Anti‐Black racism, both interpersonal and systemic, is pervasive. Individual‐ and neighborhood‐level expressions of anti‐Black racism have been explored in many studies; however, Black youths’ experiences of racism across routine activity locations have not been examined as extensively. To address this gap, a Youth Research Advisory Board (YRAB) recruited 75 Black youths (M (SD) = 15.53 (1.77)), living in a segregated neighborhood (93% African American) with 42% of residents living below the poverty line, to participate in research on this topic. Participants in the study completed surveys three times a day for a month (ecological momentary assessment) about their positive and negative emotions and perceptions of racism and social support in routine activity locations (n = 2041). Youths reported more racism when attending school and walking on the street. A relationship between perceptions of racism and social support in routine activity locations and positive and negative momentary emotions was found. This paper will present implications for supporting adolescent development and interrupting anti‐Black racism at the level of routine activity locations, along with opportunities for engaging youth‐led community‐based solutions.

Mounting evidence demonstrates that exclusionary discipline practices like suspensions and expulsions have long-term negative socio-emotional, behavioral, and academic consequences for the students who experience them, with evidence of spill-over effects for nonexcluded students. Restorative practice has emerged as a promising alternative to punitive discipline approaches, yet evidence is mixed on whether it can improve academic outcomes or curb racial disparities in school discipline. In a new conceptual model, we argue that the full potential of restorative practice can only be reached when it is (a) operationalized more directly within a socio-emotional framework; (b) responsive to more significant mental health needs; and (c) informed by a multifaceted understanding of how racism contributes to discipline disparities, both directly through interpersonal biases, and indirectly through structural oppression. A revised conceptual model based on evidence from the broader literature, original data analyses, and pilot intervention results is advanced.

Recognizing a clear call to dismantle traditionally racist structures within our nation, doctoral students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work formed the Anti-Racist Doctoral Program Student Committee (ARDPSC) to push for systemic changes within our school and profession to eliminate anti-Black racism. Our student-led initiative is an innovative approach for two reasons. First, we strengthened our community virtually despite the limitations of COVID-19 and virtual spaces. Second, although collective organizing among students can be seen as threatening, we held a tension between agitation and collaboration, and contributed to, rather than disrupted, implementation of anti-racist reform. We map our experiences onto the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) using narrative data and documents produced by our committee. First, we describe how we built anti-racist group processes, established brave working environments, and integrated processes to reflect on change at various system levels. Next, we describe our actions to push our school and profession to be anti-racist and assess outcomes using the CFIR. Finally, we share our reflections on how to continue this work. We hope to document our experiences and reflect on how social work student groups can contribute to dismantling white supremacy and rebuilding institutions with an anti-racist approach.

Black, first-generation doctoral students can be classified as those who belong to the African diaspora and come from families with parents who do not have bachelor’s degrees. Data shows that over half of Black doctoral degree recipients, across all fields, have first-generation status, and literature has shown that these students experience several challenges during their doctoral journey that their peers do not. This paper details six of these challenges for Black, first-generation research doctoral students in social work programs. These challenges result in educational disparities disfavoring these students, and, as such, social workers are compelled by our Code of Ethics to work against these forms of social injustice. This conceptual discussion uses Critical Race Theory and Social Capital Theory to explain the continued existence of these challenges, followed by recommendations that social work educators, academic institutions, and educational organizations can use to improve conditions for Black, first-generation social work research doctoral students across the country. If social work educators take this critical issue, its associated challenges, and the proposed recommendations seriously, they can begin to create safe and actively anti-racist and anti-classist academic environments that are conducive to the success of this student population.