Diversity, Equity and Inclusion News

Professor Rogério M. Pinto has been named a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor.

Sponsored by the Office of the Provost, and jointly administered by the U-M National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID) and the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI), the Diversity and Social Transformation Professorship is an honor designation for senior faculty who have the highest levels of achievement in demonstrating a commitment to the university’s ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion through their scholarship, teaching or service and engagement. The initial appointment is for five years and also includes special faculty fellow status at NCID.

Pinto’s research focuses on finding academic, sociopolitical and cultural venues for broadcasting voices of oppressed individuals and groups. Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, his community-engaged research focuses on the impact of interprofessional collaboration on the delivery of evidence-based services (HIV and drug-use prevention and care) to marginalized racial/ethnic and sexual minorities in the United States and Brazil. Pinto also conducts art-based scholarly research.

"With this professorship, I will advance my federally-funded research on the impact of critical consciousness to abate racism, homophobia, sexism and other forms of oppression. I will specifically investigate performance and visual arts as vehicles for self-healing and social action against oppression of minoritized people," said Pinto.

Pinto is the Berit Ingersoll-Dayton Collegiate Professor of Social Work and the School’s Associate Dean for Research and Innovation.  He is also a Professor of Theatre and Drama at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He was the recipient of the U-M Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award in 2021.

Associate Professor Terri Friedline’s op-ed in The Emancipator on how reviving post office banking could advance racial equity. “More than 60 million Americans – one-fifth of the population – live in communities without a bank. They’re left either to travel long distances to handle their money or use more expensive nearby options like check-cashing companies, payday lenders and currency exchanges,” writes Friedline. Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research and The Boston Globe’s Opinion team are collaborating to resurrect and reimagine The Emancipator, the first abolitionist newspaper in the United States, founded more than 200 years ago.

The Association of Black Social Work Students (ABSWS) has received the Michigan Difference Professional Organization of the Year Award.  

“ABSWS has an ongoing presence at the University of Michigan and to continue the legacy, it is critical that their accomplishments be recognized,” said Clinical Assistant Professor Daicia Price.  “ABSWS has been an integral part of preparing for new accreditation requirements that involve anti-racism and social justice as a necessary part of the graduate curriculum. One of the amazing things about this group is that they have been using the curriculum and professional competencies to engage in and implement their strategic plan. They have been intentional about building collaborative networks and been creative and innovative about ways to combine the professional and social experience of social workers.”

The current ABSWS officers include: 

• Blair Baker - President
• Alex Black - Vice President
• J’Melia Richardson - Secretary & Social Coordinator
• Quentin Harris - Parliamentarian

Assistant Professor Shanna Kattari and Lecturer Leonardo Kattari were awarded the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Scholarship Award at the Council on Social Work Education annual meeting, as co-authors on the paper “Differential Experiences of Dating Violence and Sexual Violence Among Trans/Gender Diverse Youths.” The award recognizes scholarship that contributes to knowledge about sexual orientation and gender identity and expression; the individual and systemic issues associated with these topics; the development of social work curriculum materials and faculty growth opportunities relevant to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression; and the experiences of individuals who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and/or two-spirit.

MSW student Catie Bargerstock is the recipient of the 2021 MSW Student Leadership in Diversity Scholarship from the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Social Worker (NASW). Bargerstock will be honored at NASW- Michigan’s virtual Legislative, Education & Advocacy Day on October 28.

Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Innovation Rogério M. Pinto and Clinical Assistant Professor Daicia Price have received the 2021 Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award.

The award recognizes U-M faculty whose service goes above and beyond their regular duties and contributes to the development of a culturally and ethnically diverse campus community. 

Hey SSW,

As many of you may or may not have seen, this week Arkansas passed a law banning health care providers from providing trans youth with access to healthcare. Along with Arkansas, there are similar bills being introduced in several states across the country including Michigan. Many are attacking the ability of trans youth to participate in sports, others are attacking access to healthcare and the ability of transgender people to participate in public life.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

This is a direct attack on the trans community. As social workers, we must make a commitment to organize in order to ensure that transgender youth have life-saving medical care by any means necessary. 

Now more than ever, cis people must stand up for the rights and dignity of their transgender peers. The solution is and must be intersectional solidarity, advocacy, and mutual aid. The trans community must not face these attacks alone.

On this Trans Day of Visibility, we are asking everyone to make at least ONE call to either the Governor of Arkansas or to an Arkansas State Senator to call for an end to this inhumane legislation.

• Call Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and demand a veto to HB 1570: (501) 682-2345
• Call Arkansas State Senators to voice opposition to this bill. Here are their numbers.
• Additionally, here is a template to email the governor at asa.hutchinson@governor.arkansas.gov.

To view the anti-transgender legislation in other states, see the following links. It is vital we stay up to date and advocate alongside our trans friends and colleagues. 

• BREAKING: 2021 Becomes Record Year For Anti-Transgender Legislation
• Legislative Tracker: Anti-Transgender Legislation  

Finally, if you or a loved one are in need of resources, several are included below:

• National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
• Trevor Project LGBTQ+ Hotline: 1-866-488-7386
• CAPS After Hours: 734-764-8312
• The UM Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES): 734-936-5900

In Solidarity,

Queer Advocacy Coalition

Lecturer Ayesha Ghazi Edwin’s letter to the editor “Race and ethnicity shouldn’t determine women’s pay” was published in the Detroit News. Edwin discusses Asian American/Pacific Islander women’s Equal Pay Day writing “If we are to close the pay gap, we need to strengthen equal pay laws to allow women to discover and fight against pay discrimination.”