Women + Girls Research Alliance elevates the standard of what research should look like | Arts And Culture

Established in 2006, the Women + Girls Research Alliance (W+GRA) provides the UNC Charlotte community a space to focus on crucial research and education on women’s issues. Their work focuses on civic and political engagement, economic security and violence against women. 

The alliance is a unit of Charlotte’s urbanCORE, which focuses on the challenges preventing women from success. They host events that extend their work and create conversations about the challenges of womanhood in the greater Charlotte area. 

“We focus on the challenges here in the Charlotte Metropolitan area that impede the thriving of women and girls,” said Michelle Meggs, executive director at W+GRA. “We look at health and well-being, economics, employment, education, socio-political issues. We look at all of those challenges, and we work through convening.” 

Advocating with research

The event expands on Janaka Bowman-Lewis’s, a member of the W+GRA advisory committee, research on Black women’s wellness. 

“We do community engagement research, so we work with local nonprofits that help expand their capacity to do the work that they are doing,” said Lewis. “So we are not only engaged in helping faculty to extend and expand their research, but we also help local nonprofits with the work that we do to enhance their work and make it more meaningful.”

Bowman-Lewis researches Black women’s health and mobility in part with the Gambrell Faculty Fellowship with sociology professor Kendra Jason and education professor Tehia Starker Glass. Their project, “Searching for Stability: The Pandemic’s Impact on Black Women and Their Families In Charlotte,” will explore Black women’s lived experiences on health, economic mobility and the changes in Black mother’s roles following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“[We’re] thinking about what Black women need for socioeconomic mobility. Our narratives weren’t even present,” said Bowman-Lewis in an interview. 

The Women + Girls Research Alliance has previously supported Jason, Starker Glass and Bowman-Lewis to have a Black mother’s summit and a Charlotte family summit, the 2023 Charlotte Black Families Summit. These events held a space to create a commentary on economic mobility and family dynamics and to listen to the community’s needs. They ensured the attendees an opportunity to participate in the dialogue on wellness, education, policy, housing and other contemporary issues. 

Dedication to mindfulness and dialogues

W+GRA’s Sept. 7 event, “Mind, Bodywork, Spirit,” joined Spiritual Sundaze and Phoenix Rising Fitness for an evening filled with reflection and connection with one’s mind-to-body relationship. 

It was a moment to sit down and get to know oneself. Students and faculty members had the opportunity to discuss their experiences on their mental and physical health. 

“This piece is an extension of how we stay well as women, how writing connects to our wellness, how movement promotes our wellness,” said Bowman-Lewis. “It is a nice way to follow up in the fall what we did in the spring with the Charlotte family summit and to open up to faculty, staff, students and community the opportunity to think about wellness through writing and movement.”

The event began with a writing and meditative activity about our intentions for the session and the next four months. This meditative exercise allowed us to be present at the event and also allowed us to envision the future with optimism rather than the usual fears that surround our thoughts on the next four months. 

Following the meditation and journaling exercises, we focused on mind and body movement. Being conscious of how our breath can affect the exercise and being able to concentrate and breathe through the Pilates workout was serene. The skills taught on how to be focused and present in the workout taught attendees how to move with intention and have a purpose for the present and our future. 

Having the time to not catalog what homework needs to be done or anxiously ponder about the next four months and silence the overflow of thoughts is an excellent way to re-establish one’s energy and a better way to re-evaluate our current ways of living. 

“I felt like today’s experience was pretty wholesome,” said Spiritual Sundaze instructor Cheyene Booker. “I got to talk to a biology student who told me that she heavily needed the rest and sleep because she has been studying nonstop, so it was pretty heartwarming to hear that.”

Phoenix Rising Fitness owner and instructor Victoria Habersham shared her thoughts on the experience. 

“I felt restored just by the energy in the room and the support, and I felt love in this room, so I really felt restored afterward and during,” said Habersham. 

The experience truly was rejuvenating, as it gave all attendees a chance to be their authentic selves and created a dialogue on women’s physical and mental health, which is a continuation of the work of Dr. Bowman-Lewis. 

Oftentimes, students and faculty feel a need to be productive and put aside their needs constantly. Being constantly on the go takes a physical and mental toll on oneself, and the “Mind, Bodywork, Spirit” event taught attendees about the importance of taking care of oneself and created a social event for like-minded individuals to learn and grow as a collective group. 

How to get involved

For students who are interested in joining the Women + Girls Research Alliance, Meggs encourages undergraduate and graduate students to participate in events and involve student organizations with the alliance. 

“We are always looking for opportunities for students who are looking for internships, who want to work with us,” said Meggs. “Students who are interested in possibly publishing essays or articles, students who just want to share the work that we are doing with others and why this works, because women and particularly women of color sit at the intersection of so many issues that are happening in our culture, and I stand firmly planted in my womanist land.”

Upcoming events this fall include the 2023 W+GRA’s Leadership Cafe on Oct. 17. Students are encouraged to attend the cafe to join the conversation with faculty and community leaders. 

There are also spots open to volunteer for the event. This opportunity is open to all Charlotte students and faculty, not just women, and it provides the occasion to have open conversations about one’s connection to the issues that affect women today. 

“When you free all women of color, you free everyone because in the middle of those intersections are issues of race, gender, sexuality, all of the things,” said Meggs. “When you free women of color, you free everyone, and that does not mean that you are excluding people.”