Silver Black Alumni Network

During a chaotic time when our Silver Black community -both current students and alumni -was heavily disconnected from one another and experiencing varying levels of trauma from police violence and the impacts of COVID. The Silver Black Alumni Network brought together the community to experience joy and liberation through The Black History Month Workshop Series (February 2021).

This series included four different events: A virtual meetup with Black Social Workers, a Community Healing Spaces focused on Collective Liberation, an interactive networking event, and Black Parade: Celebrating Us. The series highlighted Blackness in the social work profession and explored how Blackness impacts social work practice, how it shows up in the workplace, and the importance of authenticity in practice. They engaged current students, faculty, staff, and other alumni to put this event together.

This event series ultimately had a huge impact on alumni engagement for Class of 2021. When Silver Black Alumni Network held their official induction ceremony for Class of 2021, there were 40+ students who eagerly engaged with the ceremony and many of them showed up due to their attendance at the Black History Month programming. Silver Black Alumni Network continued to center joy, connection, and healing as a community and made a tremendous impact.