The conference, themed 鈥淭he Power of Story, Mental Health and Representation in Sport,鈥� begins at 10 a.m. and is open to all faculty, staff, students and community members. The conference may be of particular interest to student athletes and students majoring in human service studies, education, psychology, communications and public health.

The conference combines empathy, collaboration, critical reflection, storytelling, advocacy and networking to strengthen mental health for African American or Black identifying individuals and ally community members. The goal of the conference is to highlight wellness, belonging and access to support while elevating the experiences of Black athletes and the communities and identities they represent. The conference sessions will share why mental health matters and connect participants with tools, relationships and resources to encourage healing, growth and success beyond performance.

Participants can take part in breakout sessions, athlete and professional fire chats, gallery walks, community networking, keynote conversations, and workshops.

Featured speakers include NFL veteran and mental health advocate Marcus Smith II, community leader Lorenza Wilkins, Minority Women in Sports founder Andrea Durham, Selfly Enterpirise founder and therapist Adriana Londo帽o and founder of Epiphany-Hill Enterprises Amber Hill.

鈥淭his conference is personal to me,鈥� Cephus said. 鈥淎s a former track and field athlete, I know what it feels like to constantly chase being better and still feel like it is not enough. There were moments where I needed support and reassurance, and I did not always have that. The conference is me creating the space I wish existed for myself and for others, a space where people feel seen, heard and valued beyond what they produce.鈥�

The event provides conversation and practical education for participants to leave not only feeling understood but also equipped. It aims to reduce mental health stigma in athletic spaces, encourage identity development beyond performance, connect students with professionals and mentors, and introduce healthy coping and communication strategies.

The conference is centered in Cephus鈥檚 undergraduate research examining how racialized expectations influence the mental health experiences of Black female collegiate athletes.

鈥淭his research showed me that mental health in athletes cannot be understood without also understanding identity, race and the environments athletes are navigating,鈥� Cephus said.

Through interviews and demographic questionnaires with current and former collegiate athletes, she explored how these athletes experience pressure not just to perform but to represent strength, resilience and success without leaving room for vulnerability.

鈥淲hat I found is that many of these expectations become internalized, meaning athletes begin to measure their worth by how well they meet these narratives, even when it comes at the expense of their wellbeing,鈥� Cephus said. 鈥淭he conference translates this research into practice through guided conversations, workshops and mentorship opportunities.鈥�

Cephus wanted to do more beyond a research paper and created the conference for people to experience, engage with and grow from creating environments where athletes and students feel supported as whole people.

She hopes people walk away from the conference feeling seen and more connected to themselves and others.

鈥淚 want participants to understand that their worth is not defined by their performance, their tasks or what they produce,鈥� Cephus said. 鈥淚 also want them to leave with tools, language and support that they can carry with them beyond the conference.鈥�

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Cephus is a human services studies major from Hoover, Alabama. The conference is hosted by the Poverty and Social Justice Program and sponsored by the Student Government Association.

The SCE promotes scholarly work in Christian ethics that explores its relationship to other ethical traditions while also addressing social, economic, political and cultural issues. The society encourages and improves the teaching of these fields in colleges, universities and theological schools. The SCE comprises approximately 800 members.

As president, Peters鈥� role includes guiding the theme of the society鈥檚 next annual meeting.

鈥淔ocusing this year鈥檚 annual meeting on the topic of 鈥楥hristianity, Politics and Power鈥� is an opportunity to shape conversations in the field that can help challenge the threat of white Christian nationalism rising across the country,鈥� Peters said. 鈥淏eing elected to the SCE presidency is a particular honor, as past presidents have historically been colleagues who work at larger institutions teaching doctoral students.鈥�

Peters is a well-respected scholar in the field of ethics and justice. She is the author of three books, 鈥淭rust Women: A Progressive Christian Argument for Reproductive Justice,鈥� 鈥淪olidarity Ethics: Transformation in a Globalized World,鈥� and 鈥淚n Search of the Good Life: The Ethics of Globalization,鈥� and has co-edited six additional volumes and published more than 25 peer-reviewed publications.

Following the society’s leadership structure, Peters was nominated and elected to the position three years ago. She served as vice president during the first year, president-elect in the second year, and now assumes the role of president. She will continue to contribute to the society as past president in 2026. 鈥�

Among goals during her presidential year are increasing access for non-tenure-track scholars to publish and present through the society and developing a series of book prizes that would celebrate scholarship of Christian ethics written for various audiences.

In addition to teaching ethics courses in the Department of Religious Studies at 黑料不打烊, she leads courses in the Department of Environmental Studies, the Poverty and Social Justice and Women, Gender, and Sexualities Studies programs, as well as for the Honors Fellows.

