Community Engagement

Stories of liberation from slavery or oppression have become central to African American women’s literature. In “Freedom Narratives of African American Women: A Study of 19th Century Writings,” author Janaka Bowman Lewis posits that these texts represent an earlier discussion on civil rights than the ideas of racial uplift that culminated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In partnership with the Levine Museum of the New South, Assistant Professor of Urban Design Ming-Chun Lee and UNC Charlotte students will help Charlotte residents discover the stories behind the rise and fall of Eastland Mall and its surrounding neighborhood at an event on Saturday, Dec. 8.

The event, “Being a Historian for a Day,” will take place at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Hickory Grove Branch, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

UNC Charlotte’s 49er Democracy Experience once again took the lead to communicate with students about the importance of voting in advance of Nov. 6 elections.

The semester’s largest registration event, #JoyofVoting, created a festival-like atmosphere where students played games, enjoyed free food and talked about the political situation; 49er Democracy Experience also registered 230 students to vote.

Nationally known sports journalist and activist Jemele Hill will speak at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 30, in Popp Martin Student Union, Room 340, as a part of the Forty-Niner Forum Speaker Series.

Chancellor Philip L. Dubois was the featured speaker at the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte’s luncheon held at the Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte.  He spoke to a packed room of business professionals and community leaders about the importance of education to individuals and the region, the University’s record-breaking enrollment and the growth of UNC Charlotte’s Latino community.

UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and students are invited to listen and share during campus discussions about the legacy of segregation in Charlotte on Wednesday, Oct. 24.

Nonprofit organization ACEing Autism will hold tennis clinics at UNC Charlotte beginning Sunday, Sept. 30.

According to Nils Weldy, marketing director for the organization, ACEing Autism is a national nonprofit that provides tennis clinics specially designed by autism and tennis professionals to encourage social interaction between peers and volunteers, improve physical fitness and allow for flexibility within the clinics to ensure children have fun.

Professor Jamie Brandon and the School of Nursing have a broad range of interactive activities planned for everyone attending Charlotte Kids Fest on Saturday, Sept. 22.

The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens is offering a course on fall vegetable gardening at 10 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 30, in the McMillan Greenhouse.

Don Boekelheide will lead this two-hour workshop in which attendees will learn the best varieties of fall vegetables to plant for Carolina Piedmont conditions. Participants will learn about soil care techniques to keep fall crops strong and to keep diseases under control.

UNC Charlotte employees are encouraged to participate in the first-ever Live United Day: All in for the Kids, a joint effort between United Way’s Hands On Charlotte, the Charlotte Chamber and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.