Author: Kala Bhattar

Kala Bhattar has her BA in Political Science with a double minor in International Studies and Human Rights at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She has worked with the Institute for Human Rights (IHR) at UAB since fall of 2021 as an intern blog writer and has also been working on some of the side projects conducted by the IHR. As a blog writer, she has written on topics of both domestic and international importance, such as issues of food insecurity and homelessness in the United States, but also has captured the broader struggles of people around the world, especially in her series on Environmental Justice. The IHR has been an important platform for Bhattar to spread awareness about contemporary issues and has introduced her and prepared her for many opportunities that have assisted her in pursuing her academic goals.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Event Brings Together Multidisciplinary Audience

Written by Brian C. Moon – Center for Clinical and Translational Science

On March 7, 2024, an enlightening virtual event titled “Historic Lines, Current Divides: Connecting Redlining to Present Day Disparities in Birmingham” was hosted via Zoom, shining a spotlight on the enduring impacts of redlining practices in Birmingham and their ripple effects on present-day disparities. The forum was an initiative co-hosted by the Social Science and Justice Research (SSJR) pilot UWIRC and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), uniting a multidisciplinary audience to explore the intersection of historic housing policies and current social and health inequities.

The event commenced with Dr. Tina Kempin Reuter, Professor and SSJR Director, providing a comprehensive overview of the event, emphasizing the program’s commitment to addressing issues of access, inclusion, equity, justice, and human rights through cutting-edge research. This set the stage for a deeply engaging discourse on Birmingham’s redlining history and its ongoing consequences.

The first presenter, Dr. Lonnie Hannon, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, offered a profound analysis of Birmingham’s segregation practices, including redlining, and their foundational role in shaping the city’s residential patterns and community empowerment dynamics. His presentation underscored the systematic denial of services to black communities and the generational impacts of these discriminatory practices.

Dr. Peter A. Jones, Associate Professor and SSJR Associate Director, expanded the discussion to the realm of public policy, tracing how redlining influenced urban planning and public policy decisions. His insights into the role of redlining in the design of interstate systems in Birmingham illuminated the depth of its influence on community development and segregation.

Next up, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology & Oncology, Dr. S. M. Qasim Hussaini delved into the tangible health disparities emerging from redlined neighborhoods, particularly in cancer care. His research highlighted significant disparities in diagnosis stages, treatment, and survival rates for colon cancer patients from historically marginalized communities, stressing the need for equitable healthcare solutions. (Read more about Dr. Hussaini’s research here.)

The forum culminated with Assistant Professor of Medicine and CCTS Senior Administrative Director, Dr. Jennifer Croker, who echoed the sentiments of previous speakers, emphasizing the vital role of transdisciplinary teamwork in overcoming the various issues highlighted throughout the event. Croker praised the groundbreaking work of researchers like Dr. Hussaini, whose research offers valuable insights for healthcare improvement and policy formulation and underscored the CCTS’s commitment, in collaboration with SSJR, UAB Geospatial Research and Information Domain (GRID), and the Social Determinants Core, to making geospatial data more accessible for research endeavors. To this end, the CCTS has extended time-limited support to boost access to GRID by researchers with nascent knowledge of geospatially informed data resources to get their projects underway—email Ariann Nassel for more information. By lowering technical and financial barriers, the CCTS aims to foster innovative projects that address educational, social, and health disparities. Croker’s call to action encouraged participants to transform their ideas into impactful research, marking a proactive step towards addressing the complex challenges discussed during the forum.

For those who could not attend or wish to revisit the discussion, this session was recorded and is available for viewing on the CCTS Video Channel.

Recap: SSJR Event on Community Sponsorship of Refugees and Asylum Seekers

The IHR and SSJR, along with Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership (ALIRP) co-sponsored an event on February 8, 2024, featuring Dr. Kathryn Libal, Associate Professor of Social Work & Human Rights, and the Director of the Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Libal’s research, and the topic of this talk, focus on community sponsorship of refugees and asylum seekers.

She first approached this study after observing the lack of social workers present at the center of peace work, especially those working with refugees from the Middle East. She intended to investigate the types of support systems that are in place to help refugees and asylum seekers find the necessary resources for when they arrive. Before presenting her research, Dr. Libal explored the authority the President holds to propose the number of refugees who can be settled into the country each year, and the move to privatize refugee resettlement, expecting community organizations to bridge the gap created by the government. For this to work, Dr. Libal insisted that there has to be a strong social safety net, one which the United States does not have.