The Peace Garden will feature a custom sundial, olive trees and seating areas in what was previously a lawn behind Lindner Hall. It is expected to be complete in November. The project is the result of collaborations between 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Students for Peace and Social Justice and 黑料不打烊 faculty and staff.

鈥淭here are a lot of injustices and inequities in this world, and learning about them can feel heavy,鈥� said Madeline Mitchener 鈥�26, vice president of Students for Peace and Social Justice. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to start losing joy. But I love the idea that this garden can be a place for the 黑料不打烊 community to find peace in all the chaos. I hope people meet here, surrounded by the olive trees, and find tranquility and the undying hope for a more peaceful world.”

Mitchener, a double major in public health studies and public policy, and others in the student organization spearheaded the effort under the guidance of faculty adviser Professor of Sociology Tom Arcaro. Over the summer, Director of Landscaping Services Scott Stevens developed detailed plans which were approved by the university鈥檚 administration. Rev. Kirstin Boswell, university chaplain and dean of multifaith engagement, provided guidance to ensure that the garden’s purpose was uplifted and articulated.

鈥淭he choice of location is just absolutely perfect,鈥� Arcaro said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful, open, sunny area that will attract many visitors. When we saw the original designs, it was clear that this was something special. This garden is a symbol of these students鈥� dedication and an extension of their efforts over the years. My hope is that it will serve as a gathering place for future generations of students who share a commitment to peace and justice.鈥�

One of the garden鈥檚 most symbolic features, the olive trees, is also among the most modest in cost.

“Peace isn鈥檛 something you can buy; it鈥檚 something that grows slowly, nurtured by the hands and hearts of those who seek it,” Arcaro said. “Like the olive trees, peace is rooted in resilience, offering its shade and shelter to anyone who chooses to pause and embrace it.” These trees, along with the other elements of the garden, will stand as a living metaphor for peace 鈥� freely given, deeply rooted, and essential to all.

A reception is planned in the coming months to celebrate the garden鈥檚 completion.

Drew-Branch was co-author of 鈥�,鈥� with Laneshia R. Conner of the University of Kentucky, Yarneccia Dyson of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and V. Nikki Jones, of Middle Tennessee State University. Their article was published in the Journal of Social Work Education in 2022.

The Society for Social Work and Research selected the article for honorable mention among papers submitted for the 2024 Excellence in Research Award. The society typically selects two articles for recognition each year and awards research that 鈥渁dvances knowledge with direct applications to practice, policy, and the resolution of social issues.鈥�

Noting that the experiences of Black faculty with Black administrators is understudied, the team acknowledged historic adversity toward Black faculty in higher education and the need for greater support for Black faculty and those from other underrepresented groups. Study participants reported having more autonomy and positive interactions, more support and more understanding from their administrators.

鈥淢ore efforts are needed to increase and amplify the positive interactions and behaviors that draw in Black faculty and staff. This is especially important for Black faculty/staff who are under the leadership of administrators who look like them,鈥� they wrote.

They indicated that future research should collect additional data, as well as information from Black administrators and how they view their roles working with Black faculty.

The team will be recognized at the 2024 Society for Social Work and Research Jan. 10-14 in Washington, D.C.

The event aligns with national and will include interactive readings and discussions about banned books. Banned books will be highlighted with passages shared by faculty and staff. Students are encouraged to choose their favorite examples and read passages.

The banned books event at Belk Library is an opportunity for the 黑料不打烊 community to read, discuss and share their experiences on vulnerable topics. Literature ranging from subjects like mental health to LGBTQ youth have been a controversial topic this summer as thousands of K-12 parents across the country have deemed these conversations as inappropriate for children.

鈥淲ell, what happens to the students who haven鈥檛 encountered this material before they come to us? Are they going to have the foundation?鈥� Vanessa Drew-Branch, associate professor of human services, questioned. 鈥淗uman content and the human experience are super important to us.鈥�

With this in mind, Drew-Branch and other colleagues decided to brainstorm books that have been pivotal in the real-life human experience and contacted 黑料不打烊鈥檚 librarians to make the event possible.

鈥淲e saw this as a perfect opportunity when Dr. Drew-Branch brought this idea to us,鈥� said Carlos Grooms, student success librarian with Belk Library. 鈥淭his is a perfect opportunity for 黑料不打烊 faculty, staff and students to come share their ideas and experiences with these banned books.鈥�

All members of the 黑料不打烊 community are welcome. Readers will come to the Belk Library, sit, read, and share their thoughts on their chosen banned books. The procedures of the event will model the African American book reading event held by Grooms during Black History Month this year.

