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Texas
Harriet L. Cohen
University of North Texas
Participants in the American Legion Senior Center located in Southeast Denton, which serves predominantly African American
older adults have frequently presented in various social work classes. They have been willing to share their life experiences
with the social work students and help the students learn about the life experiences of older adults. The association with
the American Legion Senior Center has provided very powerful and transformative opportunities for learning social work knowledge,
skills and self awareness for our students.
By listening to the stories told by the participants of the American Legion Senior Center, the social work students discovered
the importance of understanding the history of a community. The students heard the first hand stories by the older adults
many of whom were born in Denton in a community known as Quakertown. The students learned that Quakertown, from the mid 1870's
to the early 1920's, was a thriving middle class African American community in Denton, with businesses, schools, and civic
and communal organizations to support the growing Black families. In spring 1921 the Board of Trustees of Texas Women's College,
located next to Quakertown, decided they did not want their daughters walking past this neighborhood of black families to
get to school. So they petitioned the Denton city commission to hold a bond election to "purchase all the land encompassed
by Quakertown and turn the area into a civic park. The bond election passed, and in May 1922 the city of Denton began to purchase
Quakertown properties...Quakertown soon disappeared."
Some of the residents currently living in Southeast Denton and participating in the American Legion Senior Center were
young children whose homes and families were displaced. Obviously the history of Quakertown is well ingrained in the stories
passed down from one generation to another and continues to shape attitudes and behaviors of residents living in Southeast
Denton.
For many students this was their initial experience in hearing the first person experience of those whose lives had been
painfully transformed by racial discrimination. However, in addition to hearing about the racism and oppression experienced
by the African American community in Denton as told by some of the people who lived through it, the students also gained other
knowledge from the participants at the American Legion Senior Center. They also taught the social work students about grassroots
advocacy. In the mid 1990's, a group of older residents in Southeast Denton had organized to petition the City of Denton for
permission to utilize the American Legion Hall in their neighborhood to develop a senior center rather than attending the
senior center across town. The older adults explained to the students how their persistence with the power structure led
to a decision to grant them access to the American Legion Hall to develop a senior center. The program and activities in the
Senior Center continued to grow. Thus in 2003 the neighborhood members again petitioned the city to add another building to
the center to accommodate the growing programs. While the city agreed to pay for the new building, the city would not pay
for furnishings. The students discovered that single voices joined together can create change in a community, and they also
learned that even today, resources are still not distributed equally to both the senior centers in Denton.
Minnesota:
Barbara Shank
University of St. Thomas/College of St. Catherine
A highlight for us was our end of the year field work instructor appreciation luncheon in May 2003 that was attended by over
250 students, fieldwork instructors and social work faculty. Merrilyn Belgum, "Queen Mother of Comedy" was our
keynote speaker. Merrilyn is an octogenarian social worker, educator and comedian. As her health had been of concern, it
was gratifying for all present to celebrate her continuing ability to bring down the house. The title of her presentation
was "Life is an Unsecured Loan - I'd Wear More Boas" and the key message, beside the importance of laughter and
humor was, once you get older, age isn't important. It's who you are inside. To recognize and honor her lifetime of contributions
to our profession as a practitioner, social work educator and comedian, we nominated Merrilyn for the 2003 NASW Minnesota
Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was presented at our Annual Conference in June. Merrilyn Belgum was recognized
with a standing ovulation (as she quipped). She was almost speechless when accepting the award, commenting that she never
dreamed such a prestigious award would go to an old Lutheran. I should be so good at 60. Merrilyn is a role model for us
all!
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