"Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done," "The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice," and "We are all implicated when we allow others to be mistreated; an absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, an entire nation."
- Bryan Stevenson
2024-25 Theme:
The Heman Sweatt Center for Social Good and Leadership will host the theme What Matters an exploration of the life we lead and how it impacts others. The theme is a guided exploration to connect with the past and create a new future. This experience supports students in mapping their new journey in leadership and impacts for social good.
2024-25 Wiley University Activist in Residence
Dr. Robert "Biko" Baker is the Wiley University Activist in Residence. The Residency is a unique opportunity for students to experience a professional change leader. Students interact regularly, and the experience helps students strengthen their understanding of social change.
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“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year; it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
–John Lewis
2023-24 Theme: Good Trouble/Suppression, Resistance, and Revolution
The Heman Sweatt Center for Social Good and Leadership will host the theme of Good Trouble/Suppression, Resistance, and Revolution to reflect on those who came before us and the possibility of a more just society. The theme will guide the campus in explorations of organized suppression that actively interfered with citizens’ rights and the responses of citizens who organized to resist. With a laser focus on three areas that are intimately tied to our democracy: citizenship, voting, and freedom, the Heman Sweatt Center for Social Good and Leadership invites programs and projects.
Funding Ideas: Faculty, staff, and students are invited to participate in this theme by offering various programs, courses, activities, and/or service learning projects that facilitate the exploration of this theme. Mini-grants of $2500 are available to support campus-community members’ projects.
Please contact Dr. Keyona White (knwhite@wileyc.edu), Executive Director of the Heman Sweatt Center for Social Good and Leadership, for details on how to submit for funding.
Examples of Learning Opportunities for Funding
Awareness Projects
Throughout the academic year, the Center invites learning opportunities that investigate the tenets of the theme. Experiences that increase campus awareness about democratic values, such as the vote.
Activism
During the early 1940s, Heman Sweatt participated in voter registration drives and other forms of activism that impacted social change. The Center invites opportunities to support organized activism through presentations, collaborations, and actions.
Change
Good Trouble serves as a framing theme for exploration throughout the year. Inviting opportunities for various projects, The Center invites experiences that are sustainable over time. The Center invites sustained experiences that reduce voter suppression and increase voter access and awareness.
Research
Monitoring the impact of our actions is an important part of social good work. The Center invites contributions to the body of knowledge through research. Articles, essays, and studies provide the opportunity to capture impact and provide engagement of a larger audience.