The event emphasizes the impact that literature has to shape who we are today and helps us find personal and relatable stories within a text.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I would鈥檝e been the scholar or the human being that I am without reading ‘The Bluest Eyes’ by Toni Morrison or being exposed to her work,鈥� Drew-Branch said. 鈥淢y scholarship is around the Black feminist movement, so I don鈥檛 know if I would be who I am without those works. I just can鈥檛 imagine students and people not having access to that literature in public spaces.鈥�

黑料不打烊 is just one of many locations celebrating Banned Book Week this year from Oct. 1-7 this year. More information can be found on the .

Residents of the Morrowtown community 鈥� a historically underserved area on the outskirts of Burlington鈥檚 downtown 鈥� began organizing to improve the neighborhood and staunch the blights of crime and poverty in 2018. Their work drew the attention of Toddie Peters, professor of religious studies and coordinator of the PSJ program, who began attending regular Morrowtown Community Group meetings to listen and offer potential solutions to issues identified.

A community garden, playground and gathering space at 642 S. Mebane St., built by residents and students in assistant professors of philosophy Robert Leib and Lauren Guilmette鈥檚 classes, officially opened on April 30. Peters鈥� PSJ capstone class worked to support the newly emerging . PSJ program intern, Imonni Withers 鈥�22 also worked with a free afterschool program, Mondays in Morrowtown, at the community garden site this spring.

A community for change

, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, began four years ago after Lydia Jones and Joyce Moore each lost family members to gun violence. The pair would meet with neighbors to pray and discuss solutions for youth activity, declining property values and upkeep, and crime. Jones鈥� home became known as聽a safe place for children to be, for a warm conversation or a hot meal. She calls them 鈥渕y babies.鈥� Her support for the neighborhood kids transformed into a regular Mondays at Morrowtown program.

Longtime residents formed a task force, attracting the attention of the City of Burlington, churches, Alamance Citizens for a Drug-Free Community and 黑料不打烊 faculty. Guilmette and Leib are Morrowtown residents.

The effort to secure property for the community garden began several years ago and came to fruition last fall when community members purchased an acre of property on a corner of South Mebane Street 鈥� a heavily traveled four-lane road 鈥� and Clay Street.

鈥淭his represents something new and different in an area with a lot of poverty, crime, violence and drugs. It鈥檚 totally different,鈥� Jones said at the garden opening. 鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful. I鈥檓 just so thankful that there are so many people who were touched by something I said.

鈥淢y babies give me strength. When I can do something to see a smile on their face, it makes me smile. It makes me feel good to know that I can do something to make a difference in their lives.鈥�

Supporting new growth

Leib鈥檚 Poverty and Social Justice capstone students helped plan the garden last fall. Guilmette鈥檚 Health and Social Justice class organized Saturday workdays this spring to clear the property and construct the garden.

鈥淥ur mission was to start imagining what this lot could be,鈥� Leib said. 鈥淲e spent quite a bit of time drawing up layouts for the garden and how participation and membership could work. Some of that work is still ahead of us, but we鈥檙e really happy with the way this has all come together.鈥�

The garden consists of 10 raised beds and a plot for row crops, an outdoor classroom and gathering space, compost piles, a fire pit and a small playground with rope swings and ladders. A grant from 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Kernodle Center for Civic Life purchased a storage shed, which students and community members constructed earlier this spring. Area farmers have also donated fencing that will be installed later this spring.

鈥淲e started clearing in February when this was all overgrown and covered in trash,鈥� Guilmette said. 鈥淓ssentially the community members and students assembled these raised beds, hung the tire swings and the rope ladder. I have great pictures of our students rolling these 35 logs up the hill for the outdoor classroom seating.鈥�

The garden should provide nutritional support in the neighborhood, which is a food desert and not within walking distance of grocery stores or farmer’s markets. It will operate on a take-as-you-need system this year, with residents able to plant and plan for crops. The system was still in the planning process as the garden鈥檚 first growing season began.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really gratifying building it from the ground up,鈥� said Billie Waller 鈥�22, a philosophy major. “It was a smaller group of people when we first started, but over the course of the past couple of months, it鈥檚 been cool to see more and more people come out and get interested in it.鈥�

Withers, an environmental studies major and PSJ minor, provided soil testing and supported the Mondays in Morrowtown afterschool program at the garden this spring as PSJ鈥檚 first intern. She planned science projects, crafts and activities for around 15 children from ages six to 16 years old.

The space has become a regular hangout for children, who flock to the tire swings in the afternoons.

