Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Updated Resources For Planning Accessible Events Available Online, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

“Planning Accessible Meetings and Conferences: A Suggested Checklist and Guide” is a free resource developed by the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies in partnership with Speaking Up for Us, a Maine organization run by and for adults who live with developmental disabilities. The checklist is designed to help people, groups or organizations plan a meeting or conference that is inclusive and welcoming by providing practical suggestions that promote meaningful participation for everyone.

"Defund The Police" Is Not The Problem, Leah Savage

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Last week in an interview on “Good Luck America,” former President Barack Obama called “defund the police” a “snappy slogan” that is not going to be effective in gathering support for change. To many, Obama’s statements were frustrating, to say the very least. The recognition of a movement like “defund the police” is something that people have been pushing for a long time; its prevalence is something to be proud of, not to publicly dismiss.

Prioritizing School Social Workers' Roles And Responsibilities To Combat Oppression In K-12 Schools: Perspectives From Educators With Anti-Oppressive Orientations, Ashley-Marie Hanna Daftary

International Journal of School Social Work

This study used a subset of data from a larger qualitative research study that investigated anti-oppressive practices in K-12 education. Eleven educators with anti-oppressive orientations provided insight into various ways school social workers can combat oppression in K-12 schools. A flexible coding approach was used to analyze the data. Findings suggest that school social workers should consider prioritizing the following activities to combat oppression in schools: 1) Provide leadership in social justice work and anti-oppressive practice; 2) Increase visibility and integration on campus and in the classroom; and 3) Complement student interventions with psycho-education and social-emotional support for teachers. The …

Fogler Library Health Equity And Health Disparity Libguide, Jennifer Bonnet

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Screenshots of a LibGuide on the subject of health equity and health disparity.

The University Of Maine Office Of The President's 'Maine Memo' To Announce "The University Of Maine In Fall 2020: Learning, Discovering, And Partnering With Inclusive Excellence As The Core", Joan Ferrini-Mundy

University of Maine Racial Justice Collection

University President Joan Ferrini-Mundy's first weekly Maine Memo email newsletter to the University of Maine community for the fall semester 2020. The newsletter includes a copy of Ferrini-Mundy's Fall 2020 Convocation remarks that touch on "national waves of unrest and urgent demands for racial justice, in the wake of the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, and the shooting of Jacob Blake."

The University Of Maine Office Of The President's 'Maine Memo' To Announce "The University Of Maine In Fall 2020: Learning, Discovering, And Partnering With Inclusive Excellence As The Core", Joan Ferrini-Mundy

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

University President Joan Ferrini-Mundy's first weekly Maine Memo email newsletter to the University of Maine community for the fall semester 2020. The newsletter includes a copy of Ferrini-Mundy's Fall 2020 Convocation remarks that touch on "national waves of unrest and urgent demands for racial justice, in the wake of the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, and the shooting of Jacob Blake."

University Of Maine Diversity Leadership Institute, University Of Maine Division Of Lifelong Learning

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

"As a group we learned and explored all of the intricacies of diversity, which helped us to examine our own experiences, beliefs, and actions. I am very glad that I was given the opportunity to participate in UMDLI. I didn't really know what to expect at first, but the experience has affected me in so many ways. I have learned so much through readings, videos, presentations, conversations and activities, I have met amazing people that I hope will remain my friends long after we depart, and I have looked deeply into my own experiences and beliefs. I hope that we …

President Appoints Council On Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion, University Of Maine Alumni Association

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy has appointed a Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to advise campus leadership and report on the University’s efforts and actions to ensure inclusive excellence.

Umaine Names President's Council On Diversity, Equity And Inclusion, Margaret Nagle

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy has appointed a 30-member Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to advise campus leadership and report on institutional efforts and actions to ensure inclusive excellence.

Not So Minor Feelings, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

This creative nonfiction essay by Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt about race, silencing, and families originally appeared in Entropy.

Colonized Loyalty: Asian American Anti-Blackness And Complicity, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

In this essay, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstad argues that solidarity between and within communities of color remains our only chance to fight against the brutal and insidious forces of racism, white supremacy and racial capitalism.

