Anti-Racism Collaborative awards nearly $100,000 in Graduate Research Grants

The Anti-Racism Collaborative, a provost-funded initiative of the National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID), has awarded 19 summer research grants, totaling more than $94,000, to individuals and teams comprised of University of Michigan (U-M) graduate students.

“The ARC graduate research grants are an important way that we fulfill our mission of building intergenerational networks of scholars.” says Elizabeth R. Cole, NCID director and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Psychology and Women's and Gender Studies. “Because emerging scholars are leading some of the most innovative, forward-thinking research about racial justice, they bring vitality to the conversations within the NCID’s scholarly community.”

Along with the NCID, the student-focused grant initiative is co-sponsored by the Rackham Graduate School and aims to support research projects focused on racial inequality, racial equity, and racial justice while advancing graduate student progress toward degree. Additionally, the program provides ongoing professional development and support to the grantees.

"Supporting the research of these outstanding students will not only generate the valuable outcomes of their projects, but also contribute to their success and growth in graduate school and beyond,” says Rackham Dean Mike Solomon. 

Grant recipients include master's and doctoral students from a wide range of fields and disciplines, such as information science, Anthropology, environmental justice, chemistry, and education.

"Aside from reflecting high scholarly rigor and innovation, our grant recipients are pursuing research that offers clear and compelling visions of how to address inequality and racial justice.” says Alford Young Jr., ARC faculty director and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Sociology, Afroamerican and African Studies, and Public Policy. “This work exemplifies a true balance of advancing scholarly inquiry while informing about societal impact."

The NCID and Rackham will host opportunities for the campus and broader communities to engage with award recipients and learn more about their research during the 2024–2025 academic year.

American Dreams and Realities: Nigerian Immigrants and the Fight Against Racial Inequality in the U.S.
Fadilat Olasupo (PhD Student in Sociology)

African immigrants, included in the U.S. census within the Black population, are projected to constitute about one-third of the Black population by 2060 (Pew Research Center, 2022). The Black immigrant population has tripled since 1980, contributing nearly 25% to the overall growth of the U.S. Black population from 2001 to 2006 (Kent, 2007). Despite this growth, research on the integration of African immigrants is limited, particularly regarding their racial identity development, racialization, socialization practices, and potential impacts on future racial policies. Based on 21 qualitative interviews with Nigerian immigrants in New York and New Jersey, this study explores their perspectives on race and racism. I emphasize their racial identity development and the ethnic-racial socialization practices they employ to transmit racial knowledge to their children. Set against the American Dream backdrop, the research reveals complexities within the Nigerian immigrant community. Participants, despite awareness of U.S. racism, express reluctance to discuss it with their children, emphasizing hard work or ethnic identity. Treitler (2013) notes how immigrant groups navigate the U.S. racial hierarchy by distancing themselves from the bottom and aligning with higher-ranking groups. Nigerian immigrants in this study often emphasize ethnic identities, reinforcing rather than dismantling racial hierarchies. The study uncovers a paradoxical relationship between racial identity discussions, racial distancing, and aspirations for social mobility. Despite acknowledging workplace barriers, participants' enduring optimism often overshadows direct engagement with racial issues, hindering proactive action against racial injustice. 

An Exploration of What Allows Teachers of Color to Stay, Thrive, and Sustain Themselves in Educational Spaces
Sarah Day Dayon (PhD Student in Educational Studies, Teaching and Teacher Education)

This multiple-embedded case study explores what it takes for veteran Teachers of Color (TOCs) to stay in schools and what is needed to support their well-being and work. I ask how TOCs think about staying in education, the factors that support them, and what is needed for them to not just survive but thrive and be sustained as whole people. I also explore how critical qualitative methods of mapping (educational journey mapping, eco mapping, and freedom dreaming) can be used to learn about TOCs and the environmental conditions and resources that support them.

Black Women Heal: Black Feminist Autoethnography as Liberatory Praxis
Margaret Owusu (PhD in Teaching and Teacher Education)

This autoethnographic dissertation contributes to a Black feminist tradition of self-study that is communal, embodied, and political– in service of healing Black women and girls. In the past four years, my experiences as a Black girlhood researcher and practitioner have transformed my relationship with myself, Black girls, and Black women, facilitating the following inquiries: 1) How does being in community with Black women and girls illuminate my trauma? 2) How do I continue healing myself in community with other Black girls and women? 3) What possibilities are created through my healing and the collective healing of Black girls and women?

