The assistant professor of psychology was invited to give a research talk as part of Winston-Salem State's annual day dedicated to celebrating student's involvement in undergraduate research.
India R. Johnson, an assistant professor of psychology, was invited to deliver the keynote address for Winston-Salem State’s annual Scholarship Day. Similar to Elon’s SURF Day, Scholarship Day is a day dedicated to celebrating student’s involvement in undergraduate research.
The talk, “Will the Real Ally Please Stand Up: Promoting Women of Color Through Allyship,” focused on how role models can signal allyship and encourage black women to feel belonging in environments where they are traditionally underrepresented.
The project is the product of an ongoing collaboration with Evava S. Pietri, a professor at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI). Together, Johnson and Pietri examine how role models lacking a shared racial identity with black women can potentially serve as role models and encourage black women to feel belonging in environments where they are underrepresented. The research was also conducted in collaboration with two current students Johnson is mentoring: Ashanti Desauguste ’19 and Samira Foster ’19.