A three-lecture series on Juneteenth will examine the past, present and future state of racial and social justice. Crystal Bradley, vice president of the , coordinated the series. UofL News caught up with Bradley to discuss Juneteenth and its continuing impact.

UofL News: How do you feel like our collective understanding of Juneteenth has evolved the past few years?

Bradley: There has been more awareness for everyone about the significance of Juneteenth, not just an awareness but a kind of freedom to celebrate the event as part of history. Juneteenth is not just Black history but it’s American history. It should be a positive thing and something that unifies us, not divides us. We can celebrate the idea of such an oppressive system of slavery being dismantled. You can imagine the enslaved getting this message that you don’t have to live this way anymore. That’s what we celebrate with Juneteenth, this message that you’re finally free from this oppressive system.

UofL News: What do you think is the most important thing that needs to be communicated about Juneteenth?

Bradley: Accuracy. Having a correct insight on history and the significance of it. It is not a divisive or taboo subject, and while it’s not pretty, it is American history and it’s our history to be embraced and shared by all. Information should be shared with everyone, so I think that’s the most critical part.

UofL News: How did the thematic concept of past, present and future – the idea of where we’ve been, where we are, where we’re going – how does that play into the struggle for racial equality?

Bradley: The Juneteenth event planning committee was deciding how to frame it, and we thought with everything going on this year, there are some people who want to rewrite history, and some just want to bury it altogether. With this theme of past, present, future, it’s kind of hitting the pause button on all of the noise to say, hey, let’s have an open, intelligent discussion with scholars and people who know about this subject matter. Let’s look back where we were as a community and talk about how the decisions made back then affected us, and how what we do now is going to affect us 20, 30, 40 years from now. We don’t want to stay stuck, so we need to have a vision to look forward. Our goal with this theme was to reflect, to pause and look at where we are and then to envision where we want to be in the future.

UofL News: Can you tell us a little bit about each speaker of the series?

Bradley: Monday, June 17th, Metro District 4 Councilman Jecorey Arthur is going to speak to our present component. One reason we chose him is because it is the 60^th anniversary of “freedom summer,” where in 1964, there was a big push to increase Black voter registration. That was in alignment with looking at how decisions we made back then plays into where we are now and the importance of voting, and how that plays into where and how we move forward as a society.��

On Tuesday, June 18, John Mays, former director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for Yum Brands, also known as the “I believe I can – man,” is going to address the future aspect. He’s a dynamic coach, author, entrepreneur and DEI motivational speaker. He brings a lot of energy, and he’s going to speak to that vision that we can have for ourselves as African Americans and as Americans collectively.

June 19^th is the official holiday, so on Thursday, June 20, the Coalition on the History of the Enslaved, which is a partnership and a collective of four diverse groups here in Louisville, will close out our speaker series. These are scholars who have deep knowledge of all the historical facts and points and sites within Louisville and surrounding areas such as the Oxmoor farm. They will speak about the impacts of the past, and tie back to how it affects us now and going forward. There’s been a lot of talk of slavery and what it is and what it isn’t, but I guarantee after listening to this group�� we’ll all walk away knowing more than we did before.

UofL News: Where do you see positive/ negative movement in addressing racial justice issues?

Bradley: Positive movement is that people are feeling more empowered to take up that fight, because it is a fight when you are going against forces and groups that feel like a zero-sum game. If you have, that means I can’t have, when we can actually all have. It’s a long, tiring fight, but I am encouraged that people – Black, white, Latinx – are all willing to say no, we’re going to push back on this agenda. No, we are not going to accept that.

We’re going to continue to fight, and when they change the rules of the game, which they do, then we’ll adjust and adapt but we’ll continue to push equity and inclusion forward because it’s important.

What is negative is that for every step made to increase equitable solutions, the powers-that-be are there to knock you ten steps back. Now they’re passing legislation and controlling what goes on in the classroom and changing the narrative. They’re in powerful positions that can affect that kind of change. So that’s really discouraging, but we wouldn’t have come this far as a society, as a community, as a collective, had we just accepted other people’s agendas years ago.

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After working for a decade with youth and their families as a site supervisor for school-based services at the local non-profit , Cortes, 33, joined the Kent School staff in October 2023 as the Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSW) Program Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator.

