In partnership with Taishona Carpenter and Teressa Raiford of Don't Shoot Portland, this project served as a part of Don't Shoot Portland's Liberated Archives and Memory Work for Black Lives series, highlighting themes of systemic oppression, displacement, and collective resistance in Portland, with an emphasis on the lived experiences of minoritized communities in North Portland. By utilizing community archives and archives at the University of Portland, student researchers and students in a Social Justice Capstone course worked with community partners to understand how archives can be used for social justice and memory preservation. This archival project culminated with an art exhibition on campus to demonstrate its findings.
Check out the Liberated Archives zine the team produced here.
Lizz is an Instructor in the Sociology and Social Work Department at the University of Portland, and the Social Work Practicum Director. Their teaching interests focus on experiential education and project-based learning, highlighting issues of social, economic, and environmental justice. Lizz also runs their own therapy practice, Uprising Counseling LLC, where they connect community-based organizations and those who work with and for them with tools for on-the-job advocacy, trauma care and mental health.
Year: Senior
Major/minor: English major, Spanish and social justice minors
Hometown: Vancouver, WA
Why PRF: I am interested in working on this project as a part of PRF because I believe in the work of archiving and uncovering stories. I think that PRF is a wonderful resource for undergraduate students looking to explore the world of research and learn more about what engages them in research contexts. My project is an opportunity to bring together communities across the city of Portland and hopefully engage with fellow UP community members unfamiliar with the city’s history, past, and present.
Year: Senior
Major/minor: Psychology/Social Justice
Hometown: Aiea, HI
Why PRF: I am excited to be working as a Public Research Fellow because it is an incredible opportunity to explore the relationship between humanities and current social challenges that the Portland and UP community strive to overcome. I am specifically looking forward to seeing the impact that art and archival research can have on the community's activism and understanding of systemic racism. I hope to further my knowledge of the various social justice challenges in our community; this program will provide me with a valuable experience that I cannot find anywhere else.
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
