Recent high-profile killings of unarmed Black males underscore a stark reality in America: though Black men have the same constitutional rights as all other citizens of the United States, in practice their rights are often violated. The negative stereotype that all Black males are criminals has created an environment that perpetuates the killing of unarmed Black males by police officers as justifiable self-defense. In this article, critical race theory (CRT) provides a theoretical lens to examine and understand the persistent racism underlying the social inequities that have been thrust upon Black males in the United States of America. The authors conclude with implications and recommendations for social work education.

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Direct support professionals (DSPs) are essential in the continuum of care for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. DSPs provide a wide range of support including services to ensure the safety and welfare of individuals, support in the development of independent living skills and support in community integration. Existing literature has shown that as frontline workers, DSPs face various occupational hazards such as secondary traumatic stress (STS). The present study examined the relationships between STS and various risk and protective factors among members of the DSP workforce. This crosssectional design used a convenience sampling method to recruit DSPs from 21 state licensed communitybased agencies serving individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. The results from 406 participants indicated that exposure to client trauma, exposure to frequency of client challenging behaviors, and workers' own trauma history served as risk factors, whereas personal resilience and organizational support were protective factors in predicting STS among DSPs. Perceived supervisor support did not significantly impact STS in the regression model. Implications of the results are discussed.

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