A Murder in Broad Daylight
Community Science Helps Active Voice Promote Healing |
Gr eensboro, North Carolina. 1979. Five members of the Communist Workers Party, holding a Death to the Klan rally, are killed in broad daylight. The murders are captured by TV cameras, yet no one is ever convicted of the crime.
This violent episode in our
nation's history has been chronicled in the film Greensboro: Closer to the Truth. The film documents
the US' first ever Truth and Reconciliation Commission which convened 25 years after
the Greensboro Massacre to help the community come to terms with this violent
history. Active
Voice, a group that uses film, television and multimedia to spark social
change, has asked Community Science to conduct a formative evaluation of its
efforts, and its partners' efforts, to foster local reconciliation and justice
through the film project. Community Science will survey film viewers and conduct key informant interviews
with local partners in three U.S. cities.
Using the documentary as a catalyst for reflection about how the past is
linked to the present, Active Voice's Closer to the Truth project works with grassroots organizations across America to encourage dialogue and community healing. To learn more about the project, email us at Community Science. |
Community Science is Growing
Further your interest in promoting social change
Community Science is growing and currently recruiting for two key positions on our team. If you are a motivated, conscientious professional who can help us take the practice of social change through science and capacity building to a higher level, we want to hear from you.
Currently, we are recruiting for two positions:
1) Senior Associate - Research & Capacity Building to lead and manage research and technical assistance tasks for national, state, and local projects addressing health disparities, comprehensive community change, and community substance abuse prevention coalitions.
2) Associate to help with research, evaluation and other capacity building tasks.
To view the full job descriptions and learn more about Community Science and our team approach to promoting social change, visit Community Science.com.
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In The Community...
David Chavis to present at the AEA Conference
Community Science's David Chavis will address ways to make a large scale impact on complex social problems in communities, when he presents at a session called Community as Context: Evaluation of Comprehensive Community Initiatives, at November's American Evaluation Association (AEA) conference.
Dr. Chavis and Tina Trent, now with NeighborWorks, co-authored Scope, Scale, and Sustainability: What It Takes to Create Lasting Community Change, which was published in the Winter edition of The Foundation Review. In the article, 11 comprehensive community initiatives were reviewed to identify factors related to scale, scope and sustainability. Dr. Chavis will discuss how these three factors are influenced by community characteristics. Community Science conducted this study as part of a
contract from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. For information, email us at Community Science.
Community Science Principals Participate in National Health Disparities Plan Consensus Meeting
In 2006, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) sponsored the inaugural National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. A direct outcome of the Summit was the formation of the National Partnership for Action (NPA) to end health disparities for minority populations. OMH asked Community
Science principals to participate in a consensus
meeting to advance the NPA's first national health disparities plan, with David Chavis serving on the Evaluation
Advisory Group and Kien Lee on the Implementation Planning Group.
OMH is a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. For information, email us at Community Science.
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Community Science Set to Launch Enhanced Web site
Search function and access to publications among improvements
Community Science will unveil its updated Web site on November 2nd, with creative updates and multiple navigation improvements designed to boost the user experience.
- Improved search capability - Access an easy to use search function. Just plug in a keyword and quickly reach the desired subject matter.
- Easy access to publications - We're posting more links to publications and making it easy for you to access the links, based on your particular topics of interest.
- New areas of content - We're constantly adding new content to help government, foundations and non-profits use science to implement innovative solutions to social problems.
Check the site frequently for updates beginning next Monday, November 2nd. Visit communityscience.com. | |
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First U.S. Truth and Reconciliation Commission Held in Greensboro
Many communities have histories of social and racial injustice that, when left unresolved, foster tension and hatred. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission examines and learns from a divisive event, like the murders in Greensboro, to build the foundation for a more unified future.
To learn more about the commission and Active Voice, click here. |
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Is Everyone Ready for the Task?
Using philanthropic dollars to achieve racial justice |
The Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (PRE) does important  work shining a light on ways in which the philanthropic sector can do more to promote racial justice. "If we are going to talk about using philanthropic dollars to promote racial justice, then major systems changes need to occur across the board," explains Community Science's Kien Lee. An active PRE board member, she recently reflected on these critical issues in a Forum commentary on PRE's Web site.
An excerpt: The foundations appear to assume that it is the nonprofits, not philanthropic grant makers themselves that need capacity building. It also wouldn't surprise me if the foundations assume a one-size-fits-all-capacity-building approach for all nonprofits that serve minority and low-income communities, including those that are led by people of color. They're wrong...
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| Conferences of Note |
American Public Health Association Meeting & Exposition November 7-11, 2009 Philadelphia, PA For information, click here.
The American Evaluation Association Conference
November 11-14, 2009
Orlando, Florida
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