To encourage innovation and scholarship, the institute has established a Social Justice Fellowship Program that, through grants, funds faculty and student activities that advance social justice work, from humanistic inquiry to action research.
Previous grants have supported proposals that focus on issues that are both local and global. From youth development to elderly care; from political systems to individual recovery efforts, these projects have represented the same diversity as their recipients. The Social Justice Institute is proud to announce the current fellows:
Continuing Graduate Student Fellows 2025-2026
Striving for reintegration: A study examining the experiences of incarcerated mothers
Amber Byrd Ndukwe, PhD Candidate in Sociology
This study will focus on Black incarcerated single mothers ages eighteen and up as they reenter society. Given that African Americans are disproportionately incarcerated in America, it will focus primarily on incarcerated mothers who are Black because they are likely to be represented in this population. There are approximately 2.5 million women and girls released from prison and jails each year. The study will study aspects of reentry, specifically how they repair, forge and build familial relationships, and how they deal with issues like housing and childcare. Furthermore, it will examine frequency of contact, familial networks, support networks, and custody or legality issues. The study will be a qualitative study that entails interviews both before and after they are released. This research is significant because the majority of incarcerated women are mothers, thus their experiences should be represented. More than 60% of women in state prisons, and nearly 80% of those in jail, have minor children. Unlike fathers who are incarcerated, most incarcerated mothers are single mothers, solely responsible for their young children. This research is unique in that it focuses exclusively on the experiences of incarcerated women and the intersection of motherhood and reentry. The research will add to the discussion of the carceral system in America and the public discussions of prison abolition and prison reform efforts.
Enduring the System: Black Mothers’ Intergenerational Experiences with Child Welfare
Chelsea Flannigan, PhD Candidate in Social Welfare
The proposed qualitative research study will examine intergenerational cycles of involvement with the child welfare system (CWS). Research suggests over 40% of mothers with open child welfare cases have their own history of CWS involvement as children. Complicating this statistic is the growing awareness of how the CWS disproportionately surveilles and polices families of color. Despite this evidence and the known correlations between parental and childhood involvement in the CWS, this population remains understudied in the literature. Using a transformative interpretive framework guided by abolition praxis and Black feminism, this phenomenological study will explore the experiences of Black mothers intergenerationally involved in the CWS through in-depth interviewing and photovoice methodologies. By amplifying the voices of those who have endured lifelong involvement with the CWS, this study seeks to develop a deep understanding of this phenomenon and challenge dominant narratives by identifying systemic factors that facilitate intergenerational involvement.
Understanding Disasters Through an Organizational Lens; A Preliminary Study of Disaster Response
Eleanor Gillerlane Hinkes, PhD Candidate, Medical Anthropology
This pilot study will examine the concepts of vulnerability, resilience, and health in the context of disaster response organizations and communities affected by disasters. Through qualitative interviews with organization workers and community members, this research aims to better understand; 1) how attitudes surrounding disaster response and perceptions of health, wellness, vulnerability, and resilience differ between organizations responding to disasters and communities experiencing disasters, 2) how social, political, and economic structures, with a specific focus on organizational and bureaucratic practices, impact the vulnerability, resilience, and wellbeing of communities, 3) what potential pathways can be identified for organizational and community practices to effectively engage and address gaps in disaster response. This study seeks to contribute to the understanding of how disasters and disaster organizations impact the health and wellbeing of communities, and highlight avenues to be further investigated in future research, including how organizations can utilize community-based approaches to inform disaster response policies and practices.
Continuing Faculty Grants 2025-2026
Young Adults' Perceptions of Hemp and Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids: How Blurred Lines Impact Equity in Public Health
Stephanie Pike Moore, Adjunct Instructor, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine
In collaboration with Craig S. Fryer
The emergence of novel hemp-derived psychoactive cannabis products (e.g., Delta-8, THC-A, THC-P) within the tobacco retail setting represents a growing public health concern. While Ohio legalized cannabis for adult use in 2023, these products notably do not fit within the purview of regulatory oversight because they derive from hemp plants containing less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, and are synthesized through a chemical process. Currently, there is no regulatory oversight of production or marketing nor are there any minimum age purchasing requirements for these products at the federal level or in the state of Ohio. Furthermore, for those populations who carry the inequitable burden of tobacco-related health outcomes resulting largely from decades of racially targeted tobacco marketing, the broad availability and marketing of these products may represent a significant parallel. This research seeks to conduct formative research on perceptions of these products among young adults who identify as Black or African American and Hispanic or Latinx in the Greater Cleveland area and Ohio. The primary hypotheses examined through this study include 1) young adults may not be able to distinguish these products from newly legalized cannabis, 2) young adults may perceive these products as appealing and accessible alternatives to those cannabis products available in cannabis dispensaries, 3) young adults may believe these products carry less risk compared to tobacco products, and 4) the same multi-level forms of racism that drive co-use of tobacco and cannabis products will be observed with respect to these products. Findings will be used to inform broader policy or health communication as well as provide the foundation for future research.