Building a Framework for Manoomin Restoration and Conservation in the Great Lakes Region
Abigail Merolle (MS Student in Environmental Justice), Brooke Bulmash (MLA Student in Landscape Architecture), Margaret Fornes (MS Student in Environmental Policy and Planning), Shiloh Hedgecock (MS Student in Environmental Justice, Ecosystem Science and Management), McKenna Johnson (MS Student in Ecosystem Science and Management), Ryan Piatt (MS Student in Sustainable Systems, Geospatial Data Science)

Building a Framework for Manoomin Restoration and Conservation in the Great Lakes Region Manoomin, a culturally significant plant for Indigenous communities of the Great Lakes region, faces decline from historical injustices, legislative barriers, and ecological threats. Violence towards Indigenous Peoples in the Great Lakes region demonstrates the history of racism against Native people practicing treaty rights. Our project supports a tribal-initiated effort to build a Regional Manoomin Restoration Plan. We will explore challenges in Manoomin restoration, participate in harvesting, and collaborate on a participatory design to model remediation projects. This work will culminate in a symposium bringing together learnings from traditional knowledge and Western science to support indigenous-led restoration projects across the Midwest."

Contested Spaces: Land Struggle and Commoning in Detroit and the West Bank
Abraham Alzoubi (MA Student in Architecture)

Land and property have emerged as contested spaces of society, synonymous with control and wealth creation. My research centers on the Black residents of Detroit, Michigan, and Palestinians in the West Bank, who confront the violent impacts of land commodification. Through their experiences, I aim to comprehend the complexities of land struggles by studying their efforts against dispossession, speculation, and ownership. I will develop principles to decommodify property for racial and social equity, drawing on the concepts of "commoning" and the"commons." This groundwork will inform my Master's thesis, which will explore how architectural interventions can aid in this process.

Crafting Futures: Speculative Designs for Surfacing Marginalized Communities' Visions of the Future
Mez Perez (PhD Student in Information & Educational Studies)

In this paper, I provide insights on speculative design activities for surfacing visions of the future that can be used to design justice-centered, community-oriented STEM learning environments. I discuss a portion of ongoing research conducted in a community-oriented research project inviting Latinx community members in South Texas to create art based on imagined futures. Preliminary findings point to the importance of having drawing-based activities to create shared understandings for collaborative work.

Embodied Radical Healing in Latinx Immigrant Communities – A Photovoice Project
Sarai Blanco Martinez (PhD Student in Education and Psychology)

Over half of young Black women in the United States experience depression. Emerging research has demonstrated that Black sexual minority women have even higher rates of mental health symptoms, including lifetime symptoms of depression and anxiety, compared to their heterosexual counterparts. This research is theoretically grounded and seeks to fill gaps in the existing literature on the role of Superwoman Schema in understanding young Black women’s mental health at a Historically Black College (HBCU) while also shedding light on whether these associations are similar for sexual minority young Black women.

Exploring the Experiences of Chemistry GSIs with Pedagogical Commitments for Equity at Institutions with Varying DEI Politics
Daisy Haas (PhD Student in Chemistry), Safron Milne (PhD Student in Chemistry)

Current literature on chemistry graduate student instructors’ (GSI) experiences highlights the difficulty in navigating culturally dominant power structures given systemic racism in the academy. Further, states enacting anti-DEI politics create violent contexts for enacting pedagogical commitments for anti-racism and equity-focused teaching. Through an intersectional and sociopolitical lens, we will conduct a phenomenological study using interviews to explore the experiences of chemistry GSIs who hold commitments to equity in their teaching across contexts. This study will create spaces for GSIs to share their stories, inform the development of support structures, and suggest transformative educational community-building toward anti-racist praxis in liberatory teaching.

