Reducing Racial Inequality in Crime and Justice

The United States continues to grapple with creating an accurate, national picture of racial inequality in crime and justice. Criminal justice reform requires policies that interrogate and solve for the historical legacy of racial exclusion and structural inequalities.

On Tuesday, February 28, the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project (IARA) at the Ash Center hosted a discussion with Bruce Western, Bryce Professor of Sociology and Social Justice and Director of the Justice Lab at Columbia University; and Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Ford Foundation Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project; co-chairs of the recent National Academies of Science publication on “Reducing Racial Inequity in Crime and Justice: Science, Practice, and Policy.”  Sandra Susan Smith, Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Professor of Criminal Justice and Faculty Director of the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, provided an introduction.

Read the report: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26705/reducing-racial-inequality-in-crime-and-justice-science-practice-and 

IARA’s research portfolio focuses on sector-specific interests and critical evaluation of antiracist structures and policies within private, nonprofit, public/government, and academic institutions. By documenting and understanding the field of “diversity” and antiracist training groups, as well as organizations that have sought to engage in antiracist change and the standards by which they have been held accountable, IARA seeks to develop critical measures for establishing antiracist institutional accountability.

To learn more about the IARA Project, visit IARA.hks.harvard.edu.

Curious how people and organizations are untying knots of systemic oppression and working towards a more equitable future? Tune into the IARA podcast, Untying Knots  hosted by Erica Licht and Nikhil Raghuveera: https://iara.hks.harvard.edu/work/untying-knots/ 

The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence and innovation in governance and public policy through research, education, and public discussion. By training the very best leaders, developing powerful new ideas, and disseminating innovative solutions and institutional reforms, the Center’s goal is to meet the profound challenges facing the world’s citizens.

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Music is Wholesome by Kevin McLeod. 

The mission of the Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation is to develop ideas and foster practices for equal and inclusive, multi-racial and multi-ethnic democracy and self-government.

Visit the Ash Center online, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. For updates on the latest research, events, and activities, please signup for our newsletter.

Music is Wholesome by Kevin McLeod.