“You’Re Almost In This Place That Doesn’T Exist”: The Impact Of College In Prison As Understood By Formerly Incarcerated Students From The Northeastern United States, Hilary Binda, Jill D. Weinberg, Nora Maetzener, Carolyn Rubin

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This qualitative study examines the immediate and lasting impact of liberal arts higher education in prison from the perspective of former college-in-prison students from the Northeastern United States. Findings obtained through semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated people are presented in the following three areas: self-confidence and agency, interpersonal relationships, and capacity for civic leadership. This study further examines former students’ reflections on the relationship between education and human transformation and begins to benchmark college programming with attention to the potential for such transformation. The authors identify four characteristics critical to a program’s success: academic rigor, the professor's respect for students, …

Alumni Panelist Presentation On George Floyd, Anti-Black Racism, And #Blacklivesmatter Email, John N. Diamond, Elizabeth Russell

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Email from John N. Diamond, President and Executive Director, University of Maine Alumni Association on the June 11th Alumni presentation on the "Perspective and Experience of Blacks in the U.S". The presentation was titled "George Floyd, Anti-Black Racism, and #BlackLivesMatter". The email states that approximately 1,000 individuals watched the panel discussion live or the online recording.

Black Lives Matter: Police Brutality In The Era Of Covid-19, Tyra Jean

Population Health Research Brief Series

Although police brutality and COVID-19 are separate tragedies, they intersect. This brief describes how, from COVID-19 to police brutality, the U.S. black population consistently bears the burden of life-threatening consequences due to structural racism throughout multiple institutions.

The Health Consequences Of Riot Control Methods, Austin Mcneill Brown

Population Health Research Brief Series

Riot control tactics pose a risk to the health and safety of protestors. This issue brief examines the health implications of riot control methods such as tear gas, pepper spray, and “less than lethal” munitions and the role of such techniques in recent protests.

Racial Justice Is Climate Justice: Racial Capitalism And The Fossil Economy, Julius Mcgee, Patrick Trent Greiner

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The narrative of oppression moves through dialectical pressures. Capitalism evolved from the feudal order that preceded it, creating new forms of racial oppression that benefited an emerging ruling class [1]. Racial tensions evolve alongside economic oppression that subjugates labor to capital. The preceding racial order molds to emerging mechanisms of expropriation and exploitation by way of force and resistance. Beneath the surface of these tensions lies the interconnected threads of ecological and human expropriation. At the heart of all oppression, lies the manipulation of reproduction. The social processes necessary to reproduce black and brown communities, the ecological processes necessary to …

Seeking Care At Free Episodic Health Care Clinics In Appalachia, Malerie Lazar, Sandra Thomas, Lisa Davenport

Journal of Appalachian Health

Background: People who live in rural Appalachia experience a wide variety of problems when seeking access to health care. Health care disparities continue to be one of the most complex and prevalent problems, and many barriers exist for impoverished men and women such as a lack of education, complications with health insurance, and personal distrust of healthcare providers.

Purpose: A critical gap in the literature is the unheard voice of persons in rural underserved areas. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of persons in rural Appalachia who seek healthcare services at free episodic health care clinics, …

School Social Work: Now More Than Ever, Michael S. Kelly

International Journal of School Social Work

We are excited to publish our 5th volume of the International Journal of School Social Work, marking five continuous years of the journal's publication. This issue is arriving at a crucial time for our schools and communities around the world, and in this brief essay, I argue that it's never been a more exciting and consequential time to be a school social worker.

Mcgillicuddy’S Humanities Center Hosts Guest Lecture On The Racial History Of Free-Verse Poetry, Rebekah Sands

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

On March 4, 2020, Erin J. Kepler, a visiting professor from Tulane University, gave a talk on Native American poetry and innovation of language titled “Mary Austin’s Time Machine: Modernist Poetics and Settler Time.” Introduced by Margo Lukens, the director of the McGillicuddy's Humanities Center, the talk furthered this year’s theme, “Society, Colonization, and Decolonization” by introducing the importance of Native American language regarding our modern perceptions of time and rhythm.

In Our Own Words: Institutional Betrayals, Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt

Faculty Publications

When Dr. Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, professor of English at Linfield College, asked a large group of underrepresented faculty members why they left their higher education institutions, they told her the real reasons for their departures — those that climate surveys don't capture.

This essay originally appeared as part of Conditionally Accepted, a career advice blog for Inside Higher Ed providing news, information, personal stories, and resources for scholars who are, at best, conditionally accepted in academe. Conditionally Accepted is an anti-racist, pro-feminist, pro-queer, anti-transphobic, anti-fatphobic, anti-ableist, anti-ageist, anti-classist, and anti-xenophobic online community.

How Oregon’S Racist History Can Sharpen Our Sense Of Justice Right Now, Walidah Imarisha

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Writer Walidah Imarisha on eight years of talking about the brutal history of race in Oregon.

Name a small town in Oregon. I have most likely been there, talking about race.

For the past eight years, starting as part of Oregon Humanities’ Conversation Project, I’ve stood in front of thousands of attendees in packed libraries, community centers, senior homes, college campuses, and prisons.

