S2, Episode 4: Ruby Mendenhall on Trauma, Wellness, and Community-Centered Solutions Artwork

Off the Shelf: Revolutionary Readings in Times of Crisis

"Off the Shelf: Revolutionary Readings in Times of Crisis" is a podcast series featuring in-depth conversations with Black scholars on the University of Illinois campus and beyond. Each episode explores books and scholars they recommend we take “off the shelf” to help us understand these revolutionary times and creative agendas for the here and now. Hosted by Dr. Augustus Wood, a scholar of political economy and gentrification, labor, and social movements in late 20th and early 21st century African American urban history.

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Off the Shelf: Revolutionary Readings in Times of Crisis

S2, Episode 4: Ruby Mendenhall on Trauma, Wellness, and Community-Centered Solutions

March 30, 2022 • Humanities Research Institute • Season 2 • Episode 4

Episode 4’s featured guest recently received the Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz Award for Humanism in Healthcare, which honors a woman who exemplifies humanism and has advanced the well-being of underserved or vulnerable populations in the healthcare arena. It’s a fitting honor for Dr. Ruby Mendenhall, whose extensive interdisciplinary research and publicly engaged work focuses on building healthy, equitable communities—with those communities solidly at the center, working together on solutions.

In this episode, Mendenhall discusses the interconnection of racial oppression, trauma, and violence with both physical and mental health. Learn about her current projects, including a MacArthur-funded initiative to create programming and wellness tools (such as art and a forthcoming wellness store) to foster healing from racial trauma in Black and Latinx high school students and young adults living in Chicago. Along the way, she highlights the scholars, works, and mentors who informed her path forward. Visit the show notes and transcript.