Howard C. Stevenson
2020 Recipient
Howard C. Stevenson, a nationally recognized clinical psychologist and researcher of racial stress and trauma, is the 2020 winner of the Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize. (Dr. Stevenson's residency was postponed until November 2021 due to COVID-19.)
Dr. Stevenson is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, where he serves as executive director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative and directs Forward Promise, a national philanthropic office that promotes a culture of health for boys and young men of color, to help them heal from the trauma of historical and present-day dehumanization, discrimination and colonization.
Dr. Stevenson has led two mental health research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health to examine the benefits of racial literacy. The PLAAY (Preventing Long-term Anger and Aggression in Youth) Project uses basketball and racial socialization to help youth and parents cope with stress from violence and social rejection. The SHAPE-UP: Barbers Building Better Brothers Project trains Black barbers to teach young Black men ways to reduce risk of HIV/STDs and retaliation violence. He is the author of the bestselling book "Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools: Differences That Make a Difference," which offers solutions to reduce racial threat reactions in face-to-face encounters.
View a selection of links and resources related to Dr. Stevenson’s Racial Literacy work.
Dr. Stevenson was in residence Nov. 17-19, 2021. His residency included an award ceremony and public lecture Nov. 18. View the schedule of events.
Videos
“Crops With No Plow: Racial Literacy as Antidote – Not Cure – to Racial Threat,” Nov. 18, 2021
Howard Stevenson in conversation with Joseph Reimer, Professor, Education Program and the Hornstein Program for Jewish Professional Leadership, and Maria Madison, Lecturer, Associate Dean of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, and Director Institute for Economic and Racial Equity