First-Gen student success
A first-generation student, Cortes grew up in Oldham County in a family that valued education.

“My mom was one of only two of the six kids in her family who completed high school, and my dad was an immigrant from Mexico who completed the ninth grade,” said Cortes.��“My parents were both laborers, and they were breaking their backs and coming home late at night, and they just didn’t want that same burden for their kids; they didn’t want that life for us.”

Each year, over a third of UofL’s first-year students are first-generation. To support this growing population, UofL joined the , which helps universities share data, model innovations and scale impact to advance student outcomes. Since 2019, these efforts have contributed to a 3% increase in first-to-second-year retention for first-gen students.

Finding a supportive environment at UofL
Cortes attended other colleges briefly before transferring to Louisville, where he found a niche he didn’t expect for a “guy who grew up in Oldham County on a horse farm. The only time I came to Louisville as a kid was to go to Kentucky Kingdom or the rodeo,” he said. “So, for me to go to this city and feel as comfortable as I did is a testament to everything, all the work they did to help me, not only at Kent school but at UofL, in general.”

Cortes said the University of Louisville felt personal and was responsive to his needs, including helping him balance academics with working night shifts at UPS and fulfilling his practicum hours.

“My advisors, the staff and the professors that I worked with looked out for me as an individual,” he said. “They supported me through my journey as a nontraditional student, and were able to meet me where I was…that made me feel like more than a number or just the next student coming through. They get to know me as a whole person.”

The path to success wasn’t always a smooth one for Cortes, and there were times when things were tough, and he felt too exhausted to go on. He relied on his family for moral and emotional support, and on his UofL family, as well.��

“I remember thinking there’s no way I can squeeze in the time to write this 10-page paper and then study for this exam and read those four chapters,” he said. “There was no downtime, and I felt like I was on autopilot for the better part of those years.”

But the memories of those times ultimately made the achievement sweeter.

“It makes me feel incredibly accomplished in a way that I really can’t describe. I knew that I wanted it, but I also knew I was really going to have to work for it,” he said.

New role creates new opportunities to serve
After receiving his BSW degree, Cortes worked as a youth social worker in the Louisville community. Now, in his new career as an admissions and recruitment coordinator at UofL, he’s come full-circle and is preparing the next generation of social workers to make a difference.

“I’m now in this position, advocating for my students and providing resources, counseling, sometimes crisis management,” he said. “They all have unique circumstances and backgrounds, and even though every situation is different, I feel I was once in their shoes. I really want to pay that forward for more UofL students,” said Cortes.

Cortes says he also hopes to help grow the Kent School, encouraging others to pursue a social work degree, noting the importance of addressing mental health.

“As professionals, we need to grow and advocate for mental health and talk about it as plainly as you would a physical injury,” said Cortes. “Nobody has any problem going to the doctor with a sprained wrist, but you might be hesitant to say you’re really feeling uneasy and need to go talk to somebody about it.”

Bobby Cortes treasures the messages from former families and students about things he has taught them and the impact it’s had on their lives.��“For example, they’ve told me something we did together framed their thinking in a different way,” said Cortes. “I really, really love those kinds of a-ha moments.”

He’s looking forward to more of those a-ha moments in his new role with aspiring social workers. ��

March is National Social Work month. to find out more about Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work and Family Science.

Cardarelli is currently senior associate provost for academic affairs at the University of Kentucky. In her ten years at UK, she has served as associate dean, college diversity officer, department chair and assistant/senior assistant provost for faculty affairs. Her research focuses on community-engaged approaches to enhancing health equity, and she has served as principal investigator on more than $10 million in grants funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Agriculture and other sponsors.

A professor of health, behavior and society, Cardarelli received her Master of Public Health degree at University of North Texas School of Public Health Fort Worth. She went on to earn a doctorate in epidemiology at University of Texas School of Public Health Houston and completed the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine fellowship at Drexel University.

Cardarelli is a member of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health’s Inclusive Excellence through an Anti-Racism Lens expert panel.��Her commitment to advancing women and faculty of color in the academy is reflected in a two-year term as State Chair for the Kentucky chapter of the American Council on ����ֱ�� Women’s Network, where she grew institutional membership and professional development programming.

