Race Equity -- General

The Department of Justice (DOJ) opened an investigation of the Worcester Police Department (WPD) and the City of Worcester (City) on November 15, 2022. Based on this investigation, DOJ has reasonable cause to believe that WPD and the City engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives…

Administrative burdens limit access to resources and generate negative experiences of government. A related concern is that these burdens reinforce patterns of inequality. Indeed, the first formal guidance the the Biden administration offered on reducing administration burdens was in…

Memorandum has been developed for advocates willing to seek to forthrightly advance racial equity objectives while hewing as closely as possible to prevailing legal constraints and limitations. It also seeks to clarify a few common but unfortunately pervasive misunderstandings that prevail…

On June 23, 2023 MLRI's Director of Racial Justice Advocacy lead the CLAVC staff in the first of a Racial Justice for CLAVC series. The training was held in person at MLRI's new offices with a remote option for those unable to attend in person. The conversation was not recorded,…

From the article: "Black Americans are often treated like second-class citizens in a nation they helped to build. Yet, for those unacquainted with the nation's history of racial discrimination, it may be unclear why this racial hierarchy remains intact over a century and a half after the…

Jointly sponsored by CSREA and the Office of the Provost, the “Race & in America” series gathers Brown scholars to discuss how anti-Black racism remains an enduring and foundational feature of American society from a range of fields and scholarly perspectives. Speakers include:…

Boston College Law Review.   Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants dedicated his life and much of his work on the bench of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to racial equity and justice. Sheriece Perry credits the late Chief Justice with his support of the Supreme Judicial Court’s…

Opinion piece, New York Times.

Sponsored by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy Co-Sponsor: BC Law Black Law Students Association (BLSA) Featuring: Jeffery Robinson, Founder and Executive Director, The Who We Are Project; Participatory Moderator Robin Rue Simmons, Former Alderman, Evanston, IL; Founder and Executive…

Do Black people have full Second Amendment rights? Article about historian Carol Anderson’s search to  answer this question  after Minnesota police killed Philando Castile, a Black man with a license to carry a gun, during a 2016 traffic stop.  The language of the amendment,…

Article on how the 1921 Tulsa race massacre was followed by many of the "legal massacres" described in the Color of Law (redlining, highway and ring road destruction of neighbood, urban renewal, zoning abuse, eminent domain abuse, loss of generational wealth and…

Be Antiracist imagines what an antiracist society might look like and how we all can play an active role in building one. Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is the author of How to Be an Antiracist, the book that spurred a nationwide conversation redefining what it means to be antiracist, and in this podcast, he…

This report begins with a brief background of the issues to be considered by the Committee. It then presents an overview of the testimony received. Finally, it identifies primary findings as they emerged from this testimony, as well as recommendations for addressing areas of civil rights concerns

Is it time to stop making the business case for diversity? Two scholars who have been studying diversity for decades say that the business case is a dangerous fallacy, one that lets leaders off the hook and trades human dignity for dollars.

To say that the attack on the U.S. Capitol is not who we are is to say that this is not part of us, not part of our politics, not part of our history. And to say that this is not part of America, American politics, and American history is a bald-faced denial. But the denial is normal. In the…

A shareable database of consultants and programs that support nonprofits to address racial equity.

The Pew Research Center report. The emergence of Latinx coincides with a global movement to introduce gender-neutral nouns and pronouns into many languages whose grammar has traditionally used male or female constructions. In the United States, the first uses of Latinx appeared more…

The State Of Race is a series of virtual forums examining race and inequality in Massachusetts, presented by GBH and The Boston Globe. Hosted by award-winning journalist Dan Lothian, this ongoing series is produced in partnership with the NAACP Boston Branch and WORLD Channel. Stay tuned for future…

Article on the experiences of a Black female attorney in housing court.  

An overview, description, and explanation of the impact of the four levels of racism, race equity and resilience - ideological, internalized, interpersonal, and institutional.  

From the introduction: Developing a shared language for thoughtful discussion about equity is critical for all of our work. This glossary of key terms includes many words and concepts that are foundational and relevant to CSSP's work. This is a living document. Just as our work has evolved…

From the introduction: The following resource is designed for programs working with pro bono attorneys and legal advocates in Washington State. Our goal is to provide a starting point for volunteers seeking to understand and practice key concepts related to race equity and anti-bias work. The…

Definitions of common racial justice terms.

From the introduction: The following article aims to support individuals and organizations who seek to learn about, organize, and effectively facilitate “caucuses,” or affinity groups, to support learning and development around racial justice. Each section explores common questions…

In this open letter, Eve Tuck calls on communities, researchers, and educators to reconsider the long-term impact of “damage-centered” research—research that intends to document peoples’ pain and brokenness to hold those in power accountable for their oppression. This kind of research operates with…

From the article: Many middle-class white people, especially those of us from the suburbs, like to think that we got to where we are today by virtue of our merit - hard work, intelligence, pluck, and maybe a little luck. And while we may be sympathetic to the plight of others, we close down when…

Racial discrimination and isolation underlie and exacerbate the legal, social, and economic problems that low-income people of color face. To address their legal problems, individual legal aid lawyers and paralegals have to employ both antidiscrimination statutes and community-based strategies;…