope is that this work can assist in this fight that continues today. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It has been a wild and crazy ride through the doctoral program and I cannot believe that this leg of the journey is almost complete. This has been an amazing experience and I would not be here without the family, friends, mentors and others, who God has placed in my life to support me, inspire me and encourage me – this was truly a group project! First and foremost I would like to thank God for the opportunity to be in this program and for guiding me through it. Without Him directing my steps, watching over me, providing and protecting me, I know that I would not be at this point. "Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you." Psalm 25:4-5 NLT I would like to thank my committee chair and my mentor, Dr. June Gary Hopps. It has been my honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to learn from such an extraordinary, generous, renowned and patient woman. She believed in me and supported me ever since I was a student in the MSW program. She had confidence in me when I had my moments of doubt and pushed me to heights that I did not know I could achieve. Thanks are also due to my other committee members – Dr. Cheryl Dozier and Dr. Tony Lowe who were always so giving and supportive. Dr. Dozier was incredible in her contribution to this project, her wisdom; her expertise and her feedback were invaluable to me. Dr. Lowe went above and beyond the call of duty as the methodologist and offered guidance and assistance in many aspects of the research. There are other faculty and staff at the University of Georgia who were incredibly supportive during my tenure in the program. Dean Maurice Daniels always had time to listen to vi me and give me feedback on my project, thank you. I am also grateful to: Dr. Adrian Anderson, Emma Mattox, Kat Farlowe and Dr. Kevin DeWeaver. I would also like to thank the staff of the Athletic Department’s Academic Program – Ludlow Lawson, Wally Richardson, Lynne Smith, Ted White, Eric Beverly, Solomon Hughes and others, your friendship and support was so important to me, thank you for providing a forum for me to give back a portion of what has been given to me. To the members of my cohort – Dr. Mike Humble, Dr. Denise Levy, Dr. Sandra Yudilevich, Steve King and Byungdeok Kang – we laughed, we cried, we caffeinated ourselves, but most importantly, we stuck together through every step of the way. This experience was made even more special because of you all. Your encouragement, your belief in me, your emotional and social support made the difference for me. A special thank you also goes to Natalie Pope for her constant encouragement and support. I have been truly blessed to have a network of friends without whom I would not have survived the perils of this program. Their endless love, support, motivation, and encouragement carried me through the tough times. Phil, Kim, Nichole & Brianna Proctor, Stephanie & Keith Dunn, Melvin & Donna Lee Moon, Jen & Jose Acosta, Zane Maraschiello, Angel Gibbs, David Roper, Scott Long, Alicia Schildwachter, Alaina & Dan Ankrom, Styron & Shana Penneywell, Ivano Newbill, Robyn Gary, Angela Spell and many others from the congregations of the Atlanta Churches of Christ and the Athens Church of Christ – thank you all from the bottom of my heart. This journey would not have been possible without the love and support of my family who were always there to listen to me, to encourage me, to challenge me, to motivate me, and to believe in me; my mother Dr. Cleora Levetter, my father Mr. Robert Gray Jr., my brothers David Levetter and Khalil Womack, my sister Sarah Levetter, and her children Cleopatra and Phillip, vii my aunt Cleopatra Anderson-Wright, and my cousins Rasheeda Wright, Cleo Anderson and Carla Anderson. My family always believed in me and encouraged me to pursue any dream that I had. They were incredibly understanding as my commitment to my studies caused me to miss many family holidays and get-togethers. I love you all more than words can express and I hope that I am able to make you all proud. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER I A DRIVE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: PROGRESSIVES, BLACKS AND SOCIAL WELFARE.....................................................................................................................1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 A Drive for Social Change ........................................................................................2
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