“Dr. Katie Cardarelli is an accomplished leader, researcher, and dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion in academia. Her distinguished background and extensive academic experience have led to multifaceted contributions, spanning administrative leadership, impactful research, excellence in teaching, and commitment to equity, making her a formidable force in shaping the landscape of public health,”��said Interim Provost Gerry Bradley.

Cardarelli said the impressive track record of SPHIS faculty, staff, and students in advancing health equity in the Commonwealth and beyond was a key factor in her decision. “My passion for social justice was instilled in me from an early age by my mother, who was a nurse,” she said. “Public health strives to assure that all individuals have an opportunity to live a healthy life. I am excited to build upon the accomplishments of the school and build a vision for the next chapter.”

To help discover new and better best practices to fight this overwhelming issue, students are making the most of a unique domestic violence research opportunity through a three-year grant from and a partnership with Arizona State University.

UofL’s Kent School was the only school in Kentucky, and one of only 13 schools nationally, to be selected as a site. SurvivorLink provides future social workers trained in violence against women with pathways to public health-related careers.

“The students are the most critical piece,” said Heather Storer, associate professor at Kent School. “They are doing the hard work of cross-training and messaging into new arenas.”

For Sarah Boggins and D.J. Martin, two UofL Master of Science in Social Work graduates who participated in the project during its inaugural year, SurvivorLink provided them the chance to carry the knowledge they gleaned and new tools they developed into their advocacy in ways that will make a real difference.

It helped Boggins define a career niche at the intersection of social justice, youth development and domestic violence prevention.

“SurvivorLink prioritizes prevention and takes an anti-violence approach to their curriculum,” Boggins said. “It gave me an increased motivation and passion for youth work and for incorporating the prevention techniques I learned into the youth development area.”

As a first lieutenant stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington, Boggins is a diversity and inclusion trainer and executive officer in the 92nd Maintenance Group. She plans to start law school at the University of Washington in summer 2023.

“Social justice is really where my heart lies,” Boggins said. “With numerous anti-trans laws coming out that affect trans youth, it is more pressing than ever to contribute to that community work and to fight the legislation that is going to further oppress and harm that community.”

Martin, also active-duty military, is a staff sergeant and interim deputy of health information management at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. As a victim advocate, she supports the training and development of the U.S. Army’s programs around domestic violence and sexual assault to address the epidemic within the military culture.

According to Martin, top levels of leadership is not where systemic change will start.

“We need to identify it and talk about it in middle management where the people are actually affected by sexual assault, harassment and domestic violence, and where the changes actually happen,” Martin said. “It is so important for us at this level to be the change that we want to see. I am prepared to go out into the world and make it a better place.”

Storer says reaction to the SurvivorLink program has been overwhelmingly positive, and the department plans to expand the cohort and eligibility for participants for the remaining two years of the grant.

“I am excited seeing the program grow and deepen, and we are hopeful to continue to learn from our students’ experiences.”

Natesan Batley is a professor in the Department of Counseling and Human Development and interim associate dean for faculty excellence at UofL’s College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development (CEHD). Although she specializes in statistics, there is another side to her life. Natesan Batley is a three-time Indian National Champion of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form, and founder of Eyakkam Dance Company.

“The left and right sides of my brain are always fighting against each other. Dance is a nice creative outlet for my mathematical brain, so it gives me a good balance,” said Natesan Batley.

Natesan Batley has taken part in more than 300 performances and uses them to explore the vocabulary of the past to tell the stories of the present. Many of her productions highlight contemporary social and cultural issues, while others underscore the intricacies of classical literature. She has performed with jazz musicians, modern dancers, flamenco and tap artists, and Celtic musicians. Natesan Batley volunteered to teach dance to migrant workers in Lebanon where their only common language was dance. “Art transcends boundaries and Bharatanatyam especially does that because it relies so much on facial expressions and body language, which are universal.” She has directed shows with more than 75 dancers, an enormous task that she describes as “rewarding, educative and akin to herding cats.”

Recently, Natesan Batley was featured by Fund for the Arts in the annual “I Am An Artist” campaign. Each year they feature three-to-five artists whose primary profession is not art, but who excel at art as a second profession. For the campaign, Natesan Batley was involved in a video montage with other artists.

