American public universities often highlight their various contributions to the common good, such as educational access, community outreach and research breakthroughs. Yet these universities too often form extractive relationships with their local communities, and many have long histories of exclusion and displacement. This talk will discuss how community geography provides a model for more inclusive academic scholarship built on trust and mutual benefit. A case study of Linnentown, a Black neighborhood near the University of Georgia destroyed during urban renewal but now the focus of community action, provides an example of this approach.

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