I’ve seen it all: multiple people arguing the Ku Klux Klan was and remains a “civic organization,” chiding me for focusing solely on the “negatives” while adamantly denying they support racism or are themselves racist. I’ve received …

Bsu Working On Diversity, Jeff Teunisen

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Article from the University of Maine student newspaper The Maine Campus on the University of Maine's Black Student Union's efforts be a voice for Black students on the University campus.

Gss Votes Race Was Motive In Orono Attack, Damon Kiesow, Kim Dineen

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Article from the University of Maine student newspaper The Maine Campus regarding the General Student Senate voting that an attack on two Black students was motivated by race.

Editorial: The Line Between Corporate Allyship And Marketing Shouldn't Be Crossed, Liz Theriault

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

In the world of allyship for marginalized groups and marketing for companies in America’s cut-throat capitalist economy, where does allyship end and unproductive marketing begin? We are all familiar with the yearly advertising clock: a dedication to new resolutions through the first part of the year that transforms to a focus on plastering American flags all over products for the Fourth of July and finally ending on Christmas decorations and commercials that emerge before Halloween even passes. But movements such as Black History Month and Pride Month have been added to the calendar in the past few decades, opening the …

Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies Ucedd Action Plan For People At The Intersection Of Race, Ethnicity & Disability, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Screenshot of an excerpt of the executive summary of the UCEDD Action Plan for People at the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity & Disability.

Centering Equity In Oregon’S 100 Year Water Vision: A Student-Led Policy Paper Prepared By The Oregon Water Stories Team At Portland State University, Clare T. Mcclellan, Sadie Boyers, Victoria Cali De Leon, Tony Cole, Laura Cowley-Martinson, Shersten Finley, Dustin Lanker, Julia Seydel, Aakash Nath Upraity, Janet Cowal, Melissa Haeffner

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this report is to provide evidence for the need to further intentionally incorporate equity into Oregon’s 100 Year Water Vision. Four case studies contextualize this need and highlight the variety of water issues throughout the state, supported by linguistic analyses of local newspapers. As Oregon policy-makers are responsible for ensuring working water systems for all Oregonians, we also suggest implementable criteria for the evaluation of equity in water issues and decision-making. This student-led and interdisciplinary report comes from the Haeffner-Cowal Oregon Water Stories research lab at Portland State University.

Towards A Social Justice Agenda: Intimate Partner Violence Among Rural, African American Women, Shani Collins Woods

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The social work profession is rooted in community-based work that seeks to eradicate social injustice everywhere. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global phenomenon which impacts women from diverse socio-economic and racial/ethnic backgrounds. It involves power and control, economic abuse, and physical and sexual violence. When compared to other racial and ethnic groups, African American women are likelier to experience physical violence, rape, and homicide. Intimate partner violence among African American women is a social justice issue.

When compared to other racial and ethnic groups, rural and/or low-income African American women are likelier to experience IPV. They are also likelier …

Covid-19'S Impact On Students With Disabilities In Under-Resourced School Districts, Crystal Grant

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay explores the plight of students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those enrolled in under-resourced school districts. To address these ongoing disparities, remediate student regression, and prevent further educational loss, we must act quickly to get resources to the students who need it most and to guide districts towards using these resources effectively. This Essay questions whether federal and state governments are truly committed to creatively examining the current special education framework and adopting solutions that will prioritize expanding access to resources for students with disabilities. These solutions include an immediate advancement of funds to aid states …

The Challenge Of Monoculturalism: What Books Are Educators Sharing With Children And What Messages Do They Send?, Helen Adam, Caroline Barratt-Pugh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The importance of recognising, valuing and respecting a child’s family, culture, language and values is increasingly articulated in educational policy. Diversity and inclusion are central themes of the guiding principles of early childhood education and care in Australia. Children’s literature can be a powerful tool for extending children’s knowledge and understandings of themselves and others who may be different culturally, socially or historically. However, evidence suggests many settings provide monocultural book collections which are counterproductive to principles of diversity. This paper reports on a larger study investigating factors and relationships influencing the use of children’s literature to support principles of …

Foreword: The Dispossessed Majority: Resisting The Second Redemption In América Posfascista (Postfascist America) With Latcrit Scholarship, Community, And Praxis Amidst The Global Pandemic, Sheila I. Velez Martinez

Articles

As LatCrit reaches its twenty-fifth anniversary, we aspire for this symposium Foreword to remind its readers of LatCrit’s foundational propositions and ongoing efforts to cultivate new generations of ethical advocates who can systemically analyze the sociolegal conditions that engender injustice and intervene strategically to help create enduring sociolegal, and cultural, change. Working for lasting social change from an antisubordination perspective enables us to see the myriad laws, regulations, policies, and practices that, by intent or effect, enforce the inferior social status of historically- and contemporarily-oppressed groups. In turn, working with a perspective and principle of antisubordination can inspire us to …