Post by Council on Social Work Education

Lester Blackwell Granger was a social worker and civil rights advocate who served as the executive director of the National Urban League (NUL) from 1941 to 1961. NUL was committed to training Black social workers and improving the social and economic conditions under which they lived. As a special consultant, Granger was instrumental in developing the Navy’s posts-WWII integration program and in solving problems arising from the Navy’s abolishment of segregation. For these contributions, he was awarded the Navy Medal for Distinguished Service and the President’s Medal for Merit. Granger was also a chairman of the Federal Advisory Council on Employment Security and a member of the President’s Committee on Equal Opportunity in the Arm Forces. He was the first Black person to serve as president of the National Conference of Social Welfare, a member of CSWE’s Board of Directors, and president of one of the seven organizations that merged to form NASW. Read more about Granger’s contributions: http://ow.ly/zpI350DEXNq #BlackHistoryMonth