Governed Unequal: A Study of Autonomy and Accountability in Puerto Rico
Ignangeli Salinas-Muniz (PhD Student in Political Science)

This project considers how the salient removal of local governing autonomy affects local accountability and governance. The United States of America is an empire where citizens are governed differently based on their connection to race and land. Institutions like territoriality and fiscal oversight limit the governing autonomy of elected officials and their racialized constituents. These institutions are often justified on the premise that local elected officials are corrupt and incompetent and that taking power away from them will result in better governance. However, I argue that removing governing power might result in worse governance by decreasing the incentives for local elites to act responsibly and respond to their constituent needs. The unequal power-sharing environment might blur the clarity of responsibility in ways that reduce the accountability and blame of local elected officials while giving them an electoral campaigning advantage. I test this by fielding an online survey experiment in Puerto Rico, a United States territory that has also been subject to fiscal oversight. This work contributes to scholarship aimed at disentangling the mechanisms and justifications under which institutionalized racism and unequal governance operate in the United States.

Investigating Discussions of Affirmative Action on Social Media
Cassidy Pyle (PhD Student in Information)

In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court banned race-conscious college admissions (i.e., affirmative action), informing college access dynamics for students of color. My dissertation explores affirmative action discussions on social media, an understudied topic despite social media’s critical role in political discourse. I take a mixed-methods and cross-platform approach to investigate how socio-technical properties of platforms shape social media-based discussions of affirmative action and their impacts, especially for minoritized college applicants. I intend to make empirical, theoretical, and design-oriented contributions to promote more safe, equitable, and accurate discussions of affirmative action on social media.

Landscapes of (Im)Mobility: Congolese Refugee Youth, the U.S. Resettlement System and Spatial Negotiations of Belonging
Irene Routte (PhD Candidate in Social Work and Anthropology)

This project expands the state of knowledge on U.S. modes of integration and belonging by examining racial-spatial technologies, particularly as they relate to belonging/non-belonging among Congolese refugee youth. The research centers ways in which different mobilities in relationship to place and space elucidate specific claims of belonging, how they are articulated, and the ways these are negated or reinforced within the refugee industry ecosystem and by refugee youth themselves. This research is important as it documents the ways in which various actors within the U.S. immigration and welfare system negotiate relationships to place and the organization of space in order to bring about certain categories of social difference, particularly related to racialization and anti-Blackness, to further certain social-political claims/claims of belonging for youth newcomers.

Metered Exclusion: The Case of Lake Merritt in Oakland, California
Lyric Patterson (M.S. Student in Environment and Sustainability)

This case study of the Lake Merritt Parking Management Plan & Resolution in Oakland, California, chronicles the history of land dispossession around the cite up until the recent placement of parking meters around the historically free access points to the lake, arguing against them as an apolitical technology deployed by underfunded cities. Ethnographic studies reveal experiences of spatial exclusion amid meter-driven threats of gentrification, and scholars argue that such exclusion must be situated amid interlocking historical struggles where establishments have weaponized parking and planning tools for decades against marginalized communities. My interest is rooted in my experience as the eldest child of 6 raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet. I can thus imagine how impoverished families with barely enough money for rent, food, and transportation in Oakland, California, would experience exclusion from access to Lake Merritt due to this new financial burden. Lower-income community members have expressed concern about being targeted by this policy (Lake Merritt Parking Community Engagement Survey). Further, such restrictions could have further harmful implications for current and future generations, given climate extremes and the possibility of future pandemics like COVID-19, which saw rising use of Lake Merritt by families. I review literature demonstrating that urban green spaces provide essential services and are vital for public health, especially during high-heat events, when communities of color with less access experienced higher rates of mortality. Further, I conduct surveys and interviews to develop an understanding of the communities experience and perspective regarding my argument that meters restricting full curb access to essential services negatively impact the public health and well-being of low-income and BIPOC residents of Oakland.

Nurturing Roots of Justice: Integrating Equity and Environmental Stewardship into Michigan’s Food System Education
Justin Thompson (MS Student in Environment and Sustainability), Lashaun Jackson (MS Student in Environment and Sustainability), Sami Maldonado (MS Student in Environment and Sustainability)

In a transformative educational partnership, School for Environment and Sustainability students, the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI), and Michigan State University (MSU) Extension's Community Food Systems Team will advance equitable Michigan K-12 curriculum development for educators with specific attention to food systems, underscored by environmental, climate, and racial justice. This project will provide educators with a facilitator guide and a two-day training opportunity to deepen students' comprehension of the socio-environmental facets of food systems. The resources and activities shared with educators will center on place-based education practices to connect and engage young people with their local communities.

