By Priyanka Dubey
This summer as a Humanities for the Public Good intern, I have the chance to work with South District Diversity Market. Diversity Market came into being to support small entrepreneurs that include, but are not limited to women, immigrant, refugee, LGBTQ+ and youths. My role is to write a blog series to document stories about the south side of Iowa City and how the Diversity Market came into being. When my internship mentor suggested that I join Nextdoor, a platform for connecting with neighbors, I felt confused, hesitant, and anxious. I lacked confidence in the process because I was a new account holder, have brown skin, and did not live in the south district neighborhood. Nonetheless, I posted an advertisement requesting volunteers for interviews about my project. After a lengthy virtual engagement, I was able to build rapport and relationships with community members. Although the process was stressful, building relationships turned out to be incredibly rewarding. Each interaction with different community members informed and shaped the series of blog we had set out to do. Each blog focused on claiming the narrative of the south district through the voices of community members.
Reflecting on how I successfully engaged with community members whom I had no prior relationship with reinforces the significance of processes in community-engaged research (CEnR). This blog serves as a reflection on the practices I’ve adopted in my work, including my current internship.
The CEnR approach challenges the traditional power dynamics in research. CEnR promotes a collaborative process of learning and sharing power that utilizes the strengths and resources of communities. CEnR can enhance effectiveness of research evidence. Often, collaborating with community is reduced to simply fulfilling research ethics requirements on an IRB form. True community engagement hinges on building trust to elicit participation from community members. Despite this well-known fact, there is not a lot of insight on the practice side of building trust with the community.
Establishing a positive relationship with the community is essential, and I learned early on in my career that how we introduce ourselves plays a significant role. While we tend to identify ourselves by our profession, we expect the community members to share more about themselves beyond their job title. I came across a strategy that suggests introducing ourselves without mentioning our profession (Airhihenbuwa, 2007). This approach of introducing oneself without using the job title proved to be useful not only for my current internship but also for my dissertation research, where I engaged with transgender and nonbinary people, a vulnerable population group, on a sensitive and taboo topic of menstrual health and hygiene. I was able to connect and seek participation from community members when I shared my own lived experiences of menstrual hygiene management. While I talked of my experiences, I exhibited vulnerability, a crucial element to establish trust. They were not only able to relate to the shared experiences but also appreciated that I was taking sincere efforts to amplify their voices through my dissertation research.
Photo Above: Melissa Voss, a long-term resident, and a music teacher in south district, Iowa City
Another strategy that has worked in engaging with communities is to simply “hang out” with community members and participate in activities they plan and organize. During my internship, I participated in events organized by the community members and the staff of the Diversity Market organization. This allowed me to meet and interact with numerous entrepreneurs and community members, gaining insights into their experiences and journeys as entrepreneurs in the city. This approach has helped me to build trust and foster a collaborative relationship for my previous research as well where I made frequent visits to the community members and shared a meal or a cup of tea. This practice demonstrates humility, which is important for establishing trust in the Indian context. It allows us to listen to community members and understand their needs.
Photo Above: Community members engaging in group discussion during an event
These strategies may seem minimal and undemanding. However, building trust is a gradual process that can take weeks and months of consistent effort to build rapport. Trust should not be seen as a final goal, but it rather as an ongoing process.
The South Diversity Market is all set to begin its third year of pop-up market. The Diversity Market is an initiative of the South District Neighborhood Association and will be open at Pepperwood Plaza (1067 Hwy 6) every Saturday, July 8 through August 19, 2023, from 3 – 7 pm.
uihumanitiesforthepublicgood.com 