“Our jobs can consume so much of our time, especially as faculty, but when you love your job as much as I do, you are in awe that someone pays you to have fun with numbers,” she said.

Natesan Batley explains that research and teaching are her life’s work, but dance also has always remained fundamental to her existence. She owes much of her success to the encouragement from her husband, mom, brother and her guru.

“I have known dancers who have not been able to fulfill their dreams because they might not have the significant level of support that is required for being immersed in the arts. I also have a guru whom I consider a second mother. When we choreograph, we are in absolute sync with each other,” adds Natesan Batley.

Why Dance?

In addition to being a creative outlet, dance also has become a way for Natesan Batley to further her work in social justice. You may wonder what does an Indian classical dance form have to do with a place known for shaping future educators? She explained that by working in the CEHD, she connects her left and right brain with social justice as a driving force.

“I’m a statistician. I could work anywhere on campus, but I found a home here because the issues we address are close to my heart. As a college, we work with underrepresented groups, we talk about how to teach minority and Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC), and we talk about the well-being of BIPOC faculty.”

Natesan Batley started her journey in dance when she was 12 years old. In 2012 she established in Dallas, Texas, and is now based in Louisville. Eyakkam focuses on social justice, particularly in the practice of dance. Historically, Bharatanatyam has been subject to stereotypes and exclusion based on stigmas of the abolished Hindu caste system – a human rights violation that still exists in India and among the Indian diasporas.

Despite being involved in the dance form for more than 30 years, Natesan Batley has experienced exclusion from the Bharatanatyam community.

“I come from a mixed caste background and generally, people do not welcome someone like me. I am not seen as being part of that inner circle,” she said.

After struggling with the concept of not belonging, Natesan Batley realized that the world was her oyster. “I realized that what we do, such as being kind and compassionate, is what marks our identity – not belonging to a group determined by the roulette wheel of our birth,” she said.

Natesan Batley’s dance company seeks to reinvent Bharatanatyam by remaining true to the art while erasing the caste, religious and physical identities expected of dancers. Her dance company, Eyakkam, means “movement” in Tamil. She says although most Bharatanatyam dance companies choose a Hindu word or name with religious implications, she “wanted the name to be secular, so people understand that we don’t just dance. Eyakkam is not just physical movement. It is a political movement. It is a social movement.”

Eyakkam Dance Company serves the community through performances, workshops and teaching. In its community outreach efforts, Eyakkam has helped raise over $1.3 million to rebuild schools and facilities for children with disabilities, for organizations focused on water, sanitation and hygiene products in southern India.

Dance/USA Fellowship Opportunity

In October, Natesan Batley was named through Dance/USA, an organization that champions an inclusive and equitable dance field by leading and supporting individuals and organizations. The fellowship is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation.

As the only fellow from Kentucky, Natesan Batley will receive funding and have the option to participate in an emergent programming process that honors choices around connection, rest and desire. She plans to use her funding to produce a short film on sexual abuse and sexual harassment called “Dirty Secrets,” in partnership with Uniting Partners for Women and Children and the contemporary dance program at Indiana University.����

“For me, this award means recognition,” said Natesan Batley. “Not only for my work and what I have endured within the community in the form of discrimination but for what I am doing within the dance form. Just like I believe everyone can learn statistics, I believe everyone can dance. The Dance/USA community has embraced me and my work with open arms and that is a kind of appreciation I did not get back home even when I was the national champion. It makes me wonder what ‘home’ really means. By truly becoming inclusive, it is not just the art that can gain visibility, but the dancers who can truly evolve as humans.”

By Tessa Chilton, CEHD. Read more updates and stories on the .

Video courtesy,

“Sports is a male-dominated industry, and one without many women of color in leadership,” Morton said.

Recognized for her aspiration to change the sports industry, Morton has received the Savannah Walker Award for Social Justice. The award recognizes a graduating senior from CEHD’s Department of Health and Sport Sciences who has demonstrated a commitment to social justice, equity and inclusion.

“I wanted to become an advocate for Black girls, so they could know this is possible for them, too” said Morton, who has combined her sports affinity with a passion for mentoring and representation through the CEHD’s Sport Administration program.

