Spring 2011 

On February 16, La Familia Espanol, the club for social work majors and other students studying Spanish, sponsored a “Meet and Greet” event in celebration of Black History Month titled, “Bridging the Gap between Afro-Latinos and African Americans.  The event represented the partnership between the Department of Social Work and the Department of English and Modern Languages.  A panel presentation featured Professor Kala Richardson and Dr. James Maur of the Department of English and Modern Languages, and Mr. Omari Musa, Socialist Party Mayoral Candidate for the District of Columbia.  Under the excellent leadership of Ms. Kelly-Anne James, student president of the Club, this event was well organized and attracted approximately 75 students and faculty to an informative afternoon of talks on the African diaspora.  Additionally, the event was catered by the University and sponsored, in part, by the student government association.  The afternoon also included a musical rendition of Stevie Wonder’s songs and poetry in Spanish by BSU students. The faculty advisor to the organization is Velva Taylor Spriggs, Lecturer in the Department of Social Work. She was also a panelist, whose student interpreter, Ms. Omolara Bello, provided the audience with an oral translation of her presentation.  

Dr. Love-Manning, and several students enrolled in her Policy II course, attended the NASW-MD Chapter’s Advocacy Day in Annapolis on February 17. The purpose of the event was to rally around a specific topic (e.g. health care) and to lobby various legislators on issues relevant to social workers in Maryland.   

Lecturer Velva Taylor Spriggs was invited by the Washington, DC Metro Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers to co-lead a workshop on “Undoing Racism” at its biennial conference, held at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., March 2-4, 2011.  She was invited to conduct this workshop after writing an article on the topic in the organization’s quarterly newsletter.   

Dr. Perkins presented at the Washington, DC Metro Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Conference held at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, March 2-4. His presentation was titled “Investigation of Risk-Taking Behaviors Associated with HIV Positive Status among African-American Women”.  

Dr. Stennis presented at the National Council on Black Studies Conference in Cincinnati, OH on March, 17. Her presentation was titled "Preaching to the Choir? African American Clergy's Experiences Surrounding Domestic Violence".