The Daily Tar Heel

Serving the students and the University community since 1893

Friday June 2nd

Elevate: Amplifying voices in our community

Elevate is here to do exactly what it says — to give a platform to those whose voices are often silenced. This is a page to celebrate and uplift the underrepresented communities that make up Chapel Hill, who contribute to our culture and daily lives in ways that are often not reported. Elevate adds depth to stories across campus, the town and Orange County.


The page is in part put together and reported by members of the Sharif Durhams Leadership Program, a talent and leadership development course for DTH students from underrepresented groups. Elevate accepts pitches throughout the year for op-eds and letters from members of different groups in our community. Please send submissions to elevate@dailytarheel.com.



War Paint performs at the CIC's 35th Annual Powwow at Hooker fields on March 5, 2022.

Carolina Indian Circle holds first in-person powwow since pandemic

This year marked the Carolina Indian Circles’ 35th annual powwow, one of the largest collegiate powwows on the East Coast — and the CIC's first since the pandemic began in 2020. “It’s kind of like having a family reunion where you’re just coming back to this common space that you only see annually," Evynn Richardson, CIC's culture co-chairperson, said. CIC members said that, especially at a predominately white institution, having a Native American identity often means fighting to have their voices heard. 

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HBCU representatives hold summit on pandemic's disparate effect on mental health.

HBCU representatives hold summit on pandemic's disparate effect on mental health

On Feb. 23, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services partnered with historically Black colleges and universities to host a mental health summit. The summit, “Peeling Back the Layers on Minority Mental Health,” aimed to address the needs of minority students and faculty at HBCUs in North Carolina and the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I've seen a totally big jump on trauma with our students and, of course, grief,” Aishia Griffin, director of Counseling Services at Bennett College, said.

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Photographer Cornell Watson, the creator of "Tarred Healing," poses for a portrait in his Durham office on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. "Tarred Healing" is a photo story reflecting on Black history in Chapel Hill and at UNC.

'Tarred Healing' photo story on Black history at UNC pulled from display

In June, photographer Cornell Watson was offered an artist residency at the Stone Center to create a body of work that captured spaces of memory for Black history. He created a project called "Tarred Healing." The photo story was planned to be put on display in the Stone Center, which recently canceled the exhibition, citing "disagreements over content and scope" and that the project has been published in The Washington Post. But to Watson, the decision was censorship. "All they had to do was just put the photos up," he said.

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The Ackland Upstairs exhibition is pictured on Feb. 23, 2022 at the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill.

'Kind of a dream come true': Ackland Upstairs highlights N.C. Black Feminisms and more

From January 10 to March 20, Ackland Upstairs is hosting installations created by UNC faculty members to compliment their courses.  Courses include "First Year Seminar: North Carolina Black Feminisms," "Introduction to Fiction Writing," "Picture That: History of Photography from Tintypes to Instagram" and "Research Methods in Film Studies: Histories of Moviegoing."

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Assistant Professor Dr. Maggie Melo uses a virtual reality headset in Manning Hall on Feb. 22, 2022.

UNC SILS researchers aim to create more equitable makerspaces

The UNC Equity in the Making Lab is working to make makerspaces an equitable environment for students in historically underrepresented communities.  Maggie Melo, an assistant professor in SILS who is leading the project, said the lab will be using software to create virtual reality makerspaces for students to provide suggestions on how to make the space more welcoming.  “So as they are walking around they are kind of thinking about what the space looks like, but also importantly, what it feels like, because I think that’s a major component to get a better understanding of it,” Melo said. 

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The Bhangra Elite dance team performs during halftime of a men's basketball game at the Dean Smith Center on Monday, Feb. 21, 2022. 

'I love this team': Bhangra Elite wins first place at South Asian dance competition

Bhangra Elite, a South Asian dance group at UNC, won first place on Feb. 12 at the East Coast Showdown — the team's first in-person competition in two years. At the competition, 13 Bhangra Elite members performed a seven minute set. Performances were evaluated by a panel of five judges. “I would say coming back this year has been so exciting because there's just so much to look forward to,” junior and team co-captain Kaathya Kashyap said.

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Mauricio Solano, the economic development manager at El Centro Hispano, poses in the nonprofit's new ToolBank on Friday, Feb. 18. 

El Centro Hispano announces program to increase job opportunities for Latinx workers

Announced on Feb. 12, the new ToolBank program allows for workers who are a part of the nonprofit's Casa for Employment & Leadership program to rent tools at a low cost in Carrboro. Mauricio Solano, El Centro Hispano’s economic development manager, said access to tools is necessary for improving workers' abilities to take on new jobs. "The first goal is to increase or improve the income and the economic condition for the Latin community," Solano said.

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