Lacey Men of Color Article

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50 BROADWAY • SUITE 1001 • NEW YORK, N.Y. 10004· PHONE (212) 668-0050. FAX (212) 668-0305 • WEBSITE: WWW.NASWNYC.ORG

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2009 VOLUME 53/NO.

Speaking Truth to RealitySocial Workers Share Experiences as Men of ColorMaurice Lacey, LMSW, MS Ed, CASAC

Maurice Lacey

(Editor s Note: At a time

when people in New York

City, and across the nation,

are feeling the crippling

effects of a broken economy,

it is important to recognize

that communities of color

have long felt the impact of

economic hardship, much

before the recent crash on

Wall Street. Our families

of color have suffered the

inhumane consequences of

inequity - a disproportionate shortage of

resources in their communities' schools;

greater instances of serious health issues

with a corresponding lack

of quality health care;

and extraordinarily high

incarceration rates of their

fathers, husbands, boyfriends

and sons. Men of color who

are also social workers have

a challenging position in

this crisis - while working

to address the untenable life

conditions of some of their

clients of color, they are also

members ofthosefamilies and

communities themselves. In celebration

of Black History Month and in honor of

the powerful organizing legacy of our

Black ancestors, NASW-NYC is privilege

to share a glimpse of the vital work of

the Men or Color Roundtable Discussion

Group with our members. We extend a

special thank-you to Maurice j,acey for

his candor the following article.)

Creating a Vision

The Men of Color Roundtable

Discussion Group was created through

the vision of Ron Chisom - Executive

Director of The People's Institute

for Survival and Beyond (PISAB),

headquartered in New Orleans, Louisian

In the fall of 2007, Ron called together

Continued on Page



1I ••• we cannotafford to

create voicelessb IIem ers ...

peaking Truthontinued from cover page

small group of men of color who were

ttending a three-day Undoing Racism™

nd Community Organizing Workshop at

ordham University in New York City.e expressed a desire and need for men of

olor to organize themselves by meeting

or the purpose of engaging in self

evelopment and supporting each other

n the struggle to undo racism in their

gencies and communities. Our original

roup of about ten men consisted of social

orkers from various fields and positions.t included a dean, case workers, executive

rectors, private practitioners, students

nd public servants.

Ron's vision quickly blossomed into a

ovement of men of color, energized and

nspired to take a stand against racism in

ll of its hideous forms. Since that time

e have attracted dozens of men of color

rom diverse backgrounds who are willing

o support each other to undo racism.

he majority (80%) of the participants

re Black, although we have consistently

ought to include a

reater balance ofatino and Asian men.

The Men of Color

oundtable Group

perates under the Anti-

acist Principles for Effective

ganizing and Social Transformation

et forth by PISAB. As a result, we

irmly believe that "[r]acism is the single

ost critical barrier to building effective

oalitions for social change. Racism

action, leadership development,

networking, strategic planning, and

education. This group also gives men

of color the opportunity to address thepsychological and sociological stressors of

anger, invisibility, role strain, alienation,

powerlessness, low expectations, hostility,

sexuality issues, disenfranchisement,

coping fatigue, and feelings of

hopelessness. We encourage our group

members to use art, music, dance, poetry,

and other forms of expression to deal withand highlight the horrors of racism as well.

Connecting Intimately for

Mutual Support

As social workers we value group

process and education as mechanisms

to engage men of color in anti-racist

organizing, both of which have a

liberating effect that we believe is vital for

personal and social transformation. Group

process has also allowed our participants

to intimately connect with other men for

the purpose of mutual development and

support. This group provides a

safe space for men of color to

discuss the impact that racism

has on them, their families, their

communities, and organizations

or agencies in which they

work. This type of sharing atmosphere

is absent is our major institutions. The

majority of our participants have never

had this type of supportive interaction withother men of color.

Some of our group members are



need for individual healing and self

evaluation. This group is available to

address both those needs. We realize

that internalized racial oppression has

led to feelings of inferiority that have in

turn been manifested through addictions,

violence, underachievement, depression,

self-hatred, shame, and other self

destructive behaviors. This group serves

as a place where our mutual feelings and

experiences are validated by other menof color. This is critical because some of

us have hidden our internal feelings out

of fear of being perceived as radicals,

trouble-makers, whiners, or even worse

- paranoid. As a result, we have had to

silently endure micro transgressions,

injustice, and insensitivity. Even as we

took the three-day Undoing Racism™ and

Community Organizing Workshop, most

of us did not speak our full truths out offear of offending White participants or

sounding irrational. Without individual

healing, our efforts towards positive social

transformation will be greatly hampered.

Nurturing Authentic

Relationships

relationships within our group and across

racial lines. We are now more prepared tohave real conversation with others about

race and racism.

Aspiring to Create an Equitable

Society

The Men of Color Group is still in

the infancy stage of development, butwe aspire to mobilize against policies,

laws, and actions that undermine our

communities and perpetuate racism.

Strategic planning sessions are being

organized to bring these efforts to reality.

We also seek to develop partnerships

and strategic alliances with multiracial

organizations, individuals, and groups

willing to address racism from a micro

to macro level. We especially look

forward to joining with groups of women

of color for the purpose of healing and

organizing for change. We believe that

the Men of Color Roundtable Discussion

Group will serve as a model for others

and as a catalyst for antiracist organizing,

professional development, political action,

movement building, and healing for men

of color in social work and other human

service professions. Most importantly, we

hope that our group will help to create a

society that is healthier, more equitable,and free of race-based discrimination

that also feeds other forms of oppression.

We are grateful to PISAB and the Anti

Racist Alliance of New York (www.

antiracistalliance.com) for allowing this

group to function under their leadership,

care, and support.

The election of President Barack Obama

has given us new hope that our organizing

is not in vain. America seems ready tolisten if our voices are loud and clear

enough for its citizens to hear.

The Men of Color Discussion Group

meets monthly at Columbia University sInstitute for Urban and Minority

Education (The Gordon Center). If you

are interested inparticipating inor learning more about this group,

please contact Maurice Lacey at

[email protected]. The group welcomes

any feedback and support. 0

Another strong aspect of this

group is the building and nurturing

of authentic relationships. As social

workers of color we have been driven

to "fit in" with our White colleagues

out of fear of being negatively labeled.

Therefore, our daily encounters havebeen carefully and skillfully managed

to avoid misperceptions. "Fitting in" to

organizational cultures translates into

speaking, dressing, acting, and responding

in a manner that is acceptable to the

dominant group. This phenomenon leads

to a creation of an inauthentic self.

The lack of authentic relationships with

some of our White colleagues has left a

void in our professional lives. We havefound that men of color rarely discuss race

in an honest and open manner in schools

of social work or in the workplace. But

yet, virtually all of us have experienced

the sting of racism in both settings.

This group has become somewhat of a

learning laboratory for creating authentic

THE DATE

hi.z.ingdnd social work perspective, Dean

~II~.pg~sfacing social workers and humanvvi{prk City within the context of the hopeheielection of President Barack Obama.

ay, May 14, 2008

:30 - 8:30 pm

itation with additional detailsthcoming in early April.

mNASW • FEBRUA RY/MA RCH 20 09

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Lacey Men of Color Article