Documenting Latinx Contributions to Health Care Access and Services
Charles Briggs, Professor
Latinx Research Center
Applications for Spring 2024 are closed for this project.
“That's what you call solidarity. Everybody pitching in, everybody doing their part. We each one, teach one, each one, reach one!”
- Yolanda Chacon- Serna, labor organizer and health advocate
“Health is politics by other means”
Alondra Nelson, author of Body and Soul: The Black Panters and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination
The work carried out in the Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities (Critical Study HLC), under the auspices of the Latinx Research Center, involves exploring efforts by Latinx communities in California to counter racialized health inequities, provide access to high-quality, respectful healthcare, and improve health outcomes. As part of the Critical Study HLC team you will join a collaborative effort of academics and undergraduate research assistants in exploring the rich historical and contemporary efforts of Latinx activists and community organizers working to challenge inequities in health access and care.
Undergraduate research assistants will have the opportunity to contribute to projects that research, archive and highlight the work of Latinx organizations, individuals and movements in California, under the guidance of the center Co-Directors Dr. Charles Briggs and Dr. Clara Mantini-Briggs and Dr. Carolina Talavera, the postdoctoral researcher. For example, previous research projects carried out by undergraduate research assistants have included initiating archival research on the origins of Clinica de la Raza, and coordinating interviews with some of its founders and members of the Chicanx Movement. Students will also have such opportunities as writing materials for the center website, digital archive, and peer-reviewed academic journals. Other research sites and projects have included: interviews with former United Farm Workers (UFW) community organizers, research on the Berkeley Free Clinic, and research with activists and officials in the City of Huron.
As part of this research project, students will also be presented with opportunities to help plan and organize important events related to the Critical Study HLC’s research projects. Previous events have included a historic gathering of former UFW organizers including Dolores Huerta, Ruth Martínez, Yolanda Chacon-Serna, and Roberto Bustos to discuss their experiences of the 1966 Grape Strike and marching alongside César Chávez.
As a URAP research assistant, you will also have opportunities to meet with community organizers throughout California, but particularly in the Central Valley, who are working to improve their cities or the conditions of residents and farmworkers. Moreover, this project’s tries to create opportunities to do higher-education outreach with Latinx high school and community college students from this region, providing opportunities otherwise not available to under-resourced parts of California.
The work of the Critical Study HLC is to empower and inspire the next generation of Latinx health professionals, community organizers, and academics. If you’re interested in contributing to a collaborative research project, working on a team, developing academic skills, learning about Latinx/Chicanx movements, organizations and key figures, we encourage you to apply to join our team for the Spring 2024 semester. Learn more about what we’ve done on our website www.criticalstudyhlc.com
Role: Each URAP student will be given a different assignment, taking into account their skills and interests as much as possible. The tasks that will be divided up include:
Researching the histories and contemporary profiles of social movement organizations that have contributed to confronting racialized health inequities.
Conducting interviews with members of social movement organizations and the communities they serve.
Working with social movement organizations to help compile public-facing archives.
Assisting in preparing materials for public presentations, including on websites and in podcasts.
Help organizing public events, including visits to campus by leaders of these organizations and assisting during these events, including with their documentation.
Facilitating visits of high school students from underrepresented communities to visit the campus.
Participating in weekly meetings; carefully organizing all materials collected and submitting them to the Center's archive in a timely fashion; and providing a brief weekly report of activities conducted.
Qualifications: The following skills would be helpful but are not required: research experience; ability to speak and transcribe Spanish; skills in creating and maintaining websites; experience in producing podcasts. Students must be willing to devote an average of 6-8 per week to the project. Some work can be conducted remotely, but there will be in-person meetings. Some tasks will require travel to sites around the Bay Area and in-person meetings.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Clara Mantini-Briggs, MD MPH, Staff Researcher
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: The research sites will be both on- and off-campus, including a variety of sites in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Related website: www.criticalstudyhlc.com
Social Sciences Biological & Health Sciences