To celebrate Black History Month the Portland State University School of Social Work would like to recognize our Black faculty by sharing some of their scholarly work, along with other resources for the public.
Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNHL) developed Negro History Week in 1925 to raise awareness of African American contributions to civilization. The event was later expanded to the entire month of February by President Gerald R. Ford in 1976. Black History Month is important because African American communities are still underrepresented in the framework of the United States. Racialized violence remains an unsolved problem and American students still don’t learn enough about Black history in their formal education.
The 2024 Black History Month theme is “African Americans and the Arts,” exploring the key influence African Americans have in the fields of "visual and performing arts, literature, fashion, folklore, language, film, music, architecture, culinary and other forms of cultural expression."
Below each post we’ll share a list of Black History Month resources and events both for PSU and nationally. Today’s post highlights the scholarship of Lakindra Mitchell Dove, PhD, MSW.
Dr. Mitchell Dove was born and raised in Portland, OR and is an alumna of PSU School of Social Work’s MSW and PhD Programs. She has over 15 years post-MSW practice experience, working primarily with children, youth, and families. She also has experience in community-based mental health, child welfare, community organizing, health care, and racial equity and social justice. Her scholarship focuses on the cultural needs of Black/African American children/adolescents, racial/ethnic identity development, and the experiences of undergraduate students of color. As a qualitative researcher her approach is informed by her practice experience. Mitchell Dove’s research interests include children’s mental health, adolescent identity development, racial equity and social justice, healing and liberation, and trauma-informed pedagogy.
Selected Scholarly Work
Award
Dr. Mitchell Dove was awarded a Course Hero 2023 Teaching Grant for digital learning. Recipients of the award lead the charge in revolutionizing education and preparing students for the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. Students enrolled in Trauma-Informed Mental Health Practice course in the fall of 2023 explored the benefits and drawbacks of digital platforms for telemental health services and analyzed ethical considerations associated with digital services for social work practice.
https://ow.ly/McTZ50PRtgS
Book Chapters
Dr. Mitchell Dove is the author and co-author of two book chapters recently published in Social Work, White Supremacy, and Racial Justice: Reckoning with our History, Interrogating our Present, Reimagining our Future
https://academic-oup-com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/book/51677?login=true (link to book through PSU Library)
Chapter 15: Survival and Resistance in the Academy: A Dialogue with Women of Color Faculty on Monsters and Monstrosity
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197641422.003.0016 (link to chapter through PSU Library)
Chapter 22: Imagining a New World Through Afrofuturism: A Response to Racism Within the Social Work Profession
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197641422.003.0023 (link to chapter through PSU Library)
Articles
Black Youths’ Perspectives: Importance of Family and Caregiver Involvement in the Mentor–Mentee Relationship
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/11/2181/pdf
Resistance to the Academy: A Call to be a Disrupter
https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/1980/1743
A Professor’s Reflection: What the Pandemic is Teaching us About the Importance of Deconstructing Professionalism
https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/1907/1727
Love Letters for Liberatory Futures
https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/…
Podcast
Mentorship and Black Youths’ Perspectives with Lakindra Mitchell Dove
http://ow.ly/E1i050MLckH
Committee
Dr. Mitchell Dove recently joined the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) Oregon Student Mental Health Planning Team where she will assist with developing a plan to support student well-being on campuses throughout Oregon.
Below are several resources and events for Black History Month 2024:
PSU
National