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Guest bio Dr. Nathan Stephens is an Assistant Professor in Social Work at Illinois State University. He earned his BSW at Columbia College and both his master’s in social work and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou). At its core, his research investigates how racialization and racial stress/trauma impacts the life trajectories of Black boys and men, when juxtaposed with the educational, criminal justice, and other interconnected systems that reproduce oppressive conditions and foster negative life outcomes for Black males. Dr. Stephens’ research uses the lenses of Critical Race Theory, African American Male Theory, Ecological System Theory, and Healing Centered Engagement model to inform his research.
Prior to working in higher education, Dr. Stephens previously worked with civil rights icon Wynna Faye Elbert at Columbia’s Parks and Recreation-Community Recreation Division. (Community Recreation indicates the predominately Black and low-income Douglass Park area in Columbia’s First Ward.) For his master’s thesis project, he created the Youth Empowerment Zone, modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone, that assisted youth 14-24 to obtain employment. (The program currently operates as CoMo Youthworks.) Dr. Stephens’ belief in mentoring led to him accepting a position with Big Brothers Big Sisters’ as the coordinator of their Children of Prisoners program. He co-founded the First Ward Ambassadors, a program where Black men from the community who intervened into youth fights to limit police interactions. His motivation to help his community stems from his experiences growing up in public housing in Columbia and as a former justice system involved individual.
After changing his focus to higher education, Dr. Stephens created the Mizzou Black Men’s Initiative (MBMI) in 2009 while serving as the Director of the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center on the Mizzou campus. He has presented at several conferences nationally and internationally on issues impacting Black males such as mental health, racism, and the various psycho-social aspects.