Withers grew up in an urban area rife with pollution, little access to clean air, green space or nature and poor water quality. Living in 黑料不打烊 improved her physical and mental health because of the better environment, she said. Her experience invested her in the program, garden, and children in Morrowtown. She is in the process of securing grant funding for a permanent Morrowtown garden internship.

鈥淚 developed a really strong connection with the children,鈥� Withers said. 鈥淭hey had a huge impact on me. My internship is supposed to end in May, but I鈥檒l be staying here at least until the end of June. These kids need someone who can be a role model and I want to be that for them.鈥�

Creating a sustainable future

On the last day of spring semester classes, students in Peters鈥� PSJ capstone course presented to the Morrowtown Community Group leaders results of their聽work supporting the Burlington Community Land Trust in the neighborhood.

Community land trusts have become increasingly common tools for residents to ensure affordable housing and control over land use in neighborhoods. Essentially, they function to give the trust control of land while individuals own the structures on them. The land is typically leased in inheritable, 99-year increments. Property owners agree to restrictions on resell values through formulas that allow for equity building while keeping the home affordable. When properties are sold, the trust has control over how the land is used in the best interest of the community.

The land trust would increase residential ownership and reduce property rentals in the area.

Students created marketing plans for the land trust, applied for grants and began a , studied trends in property ownership and values, surveyed residents and created oral history videos of Morrowtown residents. Those videos will be preserved through the Power and Place Collaborative, a partnership among 黑料不打烊, the African-American Cultural, Arts and History Center and Burlington鈥檚 Mayco Bigelow Community Center to record stories of Alamance County鈥檚 Black communities.

鈥淎s someone who鈥檚 a social ethicist, as someone who works with the Poverty and Social Justice Program, I really try to find meaningful ways that students at 黑料不打烊 and professors at 黑料不打烊, and the resources of 黑料不打烊 can partner with people in the community in mutually beneficial ways so that 鈥� we鈥檙e listening to you and figuring out how we can use the skills and knowledge to contribute to projects and things of concern in the community,鈥� Peters said.

Sala is a native of the Spanish region of Catalu帽a but a nationalized Mexican citizen. He has won more than 80 awards for his short films. His short film titled, “Hiyab” was nominated for the Goya Award for Best Fictional Short Film in 2005.

“Guie鈥橠ani鈥檚 Navel,” his first feature film as a director, was selected in more than 30 festivals and won nine awards, including Special Mention Award for Mexican Feature Film Actress and the Cinepolis Distribution Award at the Morelia Film Festival in Mexico.

The film follows Guie’dani, a Zapotec indigenous girl, who moves to Mexico City with her mother to work in the house of an upper-middle-class family. Guie鈥橠ani refuses to live the life of servitude and rebels against the family鈥檚 racist and classist attitudes and behavior, and searches for freedom through her friendship with another teenage girl.

In striking contrast to Alfonso Cuar贸n鈥檚 “Roma,” Guie鈥橠ani鈥檚 Navel confronts head-on racial, ethnic, linguistic and class discriminations towards the indigenous people still prevalent in Mexico and beyond.

As the director pointed out during the Q&A, “Guie鈥橠ani鈥檚 Navel” is the first-ever Mexican film with two Zapotec women protagonists.

As a Catalan, he found a special bond with the Zapotec indigenous community who have been marginalized by the larger Mexican national identity politics, both historically and recently.

Sala commented that during the process of filming, he and his crew were particularly careful with the dialect that the two women spoke and spent hours, if not days, trying to use the correct and accurate forms and vocabulary, in order to convey the specificities of the protagonists鈥� identity through language with documentary realism.

As 黑料不打烊 community reflects on the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as global citizenship, films such as “Guie鈥橠ani鈥檚 Navel” offer an extremely rich opportunity to learn about the issues of racism, classism, national, ethnic and linguistic identities and the role they all play in the ways in which our societies value or fail to value each individual.聽

The film series was made possible with the support of Pragda, The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain and SPAIN Arts and Culture. It was organized by Associate Professor of Spanish Mayte de Lama, Lecturer Ricardo Mendoza and Senior Lecturer in Spanish Ketevan Kupatadze. Helen McLeod assisted in interpreting from English to Spanish during the Q&A.

鈥淩acial liberalism faced what often felt like a terminal crisis in the 2010s, and it offered itself as the solution,” Darda said during his talk titled聽“Antiracism as Education: How Americans Learned to Read for Racial Change” in McKinnon Hall. “Crises elevate our desire for solutions. But what if it is our desire for solutions that creates the crises?鈥�

The event was organized by Dinidu Karunanayake, an assistant professor in the聽Department of English as a part of the department’s ongoing diversity, equity and inclusivity initiatives.聽The audience of the well-attended talk included students, their family members and faculty.

