Charity Hicks to speak on how research can support food justice organizing

Charity Hicks is currently the key staff person and co-creator of the Detroit Food Justice Taskforce - a collaborative venture of 10 community based groups, and local activists in Detroit formed in 2009 to work in the food system and urban agricultural movement to promote a justice centered food system.

This coming Sunday Charity will be speaking to cPARN, the Cornell community and local food justice advocates about the role of research in supporting community organizing. Together we will all discuss:

• What do you need to know/question before starting such projects?
• How do you manage tensions between research and community needs?
• How can research be used to improve capacity for community-based problem solving and improve quality of life?
• What is the nature of the relationship between communities and researchers?

The event will be held this Sunday, September 23rd in the Whetzel Room, 404 Plant Science. Please come enjoy brunch and an engaging discussion with us. RSVP to cornell.par.network@gmail.com

 
Charity Hicks' background includes being a Clinical Research Associate for Human Subjects with the Detroit Oral Health Disparities Research Center of the University of Michigan. This work included an 8-year longitudinal health disparity study following over 1,200 African American families in Detroit. As a Clinical Research Associate she has facilitated and trained field workers, interviewers, and data-collectors, conducted numerous focus groups, led data collection operations, and community engagement on health disparities research all around Detroit. She has over 10 years work in research, public policy, and community activism in Detroit on health disparities, environment, and food & nutrition. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, Social Science and Africana Studies, from Eastern Michigan University. Her graduate work is focused on Medical Anthropology. She has been a founding member of several organizations in Detroit including the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, an herbalist/ecological awareness group and the African Women’s Society. She has recently worked as the Health, Healing and Environmental Justice point person at the United States Social Forum held in Detroit June 2010, she also coordinated the first aid/self-care response at the weeklong event. She is also the coordinator of the D-Town Annual Harvest Festival every fall from 2007 thru 2011. She has traveled in a delegation representing Detroit to the World Social Forum Dakar 2011, and has visited several other countries in Africa. She has worked as a consultant with nonprofits and start-up entrepreneurs in market studies, communications, research, strategic planning, and community transformation.

Charity Hicks has been brought to Ithaca by the host of community groups and members organizing the Second Annual Food Justice Summit. Please attend the festivities downtown this weekend and show your appreciation for the organizations that promote this conversation and action in the Tompkins County area.

Additional support for the campus event include contributions from the Cornell Participatory Action Research Network (cPARN), New World Agriculture and Ecology Group (NWAEG), and the Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition Group (FANG). Our brunch will be provided by Cornell's new Center for Engaged Learning + Research. Check them out. Funding for student groups was provided by the GPSAFC.