Award Recipients 2023-24

Cameron Samuels

Cameron Samuels"Protecting the Freedom to Learn Amid Unprecedented Book Bans"

Book bans are ravaging the nation as censorship seeps across school districts nationwide. Most of these book bans target identity – race, religion, gender identity, sexuality – and have been coupled with educational censorship and so-called "culture wars" on humanity. Cameron's program will include a guest speaker and educational booth fair for the freedom to read.

Logan Shanks

Logan Shanks

"A través de los años: Afrocolombians a Univalle"

During Brandeis' Spring Break (April 22-30), Logan is organizing a transformative panel featuring Afro-Colombian activists, leaders, and educators who are alumni of the Universidad del Valle. The project aims to increase Afro-Colombian student enrollment at UniValle by providing mentorship through the CADHUBEV organization, assisting with applications, major selection, and securing scholarships. The program will be held at Black Ground Lab - the only Black cultural art space in Cali, Colombia - and will end in community fellowship, dance, and food.

Victoria Zidek

Victoria Zidek

"Capoeira, Restorative Justice, and Feminism in Salvador, Brazil"

Victoria will conduct ethnographic research at Capoeira studios in Salvador, Brazil, to capture the ways Capoeira engages with feminism and restorative justice. She will begin research at the Nzinga Group and interview other practitioners and masters in the community to understand how they frame Capoeira's effect on the individual, local, and national level.

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