Research collaborations for social change
Since 2021, the Trinity Social Justice Institute (TSJI) has been advancing research for social change. Through freely available lectures, worksshops, symposia, conferences, research clusters, a digital archive, and our two podcast/webinar series, “Curating Conversations” and “Conjuncture,” we curate critical conversations in the public humanities.
Powered by a small but mighty staff, faculty affiliates, campus and community partners, and committed student ovlunteers, TSJI has made a dramatic impact on scholarly and public debate in a few short years. Unique for a research institution at a liberal arts college, our collaborations have traveled nationally and internationally. In addition to our ongoing work with Davarian Baldwin whose Smart Cities Lab is housed at TSJI, we also partner with likeminded groups on campus, in the region, and beyond.
Faculty
Christina Heatherton, Founding Co-Director
Heatherton (she/her) is Director of TSJI and Elting Associate Professor of American Studies and Human Rights at Trinity. In Spring 2023, she was also Acting Director of American Studies and Director of Graduate Studies. She is the author of Arise! Global Radicalism the Era of the Mexican Revolution (Univ. of California Press, 2022) and co-editor with Jordan T. Camp of Policing the Planet: Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter (Verso, 2016).
Jordan T. Camp, Founding Co-Director
Camp (he/him) is Founding Co-Director of TSJI and Associate Professor of American Studies at Trinity College. He is the author of Incarcerating the Crisis: Freedom Struggles and the Rise of the Neoliberal State (Univ. of California Press, 2016). He is currently at work on a new book called The Southern Question (under contract, Univ. of California Press).
Davarian Baldwin, Director, Smart Cities Research Lab
Baldwin (he/him) is an internationally recognized scholar, author, and public advocate. The Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Founding Director of the Smart Cities Research Lab, he is the award-winning author of several books, including In The Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities Are Plundering Our Cities (Hachette, 2021).
Channon Miller (TC '11), TSJI/Ford Postdoctoral Fellow
Miller (she/her) is an Assistant Professor American Studies and History at Trinity and the inaugural TSJI/Ford Postdoctoral Fellow. She is the author of Diasporic Homeplaces: Black Women’s Trans-Geographic Mothering Work (under contract, Columbia Univ. Press).
Juliet Nebolon, Entangled Histories Research Cluster Director
Nebolon (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of American Studies at Trinity. She is the author of Settler Militarism: World War II in Hawai’i and the Making of US Empire (Duke, 2024).
John L. Selders, Jr., Director, Hidden Black Connecticut Research Cluster
Dean Selders, Jr. (he/him) is the Assistant Dean of Students at Trinity College. He is an ordained minister serving in the United Church of Christ, the Organizing Pastor of Amistad United Church of Christ in Hartford, CT, and a leader of Moral Monday CT.
Students
Dansowaa Adu (TC MA ‘25), TSJI Research Fellow and Assistant
Dansowaa (she/her) is the inaugural TSJI Research Fellow and TSJI Research Assistant. She is now an MA candidate in American Studies at Trinity College after having completed a thesis entitled, “‘They Have Returned’: Ghanians, African Americans, and the State Cultivation of Diasporic Desires.”
Nicole Ankrah (TC ‘26), Lead Researcher, Hidden Black CT
Nicole (she/her) is is from New Haven, CT. She is gifted researcher who is passionate about social justice, community service, and reform work. She hopes to use her interests in these subjects to drive positive change and promote an equitable and inclusive world.
Anna Grant-Bolton (TC ‘25), TSJI Student Coordinator (Fall 2023)
Anna (she/her) is majoring in Human Rights and Public Policy & Law with a minor in Community Action. She co-leads Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI), Trinity Homelessness Project, and Trinity Divests and is an Evanston Community Fridges outreach organizer.
Linnea Mayo (TC ‘26), TSJI Student Coordinator (Spring 2024)
Linnea (she/her) is a first-generation junior majoring in Human Rights and Public Policy & Law. She is active in the Women of Color + Coalition, SAMI, Trinity Homelessness Project, Trinity Divests, the Tripod, and the Office of Community Service & Civic Engagement.
Ifunaya Obidike (TC ‘27), Researcher, Hidden Black CT
Ifunaya (she/her) is from Philadelphia, PA. She became interested in the Hidden Black CT Research Cluster after hearing a presentation in a class on abolition. She is a journalist for the campus paper, the Tripod.
Maggie Powers (TC ‘24), Associate Director, Hidden Black CT
Maggie (she/her) is a Hartford public schools and Trinity alumna (BA ‘23, MA ‘24). She is currently a research analyst in the corporate history sector where she uses history and heritage to drive impactful results across global industries.