Morton is a Woodford R. Porter Scholar, J. Blaine Hudson Scholar, Dean’s List Scholar,�� member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership and Honor Society member. She graduates May 14 with Summa cum Laude honors.

She has also volunteered with the TRIO Upward Bound Secondary School Outreach Program, the Cardinal Cupboard, the Louisville Men’s Soccer team and as a tutor for participating Jefferson County Public Schools.

Matched with a mentor as part of the Porter Scholar Program during her freshman year, Morton realized she could give back to other students through a mentoring relationship. She became involved in the Caring of New Students Experiencing College Transition (CONECT) Peer Mentorship program, which seeks to help minority students feel welcomed and supported.

“I’ve been blessed with support at UofL, so I wanted to give back – it’s been a great journey.” Morton said. “I want to be someone who shows other people that, once you put the work in, you can do it. You’ll excel in it.”

Morton currently works as an intern for the Louisville Sports Commission, with hopes of continuing with the organization following graduation. She plans to pursue a master’s degree or graduate certificate in the future.

The purchase of the painting by the Speed Art Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture enabled her to do both.

On April 10, the University of Louisville announced that Sherald is donating $1 million to the university to fund the Brandeis Law School’s Breonna Taylor Legacy Fellowship and the Breonna Taylor Legacy Scholarship for undergraduates. The gift is the result of distributions from the trust Sherald established through the sale of the painting.

The announcement highlighted an impactful day of events that also included delivery of the law school’s first Breonna Taylor Lecture on Structural Inequality; the presentation to Sherald of the law school’s first-ever Darryl T. Owens Community Service Award; and the announcement that the Sherald portrait of Taylor is expected to “come home” to Louisville in 2023.

“Nothing can take away the injustice of Breonna Taylor’s death,” said UofL Interim Vice President for Community Engagement��Douglas Craddock Jr., in announcing the gift. “But what we must do is create spaces where Breonna Taylor is remembered and where her legacy can inspire us to carry on the hard work of erasing inequality and divisiveness. Amy Sherald’s gift will have transformative power for the law school fellows and scholarship recipients who will benefit from her decision to use her artistic gift to help heal the corrosiveness of hatred and animosity.”

Members of Breonna Taylor’s family, including Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer, were in attendance for the lecture and reception. The Taylor family attorney, Lonita Baker, also attended the day’s activities. An alumna of the Law School, Baker discussed the establishment of the lecture series and introduced Law School professor Laura McNeal, who presented the first Breonna Taylor Lecture in Structural Inequality.

To conclude the day’s activities, Sherald was recognized as the first recipient of the Brandeis Law School’s Darryl T. Owens Community Service Award, presented to someone who embraces and actively engages the principles of selfless advocacy and engagement with transformative social issues. Owens served as a Kentucky state representative for the district that includes Louisville from 2005 to 2018. He died in January at age 84. His longtime friend and colleague, Kentucky State Senator Gerald Neal presented the award to Sherald.

The Breonna Taylor Legacy Fellowship is open to law school students with 60 or more credit hours who secure a legal volunteer position over the summer with a social justice nonprofit organization or agency. Three fellowships supporting stipends of $9,000 will be awarded. Applicants also must demonstrate a commitment to social justice as evidenced by an application essay. The first fellowships will be awarded in summer 2023.

The Breonna Taylor Legacy Scholarship is open to undergraduate students at UofL who demonstrate a commitment to social justice as evidenced by an application essay, also. Up to four students will receive funding beginning with one student in fall 2023, two in 2024, three in 2025 and four in subsequent years. Each scholarship is $7,000.

The portrait – depicting Taylor in a flowing turquoise gown and projecting serenity, strength and regal beauty – is currently featured in the exhibition Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. The Speed Art Museum’s purchase was made possible by a grant from the Ford Foundation, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s purchase was made possible by a gift from Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg/The Hearthland Foundation.

The two foundations granted funding that allowed the two museums to each purchase 50% interest in the painting and enter into a co-ownership agreement.��It was Sherald’s desire that the painting be co-owned by the two institutions.

The portrait is expected to return to Louisville for display at the Speed Art Museum in the spring of 2023.

