Showing events starting from April 1, 2024 up to April 30, 2024

April 18, 2024 - 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET

Our society has discussed reparations for Black Americans due to their enslavement, exploitation, and intergenerational oppression for a long time, but not much has manifested. As we become a more race-conscious society, examining and finally accepting the ways in which institutionalized discrimination has disseminated wealth, education, health outcomes, and other quality of life indicators for so many of our marginalized communities, we don’t talk enough about the free enslaved labor of Black people that built this country into one of the most powerful and rich  democracies in the world - laying the foundations of capitalism and its view of human bodies as “units of production.”

With so many Black Americans continuing to be left behind in wealth and educational attainment - how do we make amends? How do we repay the many families who have paid the price, intergenerationally, for the rest of Americans to prosper? Join us for a virtual discussion on the need and movement for reparations for Black Americans, and local exploratory efforts happening both in Detroit and Washtenaw County. Speakers include:

Chris Watson, Ann Arbor City Council Member

Cynthia Harrison, Ann Arbor City Council Member

Lauren Hood, Assistant Professor at the Taubman College for Architecture & Urban Planning and former Co-Chair of Detroit’s Reparations Task Force

Michael Steinberg, Professor and Director of the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at the University of Michigan Law School, Justice InDEED, and the Washtenaw County Advisory Council on Reparations 

Stacey Deering, Political Science Department at Eastern Michigan University 

University of Michigan’s Mellon Foundation- funded project on reparations, “Crafting Democratic Futures,” will also be discussed. 

Event Recording

April 19, 2024 - 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM ET

Visit the SSW meeting calendar for full schedule information.

April 19, 2024 - 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM ET

The School of Social Work Curtis Center for Health Equity Research and Training is hosting a creative Art for Equity Contest for undergraduate students to showcase what health equity means to them. The goal of the contest is to engage undergraduate students across the University of Michigan in thinking about health equity in a meaningful and creative way. The Curtis Center Art for Equity Contest will educate and increase engagement with health equity, but also highlight how individuals define it in their own context. 

We held an initial webinar to introduce the contest, explain the submission process and criteria, and serve as a Q & A session. A video recording of this session is available in this folder, which contains resources and information for contestants.

Undergraduate students are invited to submit a piece of art in the medium of their choice (video, poem, audio, photobook, painting, graphics, comic, etc.) that showcases what health equity means to them, by Monday, April 1st, 2024. Submissions will be accepted from both individuals and pairs. Along with their submission, students will be asked to provide a brief explanation of their piece and how it represents what health equity means to them. More information, as well as a recording of the information session, is available here.

At the Healthcare Equity Month event on Friday, April 19th from 12:30 - 1:30 pm the Director of the Curtis Center will define health equity in the context of Curtis Center research and training, as well as announce the top 3 winners! $1000 cash prizes will also be rewarded to the top 3 submissions. The deadline to register for this event is April 11th, 2024.

Click Here to Register

April 19, 2024 - 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET

This in-person session at the School of Social Work will provide the opportunity to learn more about the University of Michigan School of Social Work MSW program. Topics covered will include: On Campus Program, Online Program, Curriculum Options, Application Process, Financial Aid, and more!

Click here to register »

April 19, 2024 - 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM ET

How does abolitionist praxis, an engagement in full cycles of action, reflexivity and critical theory, allow us to challenge institutionalized carceral practices and work for institutional change? This event, generously sponsored by Conversations Across Social Disciplines Joseph Veroff and Katherine Luke Fund and the Social Justice Impact Fund, brings together abolitionist scholars in the fields of Social Work and Education to discuss the ways that they apply abolitionist praxis in relation to the institutions and systems in which they conduct research - the child welfare system, the higher education system and the financial/banking system. They will share strategies and tactics we gain from employing an abolitionist perspective to institutional and system change, and offer ideas on how we can work towards creating and sustaining liberatory spaces and structures.

Click Here to Register

April 22, 2024 - 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET

Visit the SSW meeting calendar for full schedule information.

April 22, 2024 - 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM ET

The SSW Award for Impact in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion seeks to recognize outstanding individuals or groups in the School of Social Work who have demonstrated their commitment to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion at the School and/or in the community. These awards are open to all current SSW students, faculty, staff, groups, and registered student organizations, and may be awarded to up to three individuals or groups.

Award recipients embody the following characteristics:

Demonstrates a high level of commitment to personal growth and development around DEI topics (including confronting own implicit bias, exploring structural and systemic oppression, etc.)

Displays commitment to valuing DEI above and beyond assigned job responsibilities

Exhibits a true commitment to the promotion and prioritization of anti-racism

Facilitates opportunities to bring people in the school together across positionalities, to promote understanding and to celebrate diversity

Builds lasting and meaningful partnerships with organizations and communities beyond SSW

Invests in student development around DEI (teaching and mentorship of students of diverse backgrounds, developing student services [academic support, mentorship, etc.], programming, curriculum development, enhancement of free exchange of ideas around controversial issues, development of more inclusive and interactive teaching methods, etc.)

Participates in, creates, and publicizes programs or events that promote DEI

Implements creative and inclusive work policies and initiatives to support the needs of a diverse staff

Advocates for DEI practices, helping to develop appropriate DEI practices, resources, and tools, and mentoring colleagues seeking to contribute to DEI efforts

Engages in research and scholarship to advance DEI consciousness

Join us in celebrating their achievements and contributions to our field!

Click Here to Register

April 22, 2024 (all day)