Dr. Libal’s study conducted 55 interviews (and 6 follow-ups) of volunteers at community sponsored organizations in an attempt to understand why volunteers donate their time and efforts to this work of resettling refugees. Some of the things she found in the process were fascinating. A common theme among these organizations helping refugees settle were faith-based alliances stepping up to address this gap. Many volunteers simply acted out of good will and were motivated by the proximity to the issue of immigration in their own lives. Dr. Libal’s study also highlighted some problems these organizations were facing, including how some volunteer groups held stereotypes or preconceived notions about the refugee groups they were interacting with, and the lack of trained professionals in these organizations. She also highlighted how the refugees, at times, felt hesitant to voice their opinions and concerns due to the risk of appearing ungrateful. Regardless of these issues, these community organizations created space for cultural context and exchange between the volunteers and refugees where volunteers were able to use their economic and social privilege to help people settle in a foreign world. In these interviews she conducted, Dr. Libal discerned that those who volunteered in these organizations did so as a form of humanitarian work rather than politically motivated action. To address the next phase of her project, Dr. Libal addressed the deep concerns she has of the upcoming election and how that will impact the human rights obligations America has toward refugees, asserting that the chances of claiming asylum will become much more difficult and dangerous.

Recap: Dr. Elizabeth Niehaus Speaks About Her Research on Free Speech in Classrooms

On February 5, 2024, the Departments of Philosophy, English, Political Science & Public Administration, the Institute for Human Rights (IHR) and the Social Sciences and Justice Research center (SSJR) co-sponsored an event to host Dr. Elizabeth Niehaus at the Hill Student Center Alumni Theater for a conversation on free speech in classrooms. Dr. Niehaus is an Associate Professor and the Graduate Faculty Chair at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Dr. Niehaus discussed her research, focusing on potentially offensive rhetoric students have the capacity to express in classrooms. She conducted in depth interviews to highlight how students think about potential harmful speech, and how they think about their own speech within a classroom setting. During the event, she shared with the audience many of the general themes that emerged while she conducted her interviews. One of these themes emphasized the complexity of the topics discussed in a classroom setting, while another theme she detected in her research was the question of what students expected from a collegiate education. Still, another theme that emerged during her research was what it meant to be harmed in a classroom discussion, and what kind of emotional or mental toll this harm could have on someone. This also led to a discussion of who is a legitimate victim of harm, and who should be held accountable for causing harm? Dr. Niehaus explained, on the matter of accountability, that some of her interviewees also brought up the question of intent and whether accountability should focus on the intentions of the person causing harm, or the outcomes of the harm caused, regardless of the intentions. Most interestingly, connecting the previous theme to the next one, Dr. Niehaus scrutinized the way many of the students she interviewed also spoke of a person’s speech reflecting on their character or morals. The interviewees questioned whether the speech one expresses within the classroom should impact the way they are perceived outside of the classroom setting. As she explained, many social connections students make in college transform into professional connections in the future which can have widespread consequences on their academic and professional future. Towards the end of the conversation, Dr. Niehaus spoke to the issue of the mainstream crisis narrative of “self-censorship” which has, in effect, led students to censor themselves in classrooms. Finally, she addressed the massive influence donors and mainstream news (and media outlets in general) have on free speech within institutions, especially academic institutions.

Recap: SSJR Research Seminar “Risks and Consequences of Community Gun Violence Exposure”

Dr. Daniel Semenza, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, and the Department of Urban-Global Health in the School of Public Health at Rutgers University. He is also the Director of Interpersonal Violence Research at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center.

The New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center approaches this field of work with a multi-disciplinary research focus, aiming to establish the root causes of gun violence, to help prevent future instances of violence, and translate their research into policies and programs that can be adopted at the local, state, and national levels of government. Their center has three main goals, research, training, and outreach/translation. Through these goals, the center aims to better understand the nature of gun violence, studying not only the victims that are directly impacted by gun violence, but also how those instances of violence impact the larger community. They highlight the consequences of gun violence on an individual level, community level, and a societal level, exploring the prevention and treatment of gun violence. They also research the usefulness of existing laws and policies, and help promote the safe, responsible use of guns.

During the seminar, Dr. Semenza discussed the different levels of violence exposure, from direct exposure (as the victim of gun violence) to secondary exposure (as family, friends, or peers of victims of gun violence), to community exposure (which includes witnesses, and those who hear/live near the sites of the gun violence incidents). He also explored the impact gun violence exposure (GVE) has on an individual’s health, paying particular attention to how stress exacerbates these health outcomes. Finally, Dr. Semenza presented three research projects that his center is working on, to better understand GVE and its impacts on health and wellness.