Chestnut Hill resident Howard Stevenson and his brother, Bryan, grew up poor in the hardscrabble town of Milton in southern Delaware, but they are living proof that with hard work, determination, honesty and loving parents setting a stellar example, there is no limit to what can be achieved.

Bryan, 64, a lawyer and Harvard grad, is the author of the critically acclaimed best-seller, “Just Mercy,” which chronicles the younger Stevenson’s efforts to help poor clients, focusing on his work to overturn the wrongful conviction of an Alabama man on death row. The book was turned into a movie starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.

Howard, 65, who earned a doctorate in theology and clinical psychology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology in Pasadena, California, is also an author and a nationally sought-after expert on how to resolve racial stress and trauma at every stage of life. 

Howard Stevenson is now the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also executive director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative, a research, program development and training center that brings together community leaders, families and young people to study and promote racial literacy and health in local schools and neighborhoods.

Earlier this year, one of Stevenson’s programs was selected as one of three projects to receive up to $100,000 from the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Social Equity and Community (SEC) as part of its Projects for Progress program.  Projects for Progress is a fund established to encourage students, staff, and faculty to design and implement pilot projects based on innovative research that will foster a more inclusive society. 

Stevenson’s initiative, CROPS for HEALING, uses racial literacy to protect youth from the harm of hate; prepare them to use their identity stories to confront dehumanization in relationships and schools; teach their peers; and improve their academic engagement and achievement.

"We believe everyone has a racial story that matters. Everyone,” Stevenson said. “In a world where we are taught not to talk about race, to routinely sidestep the obvious, our work seeks to increase racial literacy – which is the ability to read, recast, and resolve racially stressful social interactions and narratives. 

“The more we practice the skills of racial literacy, the more competent we become in navigating stressful encounters across various personal and professional contexts. With increased competence and growing skills, we decrease stress and bolster health and wellbeing in ourselves, each other and our systems, be they organizations, families, schools or teams."

In schools, without the skills in racial literacy, educators who may be trained in student discipline and classroom management, may be unprepared to handle hateful and/or racist actions and the environment they create. An instinct may be to severely punish the offenders, but Stevenson has an approach to such incidents that may surprise some people as he works toward helping individuals and institutions process racial stress, claim stories and heal from racial conflict.

 “First,” he advises, “resist the urge to condemn the student. Instead, ask what was behind their action? Explain to them that the swastika or the N-word has been used to create a dynamic where minorities are meant to feel inferior. Then ask the student, what did he or she expect to get out of writing that on the wall in that moment?  

“We know that developmentally, a key factor in adolescent identity is striving for power ... That needs to be addressed. Understanding a student’s mindset doesn’t mean excusing his or her actions. The school code of conduct will still come into play. There will still be consequences. But this leaves the door open for teaching and a potential path for the student back into the community.”

But Stevenson, who has been at Penn for 35 years, is no pie-in-sky academic. He was an All-American soccer player and semi-professional in California and Mexico who occasionally found himself in the middle of fights. “I learned curse words and salsa,” he said. “I still play in an organized league in West Chester. I'm the oldest guy at 65. My legs are still good but the knees not as much.”

Stevenson even believes it is better to work with young people when they are moving than when they are sitting or standing. He has been known to move his therapy sessions out of the office and onto the basketball court.

“Physical activity is a health benefit,” he said, “but it also helps in terms of disclosure of personal information. It’s harder to screen your feelings when you’re moving. And it’s fun. Trying to straight talk to a child in a room without some kind of stimulation can be hard sometimes.”

Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.