Browse

This book provides a comprehensive portrait of the status and unique assets of baby boomers of color. It argues that quality data on the individual status of specific racial populations is lacking and that this leads to inadequate programs, policies, and services. It goes on to say that the absence of data is a testament to the invisibility of baby boomers of color in society and that this deeply affects the practice of social work and the work of other helping professions that require culturally sensitive approaches. Using specific data, the book grounds an understanding of boomers' financial, medical, and emotional needs within a historical, socioeconomic, cultural, and political context. It focuses on older African Americans, Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans, and addresses issues of financial security, employment stability, housing, and health care, which are often complicated by linguistic and cultural differences. Rather than treat baby boomers of color as a financial burden on society and its resources, it recognizes their strengths and positive contributions to families and communities. It offers tailored recommendations for meeting the challenges of a growing population.

The Black Power movement has often been portrayed in history and popular culture as the quintessential “bad boy” of modern black movement-making in America. Yet this impression misses the full extent of Black Power's contributions to U.S. society, especially in regard to black professionals in social work. Relying on extensive archival research and oral history interviews, this book follows two groups of black social workers in the 1960s and 1970s as they mobilized Black Power ideas, strategies, and tactics to change their national professional associations. Comparing black dissenters within the National Federation of Settlements (NFS), who fought for concessions from within their organization, and those within the National Conference on Social Welfare (NCSW), who ultimately adopted a separatist strategy, it shows how the Black Power influence was central to the creation and rise of black professional associations. It also provides a nuanced approach to studying race-based movements and offers a framework for understanding the role of social movements in shaping the non-state organizations of civil society.

A number of economic, cultural, and contextual factors are driving urban America's obesity crisis, which can create chronic health conditions for those least able to manage them. Considering urban obesity through a social justice lens, this book aims to help with the development of targeted interventions for effective outcomes. It dissects the problem of urban obesity among people of color from individual, family, group, community, and policy perspectives. Beginning with a historical survey of urban obesity in communities of color, anti-obesity policies and programs, and the role of social work in addressing this threat, the book follows with an analysis of the social, ecological, environmental, and spatial aggravators of urban obesity, such as the food industry's advertising strategies, which promote unhealthy choices; the failure of local markets to provide good food options; the lack of safe spaces for physical exercise; and the paucity of health education. It reviews recent national obesity statistics, explores the connection between food stamps and obesity, and reveals the financial and social consequences of the epidemic for society as a whole. It concludes with recommendations for effective health promotion programs, such as youth-focused interventions, community gardens, and community-based food initiatives, and a unique consideration of urban obesity in relation to acts of genocide and national defense.