Describes self-help programs initiated by Black women between 1895 and 1925 in Tuskegee, Alabama; Hampton, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Baltimore, Maryland. Poor housing, health concerns, racial discrimination, inadequate schools, and the lack of economic opportunities were some of the barriers challenged by these programs. (Author/GC)

Using the perspective of sociology and social welfare, the report focuses on issues and concerns by considering the concepts and underpinnings of personal development, social development, community development, women's issues, rural social welfare, and self-help. Contexts are the social development and social welfare of total societies as well as…