How can we reduce racial inequality in the criminal justice system?
Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Dr. Bruce Western sat down with Untying Knots to discuss the pioneering new report “Reducing Racial Inequality in Crime and Justice.” The report, co-chaired by Muhammad and Western for the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, tackles the historical roots and present-day realities of racial inequality throughout America’s courts, prisons, jails, and policies, and charts an equitable course forward for solving them. During the interview, we learn more about key methodologies for addressing societal harm, including a community-centered lens of healing and justice. For the US to address racial inequality in its criminal justice system, it must first contend with the structural realities of disinvestment from Black, Indigenous and communities of color, and subsequent investment in their surveillance and policing.
Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad is Faculty Director of the IARA Project and Ford Foundation Professor of History, Race and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Bruce Western is Bryce Professor of Sociology and Social Justice and Director of the Justice Lab at Columbia University.
Notes:
Untying Knots, co-hosted by Nikhil Raghuveera and Erica Licht, explores how people and organizations are untying knots of systemic oppression and working towards a more equitable future. Each episode features special guests and a focus on thematic areas across society.
This podcast is published by the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project in collaboration with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center.
Music:
Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5025-beauty-flow
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
About the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project
The Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project believes in working at the intersection of community, academia, and policy to address intellectual and practical questions as they relate to antiracism policy, practice, and institutional change. In order to create and sustain change, the goal of this project is to promote antiracism as a core value for organizations by critically evaluating structures and policies within institutions. The project aims to analytically examine the current field of antiracism with a lens on research and innovation, policy, dialogue, and community involvement.
Our vision is to be a leader in institutional antiracism research, policy, and advocacy, and propose structural change in institutions and media centered on antiracism work in the public, private, non-profit sectors and digital space. This work will focus on researching existing organizations that conduct antiracism training and development while analyzing their effectiveness and promoting best practices in the field. Additionally, we will study the implementation of antiracism work among institutions that self-identify as antiracist and promote accountability structures in order for them to achieve their goals.
About the Ash Center
The Ash Center is a research center and think tank at Harvard Kennedy School focused on democracy, government innovation, and Asia public policy. AshCast, the Center's podcast series, is a collection of conversations, including events and Q&As with experts, from around the Center on pressing issues, forward-looking solutions, and more.
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.