Chairperson of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies and an Associate Professor, Zulfiya Tursunova, gave a talk on “Peacebuilding through health and equity and spatial transformation in North Carolina” at the 2021 Peace and Justice Studies Association conference held on October 8 - 10.
She highlighted how grassroots community organizations address health disparities among immigrants, refugees, and undocumented residents in North Carolina. Nonprofit organizations and health clinics have created program, practices, and spaces that create sense of belonging, community health, and peacebuilding, however this is conceptualized and put into practice in unique and varied ways. By offering various services to vulnerable populations ranging from sanctuary spaces, community advocacy for the drivers license for undocumented people to food, diapers, and health care, they have also formed creative spatial transformations and solutions that address systemic racism in promoting community health.