Statement from Amy Sherald

“Rep. Owens was a lifelong public servant advocating on behalf of the Louisville community. It is in recognition of that same community that I seek to honor the memory of Breonna Taylor through my work.

“I have long held the belief of the transformative power of education and its ability to foster new conversations and accelerate societal growth. With support from the Hearthland Foundation and the Ford Foundation it has become possible for me to realize those beliefs.��

“I have created this trust to help unblock the challenges historically faced by students pursuing the work of social justice and public service while attending the University of Louisville.

“I am proud to partner with the university as we continue to increase the rate of access and advocacy within the Louisville community and across this country with the Brandeis Law School’s Breonna Taylor Legacy Fellowship and the Breonna Taylor Legacy Scholarship for undergraduates.”

Sherald, who was born in Columbus, Georgia, and now based in the New York City area, documents contemporary African American experience in the United States through arresting, otherworldly figurative paintings. Sherald engages with the history of photography and portraiture, inviting viewers to participate in a more complex debate about accepted notions of race and representation, and to situate Black heritage centrally in American art.

Sherald received her MFA in painting from Maryland Institute College of Art and BA in painting from Clark-Atlanta University. Sherald was the first woman and first African American to receive the grand prize in the 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington; she also received the 2017 Anonymous Was A Woman award and the 2019 Smithsonian Ingenuity Award. In 2018, Sherald was selected by First Lady Michelle Obama to paint her portrait as an official commission for the National Portrait Gallery.

Sherald’s work is held in public collections such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston;��the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas;��Embassy of the United States, Dakar, Senegal; Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington; and Nasher Museum of Art, Durham, North Carolina.

Whether they are victims themselves or witness violence involving someone they know, children exposed to violence experience emotional and psychological trauma. A group of social-justice-minded students in the UofL School of Medicine have created Future Healers, a mentorship program to provide these children with new goals and new role models.

The idea grew out of the White Coats for Black Lives rally held on the Health Sciences Center campus in June 2020 in support of health equity and social justice. Members of the UofL chapter of the ��who spearheaded the rally wanted to continue work to mitigate the effects of violence in the city, which has been rising over the past several years.

“The rally was great, but that was just a temporary way for us to show support,” said Karen Udoh, a third-year medical student and then-president of the UofL SNMA chapter. “We were brainstorming about how we could get our departments and students involved with long-term initiatives that really would be an asset for the community.”

With support from SNMA faculty advisers Keith Miller and Christopher Jones in the UofL Department of Surgery, along with the UofL Health – Trauma Institute and Christopher 2X, a local anti-violence advocate and executive director of , they formulated the program to help children overcome the effects of violence by inspiring them to become healers themselves.

Out of this collaboration, the�� program was born.

Following a pilot program with preschoolers at the Chestnut St. YMCA in early 2021, the students worked with Miller, a trauma surgeon, and Jones, a transplant surgeon, to create a series of videos and interactive learning modules for preschoolers to young teens that teach them about anatomy, health and healing and introduce the idea of becoming a health care professional.

The students present the modules at monthly sessions for the preschoolers and for Future Healers Ambassadors, kids from the community ranging in age from 4 to 13 who have been exposed to violence. As of February, the Ambassadors included 80 kids, with 10 more preschoolers participating through the YMCA.

“These students and the surgeons are providing hopeful images to show these kids a different path, to get them interested in the medical arena,” 2X said.

UofL alumna and SNMA member Zahara Gully, director of the Future Healers education committee, said they try to put themselves in the place of the kids as they develop the programs.

“We thought about ways our younger selves would have enjoyed learning about medicine and health. We incorporated a lot of hands-on activities,” Gully said. “The first activity we did, in October, was around nutrition and the food groups. We had the kids decorate fruit as Halloween characters. We had pompoms and bandage tape and they dressed up bananas as mummies.”

Gully, who teaches anatomy and biology at Jefferson Community and Technical College, said she hopes the kids retain at least some of the information.

“Of course, not everything is going to be remembered, but to have kids say, ‘Mom, I know what the strongest bone in the body is! It’s the femur!’ Those moments are priceless,” she said.

In addition to getting the kids interested in the sciences, medicine and health care, the monthly sessions include a care component to help them cope with stresses related to exposure to violence.

