2010 - 19 Social Justice Research Paper Award Winners

Since 2010, the Anne Braden Institute has recognized outstanding student research through its Social Justice Research Paper Awards. Each year, undergraduate and graduate students are honored for scholarship that explores civil rights, social justice, and activism across local and global contexts. Past winners have examined topics ranging from racial equity and gender justice to environmental and legal advocacy. This historical record highlights the creativity, rigor, and impact of UofL students committed to advancing social justice through research.

2019 Grad winner: Sarah McCoy
"Mother& Fighter: The Decision Between Motherhood and the Opposition for Women in El Salvador."

2019 Undergrad Winner: Hannah White
"The Black Student Union Occupation of 1969 and the Headlines that Followed"

2018 Undergrad Winner: Talyor Ratliff
"Social Capitalization: America's Argument for Affirmative Action"

2018 Grad Winner: Bamba Ndiaye
"African American Evangelic Missions and Social Reforms in the Congo: The Activism of Reverend William Henry Sheppard"

2017 Grad winner: Treva Hodges
"Visual Representations of Trauma: Slavery Interpretation at Whitney Plantation."

2017 Grad runner up: Caitlin Ray
"Guys, It’s the Year to #CriptheVote!"

2017 Undergrad winner: Kelsey Voit
"Sowing Collective Liberation"

2016 Graduate Winner: Tyler Short (Anthropology)
“La Minga as a Model of Food Justice?”

2016 Graduate Honorable Mention: Steven Harris 
“Green Washes of Hate: Disguising Anti-Immigration Sentiments as Heroic Environmental Concerns.”

2016 Graduate Honorable Mention: Jacob Burress
“The Colored Librarian: Thomas F. Blue and the Louisville Free Public Library's Colored Department, 1905-1935.”

2016 Undergraduate Winner: Jamitra Fulleord 
“Black Votes Matter: Why Disenfranchisement Laws Should be Illegal.”

2015 Graduate winner: Leah Gravius (Law) 
“Evening the Score: An Argument for the Criminalization of Revenge Porn as a Sex Offense”

2014 Graduate winner: Aletia Robey (Women & Gender Studies)
“The Bricks in Action: Louisville Women’s War on Poverty in Public Housing Communities”

Undergraduate winner: Elisabeth Virgo 
“Water Privatization: An Environmental Justice Concern”

2013 First Place: Emily Maiden
“Inventing a New Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Learning from the Failures of the 1999 Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement”

2013 First Place: Jacob Eleazer
“I Will Never Leave a Fallen Comrade: Ethical Considerations for Psychologists Working with Trans* US Military Service Members  After the Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

2013 Honorable Mention: Gregory Justis
“Defining Union: The Defense of Marriage Act, Tribal Sovereignty and Same-Sex Marriage”

2012 First Place: Megan Helton (Justice Administration) 
“Those Aggravating Aggravators: A Study of Thirty-Five Death Penalty Jurisdictions.”

2012 First Place: Elizabeth Tatum-Barnes (Anthropology)
“Food Justice: WIC and SNAP in Louisville Farmers’ Markets”

2012 Honorable Mention: Brice Nordquist (English)
“English Only Through Disavowal: Linguistic Violence in Politics and Pedagogy.”

2011 First Place: Allison Lutes (Anthropology)
“More than Just a Slave Girl:  Representing Harriet Jacobs in Children’s Education” 

2011 Undergraduate winner: Tyler Donovan (WGS/ASL)
“Ms. Garrison’s Controversial New Gender Identity:  Trans* Representation in “South Park”

2010 First Place: John Vance (Rhetoric and Composition)
“From Meshing to Inventing: Toward a Pedagogy of Discursive (Re) Constructiva”

2010 Undergraduate Winner: Joelle Robinson (Biology)
“If You Don’t Sit, You’ll Stand For Anything”