|
THE UVA KARSH INSTITUTE OF DEMOCRACY CENTER FOR THE REDRESS OF INEQUITY THROUGH COMMUNITY-ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP
|
|
Starr Hill Pathways highlight: Exploring a career in Anesthesiology
The latest Spring program day for Starr Hill Pathways students took place last Monday, February 20. Approximately 50 7th and 8th graders from Charlottesville City and Albemarle County Public Schools were bussed to Ern Commons on UVA grounds. After a full breakfast, students broke into groups based on their interests to have a half-day of career exploration and activities. The Anesthesiology group was shuttled to the UVA Health System to learn about the varied career paths -- anesthesia technician, nurse practitioner, physicians assistant, and physician -- that work together to care for patients before, during, and after surgery.
  
Students then got to work in the UVA School of Medicine's Simulation Center, learning how to care for patients with critical needs on patient simulators. Students rotated through four medical simulations where they problem solved real medical emergencies while learning how to place IVs, intubate, and perform CPR. The students were fully engaged throughout the program, laughing with the medical professionals and seeing how an anesthesia team works together.
|
|
Virginia Evictors Catalog Update
This past November, the UVA Equity Center and the RVA Eviction Lab partnered to release the Virginia Evictors Catalog (VEC). The tool is a searchable compilation of data on the plaintiffs (landlords) in unlawful detainer cases across the state, going back to 2018. You can see the name of the plaintiff, the jurisdiction where they filed, the number of filings and judgments associated with them, the time frame in which they filed, and the zip codes of the corresponding defendants.
As of this month, the tool has been updated -- not only can you access data through December 2022, but a new variable has been included in the available data set: serial filings. We consider serial filings to be repeated cases filed by a given plaintiff against a given defendant in a given ZIP Code within a 12-month period. Oftentimes, serial filings occur not when a landlord aims to gain possession of the property, but rather as a way to leverage the court in their debt collection efforts. With the addition of this variable to the Virginia Evictors Catalog, users can see if particular landlords engage in this behavior, providing a better understanding of their relationship to the court and their tenants, as well as the vulnerability of those tenants.
Click here to access the Virginia Evictors Catalog
|
|
Sankofa Journey Exhibition
This past weekend, photographer Marley Nichelle premiered "The Sankofa Journey," an exhibit at the Looking Glass in IX Park. The photographs and photo-collages highlighted themes of Black resilience and the connection between their Gullah heritage and Ghanian culture.
The photographs were taken during a Charlottesville-Winneba Foundation lead trip to Charlottesville's sister city, Winneba, Ghana. Proceeds from this exhibit will go to support scholarships for local Black youth to attend future trips.
The exhibit was sponsored by the Equity Center, the Charlottesville-Winneba Foundation, and the Looking Glass at IX.
|
|
Congratulations to Leah Puryear
The Equity Center Local Steering Committee member and former Charlottesville City School Board 4-term member, Leah Puryear, was selected to fill the vacant seat on the Charlottesville City Council. Leah served as the Director of UVA's Upward Bound program since 1982.
In addition to these roles, she has had a distinguished career of service in the Charlottesville region. She was the Chair, Vice-Chair, Chair of the Piedmont Regional Education Program Board, Chair and Vice-Chair of the CATEC Board, City of Promise Steering Committee member, Grace Tinsley Scholarship Committee member, March of Dimes Chef Auction Committee member, and the working on the University and Community Action for Racial Equity Committee. Mrs. Puryear was awarded the 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Award by the City of Charlottesville.
|
|
Liberation and Freedom Days
Each year on March 3, we mark the occasion when Union troops entered Charlottesville in 1865 signaling the end of the Civil War and the institution of chattel slavery. Below are several community-sponsored events to commemorate this day:
Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters, March 3, 12pm: The Descendants of Enslaved Communities at UVA and the UVA Memory Project present a celebration at the Memorial to the Enslaved featuring Chihamba Dance troop and others. Information can be found here.
Film Screening: "Unveiling: The Origin of Charlottesville's Monuments," March 3, 5:30pm: Join the UVA Memory Project for a screening of "Unveiling: The Origin of Charlottesville's Monuments" at Ebenezer Baptist Church (113 6th St. NW). Dinner will be provided.
13K Reparations Run/Walk, March 4, 7am: Prolyfyck Run Crew and the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center are partnering to present this year's Liberation + Freedom Day Run/Walk. The near 8 mile route allows you to appreciate some of Charlottesville’s rolling hills and engage with some of the City’s important sites of African American history while passing some of the African American businesses along the way. Funds raised will support Black-led organizations in Charlottesville. Sign up to participate here.
Descendant Power: A Rubric for Engaging Slavery Descendant Communities, March 4, 4pm: Join Niya Bates (PhD Candidate at Princeton University, Founding Member of DEC-UVA), James French (Montpelier Foundation Board Chair), and Matthew Reaves (Director of Archaeology, Montpelier) as they discuss the Rubric as a Framework for Engaging with Descendants of Enslaved Laborers. Moderator: Justin G. Reid (Cultural Organizer, Griffin Blvd Archives). Register here.
|
|
In the News:
The Equity Center's own Jess Harris published this feature story on Jay Simple, the new director of The Bridge, in Vinegar Hill Magazine.
UVA Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI) and the Equity Center's Eastern Shore community workshop was highlighted in the Eastern Shore Post and at the ERI news website.
|
|
|
|