“We have additional elements to make sure we’re taking care of their other needs as well, because a lot of them are coming into our space just having a loved one shot earlier that week or hearing gunfire the night before,” Udoh said. “They’re constantly being exposed to violence, so we always take time within our sessions to address mental health to have different exercises where there are ways for them to express themselves.”

For May, the group is planning an entire session focused on mental health with assistance from child psychiatrists and psychologists.

2X believes the Future Healers program will help give the kids an alternative vision for their lives.

“It’s not their job to stop the violence, but these medical students and the doctors are creating a narrative that they are here as healers and want to be an example to these young victims,” 2X said. “There is no better partner than UofL and UofL Health, with the medical students and the surgeons showing an interest in these kids. You can’t describe the value of that. The kids and the parents have bought into it. It’s unique, it’s magical.”

The medical students also volunteer for other Ambassadors events, such as the Got Zoo Buddies program at the Louisville Zoo. The students are motivated to help the kids, but as future physicians, the understanding they gain about their community also is valuable.

“Our mission with Future Healers is to build better bridges between health providers and the communities they serve,” said Satya Alluri, a third-year UofL medical student and Future Healers wellness director. “Not only is it beneficial for the kids to have representation, to see people of color as doctors and have mentors to help them dream bigger, it helps us as future physicians to see first-hand how our current socioeconomic structures impact the health and well-being of patients. It helps us become better physicians and surgeons.”

Briana Coleman, a third-year UofL medical student and Future Healers technology director, appreciates the opportunity to make a difference for her community even while she is preparing for her career in medicine.

“It’s a passion of mine to help out with the community,” Coleman said. “You don’t want to see any violence or any bad things happen to the people around you. My message to all is you need to get out there get involved in anything because you can really make a difference, even if you are just a student.”

To learn more or to get involved, email Future Healers.

UofL News: What are the main struggles for youth transitioning to adulthood?��

Brown: It is important that we not only think about young people as “the future.” They hold a lot of power now, whether adults want to acknowledge it or not. For example, we have a number of youth across the country currently advocating for safer school environments related to both the COVID-19 pandemic and censorship bills being passed that prevent them from learning about the history of the world we live in. I believe that one of the biggest barriers youth experience today is related to systemic racism and oppression. These are the root causes of a lot of the issues we see youth experiencing today.

UofL News: How can we make it easier for young people to succeed throughout life?��

Brown: Adults, especially those in positions of power, should learn about the importance of understanding how critical it is to have youth who come from historically excluded backgrounds at the table when making decisions that directly impact them and their communities. These young people should be able to have a say in what policies are created and enforced, not just in the realm of education but in every single system that impacts their wellbeing. This includes our political, social, economic and education systems.

UofL News: You hold a PhD in recreation, park and tourism sciences with a concentration in youth development. Some of your work examines recreational healing spaces. Can you explain the meaning and how these spaces are so important for youth development?��

Brown: When it comes to youth development, we tend to only view it through the lens of education. However, what we know is that the education system does not always have the capacity to support youth within the context of their communities. We also have a great deal of evidence on certain groups of young people, such as Black and Brown youth, being pushed out of school into the criminal legal system due to inequitable policies and practices that exist within the education system. With that knowledge, I focus my work on community spaces where youth find safe havens and safety. These spaces, like a community center, boys and girls club, summer camps, have the power, resources and abilities to cultivate healing spaces for youth to recover from the oppression they experience in school or in their communities.

UofL News: Tell us about the professional development program you are creating.

Brown: The professional development program utilizes the Social Justice Youth Development (SJYD) framework, an approach focused on the adoption of principles and practices that work to close the gaps created by inequities and access to opportunities for youth.

First coined by Shawn Ginwright, a researcher at San Francisco State University, SJYD is an approach to engaging in youth work that shifts the focus from changing youth behaviors to acknowledging the role that systemic racism and oppression play in the lives of youth who come from communities who have been historically excluded.

Since its inception in 2010, a number of youth development researchers and practitioners, including myself, have adopted this framework as a tool to cultivate social change in their communities by engaging with youth in a way that redistributes power between youth and adults. SJYD creates opportunities for youth voices to be placed at the center of decision-making about ways to address issues that directly impact them and their communities.

