Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research

Dr. Ashley Smallwood, College of Arts & Sciences, is the Principal Investigator of “Co-curating the Past: An Exhibit to Remember the Kentucky School for the Blind Historic Segregated Schoolhouse for the Blind,” working with Dr. Thomas Jennings and MA student Saylor Fortner, Arts & Sciences; in coordination with Dr. Tom Berfield of the Speed School of Engineering and UofL Additive Manufacturing Institute of Science & Technology staff; and with the Kentucky School for the Blind (KSB) and the American Printing House for the Blind. The team will build an accessible museum exhibit featuring artifacts recovered from the 2022 UofL archaeological excavation that located and unearthed remnants of the historic segregated KSB African American Schoolhouse. Researchers invited KSB students and members of the community to participate in the fieldwork, and the last living student of the segregated schoolhouse visited students and researchers at the dig. KSB students also took part in the curation process, washing and examining objects at UofL 's Center for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage. For Anthropology MA student Fortner, this project provides an opportunity to expand skills and to learn about exhibit curation, underscoring the importance of prioritizing accessibility in exhibits. With this grant, the team will print 3D replicas of artifacts for a new tactile exhibit for KSB’s library and to travel the state. They hope similar endeavors will be inspired by this project.

Dr. Lesley Harris, of the Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, is the Principal Investigator of “Transdisciplinary Arts-Based Research for HIV-Advocacy and Environmental Justice in Hai Phong, Vietnam.” Professor Rachel Singel and Dr. Andrew Winters, from the College of Arts & Sciences and the Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, respectively, are collaborators. This project is the culmination of 16 years of collaborative, participatory study and seven years of youth participatory action research focused on themes of justice and artistic expression based in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Key leaders of this study’s work in Hai Phong are Ms. Hue Pham Thi and Mr. Nguyen Duy Thang, and the primary community partner is the HIV and Healthcare Support Centre (HHCSC). The Consortium grant is funding the development of an art exhibition that connects Professor Singel’s expertise in sustainable art with HHCSC’s emphasis on community-centered environmentalism and HIV advocacy. Other researchers involved in this project include Alyssa Kearney and Emily Edwards, PhD Students in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, and Northern Arizona University Professor and professional curator, Kyoungmee "Kate" Byun. HHCSC, with support from this project, is also creating a youth community advisory board to direct future youth-led efforts in Hai Phong.

“Culturally relevant teaching” emphasizes teaching teachers to demonstrate their values in both the classroom and in the community. This project’s principal investigator is Dr. Melissa Zipper, who is passionate about supporting youth in the classroom and other community members in different spaces. “Culturally relevant teaching” is partnering with Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice (LSURJ) for this project. In part, Dr. Zipper hopes to train up-and-coming teachers to make informed decisions about the literature they include in the classroom. In addition, she envisions the same young adults finding a place with LSURJ to support the community where they live, whether that is through phone-banking, canvassing, or something else. While laying the foundations for this project, Dr. Zipper has gotten connected to other community organizations, such as a tenants’ union and voter registration organizations. As Dr. Zipper put it, “I am modeling what I want to see my students do in the community. I believe that in order to enact real change, you need to be a part of a community.” Dr. Zipper is also working with Dr. Fannie Cox from Library Sciences in order to work on making this a truly sustainable, ongoing project.

In “Teaching Louisville’s Many Heritages”, principal investigator Dr. Caroline Sheffield will bring together urban studies, education, and geography. Collaborating with Dr. Lisa Bjorkman, from Urban and Public Affairs within the Arts & Sciences department, Dr. Sheffield intends to create teaching materials that can be used for the classroom by AP Human Geography teachers. This project picks up from work done by Dr. Bjorkman that used storymaps from Louisville’s Other Heritages, which was internally funded by Urban and Public Affairs. This project is infused with stories from primarily first-generation Louisvillian Americans who discuss what being American and having their specific heritage means to them. In addition, Dr. Sheffield and Dr. Bjorkman are working with faculty from Jefferson County Public Schools, adding a different form of local expertise to the project. Finally, this project is doing a professional development on March 7 at Frazier History Museum, where there will be a tour focused on migration to Louisville, as well as Kentucky at large, and an emphasis on heritage.

Within “Cooperative Practices and revisionary histories at Petersburg-Newburg and Greenwood Cemeteries,” Dr. Aaron Comstock will take tangible action to address some of the impacts of structural racism on underserved, primarily Black cemeteries. Dr. Comstock, the Principal Investigator and an Assistant Professor in the College of Arts & Sciences, is working on this project with Drs. Felicia Jamison, Kathryn Marklein, and Tom Jennings, also from Arts & Sciences, and Prof. Heather Fox, Director of the Oral History Center at the University Libraries. This project is the extension of broader work conducted by Dr. Comstock and his colleagues at these and other cemeteries in Louisville, which has included mapping and the collection of oral histories. Community partners in this new work will include the Friends of Petersburg-Newburg Cemetery, the Friends of Greenwood Cemetery, and wider community members, including those with loved ones who are interred at each site. This interdisciplinary project works to identify information about the lives and burial locations of important people interred at these cemeteries and uses new technologies to learn more about the sites physically, including locating sunken gravestones.

Dr. Ruth Dike, from the College of Arts and Sciences, is the Principal Investigator of “Community Resilience and Integration: Community-based research with Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM).” She is collaborating with Dr. Sneha Thapa and Dr. Melissa Henry, both from the College of Education and Human Development. The trio intends to trace the impact of current immigration policies within Louisville on KRM, utilizing a trauma-informed perspective, and to support their engagement work, including with students. In particular, they are working with the Skilled Neighbors Program, which matches community volunteers with new immigrants based on skills, such as finding supplies or getting help going to the doctor. Per Drs. Dike, Thapa, and Henry, this project is taking place at a crucial time, as KRM is short-staffed and the effects of immigration policy are becoming even more heightened. In addition to staffing shortages, they note that KRM needs donations of shoes and school supplies and welcomes volunteers.