Candace Forbes Bright

Tourist plantation owners and slavery: a complex relationship

This paper examines owners of plantation heritage tourism sites as memorial entrepreneurs who control and negotiate the inclusion and specific treatment of the history of African enslavement. Interviews with owners of four South Louisiana plantations are used to document and analyse their complex relationship with the topic of slavery. Interviewed owners reveal varying understandings of tourist demand for the inclusion of slavery on tours and differences in their own personal desire to advertise and fully narrate enslaved heritage. Indeed, owners continue to propagate common myths surrounding the nature of slavery. Conceptualizing owners as memorial entrepreneurs has implications for understanding the interpretation and delivery of heritage tourism not only as a product but also a set of social values about the past.

The Value of Social Network Analysis for Evaluating Academic-Community Partnerships and Collaborations for Social Determinants of Health Research

Objective Community-based participatory research processes build healthy communities, as well as promote trust and genuine collaborative partnerships between stakeholders. Fostering relationships is essential to promoting these partnerships, which are necessary for collaborative, coordinated, and integrated efforts toward improving health outcomes in the community. The objective of our research was to demonstrate social network analysis as an evaluative tool to assess movement toward positive health outcomes through promoting relationships. Methods Using the example of the Gulf States Health Policy Center Coalition based at Bayou Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama, we demonstrate the ability of social network analysis (SNA) methods to measure and map the formation of relationships, as well as the level and frequency of these relationships. Data were collected via email using a survey of Gulf States Health Policy Center Coalition members (N=80, 87%) and analyzed using UCInet software for social network analysis in April 2016. Results In this application of SNA to the community coalition of the Gulf States Health Policy Center, we find that, on average, coalition members doubled their own network within the coalition in a time period of <2 years and were working together more often and more collaboratively than they were before the coalition formed. Conclusions The increased frequency and level of collaboration among the Coalition network was accompanied by a higher level of collaboration among the coalition members as posited by social network and capital theories. As such, the community engagement fostered through the Coalition has increased and thus, to date, the Gulf States Health Policy Center has been effective in promoting partnerships and collaboration.

Domestic Violence and Pregnancy: A Community-Based Participatory Research Coalition Approach to Identifying Needs and Informing Policy

• A community-partnered approach allowed the Hattiesburg Area Health Coalition, under the Gulf States Health Policy Center, to collect data at the community level to identify specific policies that could be improved regarding infant and maternal health. • The Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative will now screen all pregnant patients for domestic violence and have an official policy for providing information and referrals on the issue. • The policy change will be evaluated by the number of materials developed and distributed by the coalition, and by the number of expecting mothers screened for domestic violence at prenatal visits.

Domestic Violence and Pregnancy: A CBPR Coalition Approach to Identifying Needs and Informing Policy

Abstract:Background: Community engagement—the collaborative process of addressing issues that impact the well-being of a community—is a strategic effort to address community issues. The Gulf States Health Policy Center (GS-HPC) formed the Hattiesburg Area Health Coalition (HAHC) in November 2014 for the purpose of addressing policies impacting the health of Forrest and Lamar counties in Mississippi.Objectives: To chronicle the community-based participatory research (CBPR) process used by HAHCs identification of infant and maternal health as a policy area, domestic violence in pregnancy as a priority area within infant and maternal health, and a community action plan (CAP) regarding this priority area.Methods: HAHC reviewed data and identified infant and maternal health as a priority area. They then conducted a policy scan of local prenatal health care to determine the policy area of domestic violence in pregnancy.Results: HAHC developed a CAP identifying three goals with regard to domestic violence and pregnancy that together informed policy. Changes included the development of materials specific to resources available in the area. The materials and recommended changes will first be implemented by Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative (SeMRHI) through a screening question for all pregnant patients, and the adoption of policies for providing information and referrals.Conclusions: The lack of community-level data was a challenge to HAHC in identifying focus and priority areas, but this was overcome by shared leadership and community engagement. After completion of the CAP, 100% of expecting mothers receiving prenatal care in the area will be screened for domestic violence.

From Celebratory Landscapes to Dark Tourism Sites? Exploring the Design of Southern Plantation Museums

Situated just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, Middleton Place Plantations and Gardens must surely rank among the most beautiful places in the Southeastern United States. These “oldest formal gardens in North America,” feature structural elements found at Versailles as well as a terraced lawn sloping down to the Ashley River. During peak season in early April, almost 1500 people come each day to gaze at the plethora of azaleas reflected in the still waters of the mill pond, or to photograph the amazing variety of wildlife that make the gardens their home.