UofL News: Before joining the SPHIS faculty, you completed a post-doc at UofL, working with the Youth Violence Prevention Research Center (YPPRC). How did that work build your current research?��

Brown: My work with the YVPRC focused on integrating SJYD into youth violence prevention research. This helped to support the team at YVPRC to shift the narrative about the cause of youth violence being interpersonal behaviors to focus more on structural violence. During my postdoc with YVPRC, I learned that a number of youth development professionals wanted to use SJYD approaches in their work with youth but did not have the tools, resources or supports needed to integrate it into their day-to-day activities. They needed not only training support but also funding which is why the professional development program we are building is focused on both youth development professionals and youth serving organizations and funders.

UofL News: Long-term, what do you hope will be the outcome of your research?��

Brown: My hope is that youth development professionals, youth serving organizations and funders of youth development work integrate more equitable approaches in their policies and practices in order to integrate SJYD throughout the whole system of youth development. My hope is also that through this process of creating room for more equity within the youth development system, the voices of youth are not just heard but also have decision-making power.

UofL News: Anything else you’d like to share?����

Brown: We are currently to help us lead the work of developing the professional development program for youth development professionals in Louisville. Additionally, I’m always trying to amplify youth voices whenever I am given the opportunity to. I would like to take this opportunity to uplift the work of the youth at the Food Literacy Project in Louisville and encourage everyone reading this to check out their .

Another new course��–��Power, Oppression and Liberation, taught by Trinidad Jackson, faculty member and inaugural assistant dean for Culture and Liberation in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences��– is offered as part of a new track in Social Justice and Health Equity. Ashley Barnette, a junior majoring in public health with a focus in religious studies, is a member of the inaugural class.

“I love the class and feel anyone going to the university should study how oppression works in society. No matter who you are, you are facing some sort of oppression under the systems we have,” she said.

In the class, Jackson and co-instructor Tanisha Howard engage students in exploring white dominance in education, identifying missing perspectives and then deliberating over aspects of education philosophies.

“It is not enough just to learn about power, oppression and liberation—they must translate that knowledge into critical social action. As our collective critical consciousness has transformed over the semester, students are concluding the course by organizing efforts that aim to facilitate justice-oriented learning environments for students across the state,” Jackson said.

Monica Wendel, chair of the SPHIS Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences and associate dean of Public Health Practice, helped lead the school in forming the new Social Justice and Health Equity track. She says although social justice and health equity have historically been implicit in public health training and practice, “given the current state of our world, as well as the evolution of the discipline, it is time to make social justice and health equity the explicit focus — it is why we do what we do.”

She says making advances in social justice gets at the root causes of health inequity. And, although it will take time, Wendel points out that increased racial and social equity will yield advances in health equity across a myriad of risk factors, health conditions, outcomes and mortality.

The courses in the curriculum are designed to intertwine critical thinking and socio-political development of students, while at the same time building practical skills around strategic communication, community organizing, resource mobilization and social justice practices in public health. In addition, the school’s activists-in-residence provide hands-on experiential learning opportunities in their capstones to exercise these new skills.

Recently, the Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Sciences with a specialization in Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences curriculum was revised to center on social justice and health equity. SPHIS also is in the process of changing its Master of Public Health concentration in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences to take on the same focus; the new curriculum will be implemented in Fall 2022.

Other new UofL offerings with a similar theme include a track in Diversity and Inequality within the Bachelor of Arts in Sociology; a concentration in Diversity Management and Leadership in the Master of Public Administration; and an undergraduate minor in Peace, Justice and Conflict Transformation. All of these are available through the College of Arts and Sciences, which also offers a graduate certificate in Diversity Literacy. The College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development is in the process of restructuring its established concentration in Policy and Equity within the Master of Arts in Higher ����ֱ�� Administration.

For Barnette, although it is a little late in her academic trajectory to take all the new courses in the Social Justice and Health Equity track, she says taking classes like these are never a waste to a student’s flight plan or time.

“These are long-overdue. I think every major has an opportunity to have a social justice track, and it is needed in every aspect of life,” Barnette said. “I think it is great that UofL is leading in these opportunities for students.”