 By Denise H. Horton
For much of her academic career, Letha A. (Lee) See has concentrated her research in the area of international issues, particularly the plight of foreign-born refugees in the United States. But as editor of a new book, Human Behavior in the Social Environment from an African American Perspective, See is concentrating on issues closer to home.
“In this book, some of the best educators in the country--Dr. Robert Hill, Dr. Andrew Billingsley, Dr. Creigs Beverly and others--look at human behavior from an African-American perspective,” explains See, an associate professor in the School of Social Work.
See’s book includes chapters that examine issues such as enhancing the resilience of African-American families, the psychological effect of skin color in the African-American community, African-American street gangs, and African-American grandmothers ages 24--44. See also serves as author or co-author on three of the chapters, as well as the introduction.
“One thing that is significant in this book is that the authors do not merely present an issue and then say, ‘Oh, ain’t it awful?’” See says. “They go on and suggest ways of dealing with these issues.”
As an example, See points to the issue of teenage African-American girls who find themselves taking on adult roles at young ages.
“Social workers need to understand how to help these girls resume the role of a child, how to help them live as 12- or 13-year-olds rather than as 24-yearolds,” she explains.
See says she’s excited that her book, published by Haworth Press, has been translated into 10 languages, is being distributed in 22 countries, and is a best seller.
 “Social workers in other countries are interested in books such as this because a large number of African Americans in the United States live their lives in situations that are more like those of a Third World country than a First World country,” she says. “Peoples throughout the world are interested in what’s going on in the United States as it pertains to social work practice.”
And See has been interested in what’s going on in other countries for many years. Prior to coming to UGA from Bryn Mawr College 16 years ago, See spent a great deal of time living, traveling and studying in a variety of countries with her husband, Wilburn, a retired Army colonel.
In 1989, See was invited by the United Nations Women’s Caucus to attend the World Conference on Women held in Moscow.
“During the late 1970s, a whole new perspective began to emerge as a shift and migration of people to the United States began,” she says. “I took advantage of those opportunities and traveled to many of these areas and talked with people who lived there.”
See also began examining refugee resettlement issues in the United States, research that led to her 1986 book on Tensions and Tangles Between Afro Americans and Southeast Asian Refugees.
More recently, See has written journal articles on refugees in the work place.
“In particular, I’ve followed the assimilation of Southeast Asians into the United States for many years,” she says. “I’ve found that we are not giving consideration to their ideas of a work-place setting.”
For example, she explains, because they come from a more paternalistic background, many Asian men find it difficult to work for companies headed by females.
Next on See’s agenda is another book. This one will look at violence in multiple settings.
“There has been a gap in the literature when it comes to violence,” See says. “We talk about violence in the family or in the criminal justice system, but not about violence in the executive suites, or ‘pint-size violence’--violence by children--or violence in academic or hospital settings. Violence is occurring more frequently in all of these settings, and as social workers we will be forced to deal with the aftermath. We need to sensitize ourselves on how to provide services to the victims of these types of incidents.”
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