Dr. Kevin Tan (Moderator)
Dr. Barbara Suggs-Mason and Angela Rivers, Co-Chairs Champaign County African American Heritage Trail
Join us for the final session of the Community-Engaged Research Series, where we will explore why understanding history matters for research and community impact. Attendees are invited to arrive and first view the Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad exhibit, on display at the Urbana Free Library through March 29, 2026.
Following brief remarks from exhibit partners and stories of Underground Railroad stories from East Central Illinois and beyond, the session will feature a panel discussion exploring how historical awareness should shape our research priorities. Participants will engage in reflective dialogue to identify actionable ways to integrate historical insight into community-engaged research and public scholarship, advancing social justice, strengthening community trust, while ensuring that our collective research agenda honors the lived experiences and historical contexts of our communities.
The Community-Engaged Research Series is organized by the College of Education, Center for Social & Behavioral Science (CSBS), and Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with co-hosts College of Applied Health Sciences, College of Fine and Applied Arts, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and School of Social Work. This event is partially funded by a Healing Illinois Grant. Healing Illinois is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services in partnership with Field Foundation of Illinois and United Way Champaign County.