鈥淭he content of antiracist literature might not matter as much as the framing. The content might be radical. It might call for revolution,鈥� Darda added. 鈥淏ut the liberal channels through which it circulates tend to soften the edges, redirecting us to reading, reform, and the dream of a better tomorrow.鈥�

Critically reflecting on the arc of antiracist literary culture in the United States, from early 鈥渞ace novels鈥� such as Harriet Beecher Stowe鈥檚 “Uncle Tom鈥檚 Cabin” (1852) and Richard Wright鈥檚 “Native Son” (1940) to present-day bestsellers like Robin DiAngelo鈥檚 “White Fragility”听(2018) and Ibram Kendi鈥檚 “How to Be an Antiracist”听(2019), Darda highlighted pitfalls in 鈥渁ntiracist鈥� reading practices.

He built on James Baldwin鈥檚 critique of 鈥渞acial awakening鈥� as a time-centric linear trajectory 鈥� 鈥淎s long as [antiracist books] are being published, everything will be all right鈥� 鈥� and asserted the need to reevaluate how we situate, consume, teach and advance antiracism as education.

During his time at 黑料不打烊, Darda took part in additional events. On Oct. 1, he had breakfast with a group of students enrolled in the course 鈥淧ostcolonial Asian Literature and Globalization,鈥� taught by Karunanayake. He then visited the class and engaged the students in a conversation about 鈥減ermanent war鈥� 鈥� a concept that he theorizes in his book “Empire of Defense.” Later that day, he hosted an informal聽conversation with English Department faculty about teaching DEI-centric topics as a White faculty member at a predominantly White institution.

鈥淚t is very rare that students are able to speak so openly聽with an expert in this field, and [Darda’s visit] was so insightful,鈥� said student Matisse Gilmore, who double majors in international and global studies and journalism, and minors in political science.

Lucas Leveillee and Stewart Mitchell, who are both English majors, echoed her views. 鈥淥pen and critical discussions on race, politics, policing and socioeconomic issues are beneficial to students鈥� understanding of these topics as they relate to literature,鈥� Stewart added.

Darda鈥檚 visit to 黑料不打烊 was co-sponsored by the Global Neighborhood, the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, African and African-American Studies, the Office of the Provost, the Center for Race, Ethnicity, & Diversity Education, American Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Poverty and Social Justice and the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center.

You can watch the recording of the talk 鈥淎ntiracism as Education: How Americans Learned to Read for Racial Change” .

This talk will connect the early origins of the environmental justice movement in North Carolina in the 1980s to contemporary place-based聽challenges聽that impact marginalized communities across the state. Though various polluting industries place聽disproportionate burden on聽communities of color and communities with low monetary聽wealth, environmental justice is also interested in larger processes of place development and in the underlying social, political and economic structures undergirding them. Such development processes reveal far more than simple discrimination or market-based decision making that have been long used to explain environmental racism.

This keynote presentation is free and open to the public.

The talk is sponsored by The Office of Sustainability, The Center for Race,聽Ethnicity聽& Diversity Education, the Department of Public Health Studies, the Environmental Studies Department, The Kernodle Center for Civic Life and the Poverty and Social Justice program.

The film series began Friday, Sept. 10 with the first of five films from Spanish-speaking countries and will continue through Nov. 18.

The series is hosted by the Department of World Languages and Cultures in collaboration with and co-sponsored by the Global Neighborhood, Global Education Center, Latin American Studies, Sigma Delta Pi, Peace and Conflict Studies, International and Global Studies, CREDE, El Centro and Poverty and Social Justice Studies.

The first film, “A este lado del mundo”听(in English聽“On This Side of the World”), is directed by well-known and celebrated Spanish novelist and filmmaker, David Trueba. It was released in 2020 and was a contestant for the best film and best screenplay at several international film festivals, including the Goya Awards and the Festival de M谩laga (Malaga Film Festival).

The story follows a young engineer who is fired from his job and begins to work as a freelancer to Melilla, a Spanish enclave in North Africa and a gate to Europe to help with the reinforcement of the fence that is supposed to keep undocumented immigrants from Spain and then Europe. Trueba turns his gaze and our attention towards the “natives,” the ones living on the privileged side of the world and reflects on their responsibilities, as well as their complicity with the dehumanizing scene on the border.

More information about the other four films, including their screening locations, dates and times, .

The film series was made possible with the support of Pragda, The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain and SPAIN Arts and Culture. It was organized by associate professor of Spanish Mayte de Lama, lecturer Ricardo Mendoza and senior lecturer in Spanish Ketevan Kupatadze.