Centering Black Voices is a social research initiative based at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNC Greensboro) with the stated goals of preventing violence and promoting “healing” in the lives of Black boys, men, and families through studies and action. 1
Background
Centering Black Voices is a social research initiative based at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro with the stated goals of preventing violence and promoting “healing” in the lives of Black boys, men, and families through studies and action. 1
The organization’s stated mission is to affirm the “humanity” of Black boys, men, and families by creating spaces where Black communities can leverage research to “transform pain into collective growth, healing, justice, and advancement.” 2
The organization established loss and grief support groups and set up research projects that focused on young men’s experiences of violent injury and homicide grief. 2
This research informs policy recommendations, as well as community mental health interventions for Black boys and men. The organization claims the research also facilitated “healing” in the lives of participants. 2
Three REACH Health Foundation board members, Lynette Sparkman-Barnes, Jerrihlyn McGee, and Danielle Jones, each of whom have focused on community health disparities in their scholarly careers, were advisors to Centering Black Voices as of 2025. 3 The REACH Health Foundation provided a $20,000 unrestricted grant to Centering Black Voices. 3
History
Centering Black Voices was established in 2021. It has programs that address health, social service supports, and advocacy for critical issues in the Black community. 3
The research project that evolved into Centering Black Voice was led by Jocelyn R. Smith Lee, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. 4
The program says it is “Rooted in Baltimore and growing in Greensboro.” The initial research occurred in Baltimore, Maryland, but the initiative is based in Greensboro, North Carolina. 5
The organization was founded following a community-engaged research study that interviewed Black men ages 18-24 in Baltimore about the transition into adulthood. The interviewees shared their stories of losing friends and family members to violence, witnessing violence, and experiencing violence. 2
The program expanded into North Carolina in Greensboro, noting that homicide rates in North Carolina had been increasing. Greensboro had experienced its highest number of homicide deaths on record, and most of the victims were Black males. 5
Smith Lee worked with Payton Foh in Public Health Education at UNC Greensboro to conduct a community based participatory research assessment of the aftermath of violence and homicide on the lives of Black boys, men, and families, in Greensboro. The program states it used the Action-Oriented Community Diagnosis approach developed by Eugenia Eng at UNC. 5
Centering Black Voices established “In All Ways Human,” which is a visual storytelling and narrative change campaign. The “In All Ways Human” initiative uses portraits and photovoice that intend to disrupt what it considers to be a dehumanizing narrative around Black male criminality. 6
Centering Black Voices says it wants to replace mugshot images which the media widely circulates with images that foreground the “humanity, resilience, and value of intergenerational Black boys and men in Baltimore.” 6
Leadership
The research project that led to Centering Black Voices was led by Jocelyn R. Smith Lee, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. 4
Smith Lee’s research investigates issues of trauma, violence, loss, and healing among Black boys, men, and families. She examines how losing loved ones to homicide shapes the health, well-being, development, and family relationships of Black males and their social networks. 4
Smith Lee’s work has been published journals such as the American Journal of Public Health and the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 4
Smith Lee’s project, “Disrupting Dehumanizing Narratives of Black Men in Poverty,” was among 28 winners of the 2020 Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Competition: Voices for Economic Opportunity. 5
Before working at UNC Greensboro, Smith Lee held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She then worked as an assistant professor of psychology at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She also practiced individual, couples, and family therapy in Maryland. 5
References
- [1] “Jocelyn R. Smith Lee.” Centering Black Voices. Accessed May 14, 2025. https://centeringblackvoices.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Dr.-Jocelyn-R.-Smith-Lee-Bio-4.2021.pdf
- “Our Mission.” Centering Black Lives. Accessed May 14, 2025. https://centeringblackvoices.com//our-mission/
- “REACH Announces New Initiative Highlighting Black-Led Organizations.” REACH Foundation. February 11, 2021. Accessed May 14, 2025. https://reachheal.org/2021/02/11/reach-announces-new-initiative-highlighting-black-led-organizations/
- “About Dr. Jocelyn R. Smith Lee.” Centering Black Voices. Accessed May 14, 2025. https://centeringblackvoices.com/about-jocelyn-r-smith-lee-ph-d/
- “Jocelyn R. Smith Lee.” Centering Black Voices. Accessed May 14, 2025. https://centeringblackvoices.com//wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Dr.-Jocelyn-R.-Smith-Lee-Bio-4.2021.pdf
- Centering Black Voices. Accessed May 14, 2025. https://centeringblackvoices.com/