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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E157-E158]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE WORK OF MRS. MILLIE RUTH McCLELLAND CHARLES
______
HON. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND
of louisiana
in the house of representatives
Monday, February 11, 2019
Mr. RICHMOND. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the work of Mrs. Millie
Ruth McClelland Charles, a legendary social worker and native of New
Orleans, Louisiana.
Mrs. Charles was born July 25, 1923 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Rev.
Williams McClelland, a Baptist preacher, and Frankie Little, a school
teacher.
Mrs. Charles entered Dillard University when she was only 15 years
old and graduated with a degree in secondary education. However, after
a few years of teaching in north Louisiana and loving the children in
her classes, she realized she could find more fulfillment in social
work because she would be able to help children and their families find
ways to solve problems. Therefore, she earned a master's degree in the
subject at the University of Southern California in the mid-1950s.
Millie McClelland Charles has greatly impacted the field of health
and mental health through her leadership in the founding and guiding of
the Southern University of New Orleans School of Social Work (BSW and
MSW programs) into fully accredited programs providing opportunity for
professional development to countless students. She is currently Dean
Emeritus and founder of the School of Social Work. The founding of
Southern University in New Orleans was a highly political event when it
took place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, reportedly to
discourage black students from attending the predominately white
University of New Orleans, located less than a mile away.
Millie Charles' ability in ultimately taking the handful of social
work courses taught at the University of New Orleans, which were
transferred to Southern University of New Orleans, and subsequently
expanding on them and developing them into fully accredited BSW and MSW
programs is considered somewhat of a miracle in New Orleans. The high
caliber Programs have attracted a well-credentialed, culturally diverse
faculty; the student population is now well integrated also.
Dean Charles' interests in social work education go far beyond just
working in the state of Louisiana. She has served as the Co-Chair,
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Meeting; a Member of the
CSWE Committee on Undergraduate Curriculum Standards; and a Site
Visitor for the CSWE Accreditation Commission. In addition, since 1972,
she has consulted with numerous Undergraduate and Graduate Social Work
Programs around the U.S., advising them on Curricula.
Millie Charles has received numerous awards. Some of them are:
National Social
[[Page E158]]
Worker of the Year (NASW), 1975; Humanitarian of the Year, Federal
Women Employees Association, 1975; Founders Award, New Orleans Chapter,
National Association of Black Social Workers, 1979; Doctor of Humane
Letters, Dillard University, 1993; and she also was one of four women
honored by the New Orleans YWCA for lifetime of service to the
community. Millie Charles was hailed as a lifelong crusader for
equality during a ceremony in which she was presented The Times-
Picayune Loving Cup on Tuesday June 24, 2013. Throughout her life,
Charles, a native of New Orleans' Central City, has said consistently
that anything she might have accomplished was the result of a group
effort.
Madam Speaker, I honor the work of Mrs. Millie Ruth McClelland
Charles.
____________________