Planning ʻĀina Momona: Community-Based Design for Kānaka Maoli Food Sovereignty and Land Restoration
Radhika Handa (MBA/MS Student in Environment & Sustainability), Alana Hutka (MS Student in Environment & Sustainability/MURP), Maria Gili (MS Student in Environment & Sustainability), Daniel Lim (MS Student in Landscape Architecture), Jo Walker (MS Student in Environment & Sustainability), Arslan Younas (MS Student in Environment & Sustainability) 

Sustāinable Molokai, a Native Hawaiian-led nonprofit based on the island of Molokai, has engaged in a multi-year campaign to re-acquire 56,000 acres of stolen ancestral land and placing it back under community stewardship. The campaign advances the organization’s anti-racist goal of decolonizing the island and asserting Native Hawaiian sovereignty. Our collaborative effort will help advance the Molokai community's land back effort by producing three main bodies of research and deliverables: (1) ecological landscape planning and design, (2) community and youth education on land back and food sovereignty issues, and (3) creation of a virtual Geographic Information Systems (GIS) toolbox.

Returning The Cape: Exploring Superwoman Schema and Depressive Symptoms Among Sexual Minority Women At A Historically Black College (HBCU)
Janae Best (PhD Student in Health Behavior and Health Education)

Over half of young Black women in the United States experience depression. Emerging research has demonstrated that Black sexual minority women have even higher rates of mental health symptoms, including lifetime symptoms of depression and anxiety, compared to their heterosexual counterparts. This research is theoretically grounded and seeks to fill gaps in the existing literature on the role of Superwoman Schema in understanding young Black women’s mental health at a Historically Black College (HBCU) while also shedding light on whether these associations are similar for sexual minority young Black women.

Silenced Voices: Analyzing Institutional Responses to Student Activism and Free Speech on Campus
Nia Hall (PhD Student in Higher Education)

This project delves into the historical and persistent systemic racism within universities, examining how institutions employ various tactics and policies to suppress student activism and free speech, particularly affecting marginalized student activists and organizers of color. The scarcity of scholarly literature on this crucial issue highlights the urgency of this study. By employing a phenomenological case study, I aim to understand how institutions are perpetuating systemic racism through suppression of student activism and organizing. Identifying these mechanisms of suppression contributes to dismantling oppressive structures, and fostering a more equitable, just, and anti-racist campus. Most importantly, this research uplifts the transformative power of student activism, emphasizing its role as a catalyst for positive change within the college environment.

Unveiling Educational Gatekeeping and Supports: High School Teachers’ Recommendation Policies and Practices for Black and Latinx Students
Davinia Rodriguez-Wilhelm (PhD in Higher Education)

As mechanisms for advocacy and information exchange, recommendation letters crucially shape Black and Latinx students’ admissions outcomes at selective undergraduate institutions by highlighting their personal traits, achievements, and potential. Using Lipsky’s Street-Level Bureaucracy framework and Critical Race Theory, this critical qualitative study examines high school teachers’ experiences with recommendation letters and the way they manage students’ letter requests. Overall, the goal of this study is to understand how recommendation letters contribute to racial gaps in college access and to identify strategies to support teachers in crafting recommendation letters with the aim of closing these gaps.

Who are the Gatekeepers?: How Admissions Officers’ Racial Identities Shape College Admissions Evaluations
Bo-Kyung Byun

The overwhelming majority of literature on college admissions portrays admissions officers as making admissions decisions based on systematic assessments of applicants’ credentials, high school context, and sociodemographic traits. These studies assume that admissions officers’ decisions are driven by the characteristics of applicants themselves rather than those of the admissions officers evaluating them. My research, on the other hand, draws attention to the sociodemographic makeup of the U.S. admissions workforce (70% White) and its potential consequences for equity and racial diversity in admissions outcomes. Drawing upon Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucracy and the sociological literature on repertoires of evaluation, I will conduct qualitative interviews with admissions officers working at selective higher education institutions across the country to examine the question: How do admissions officers’ own racial identities and lived experiences shape how they evaluate admissions files?