Center for Racial Justice
Advancing racial equity and cultivating a diverse community of changemakers
Racial justice is the systematic fair treatment of people, regardless of racial background, that results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone.We seek a world in which people are able to achieve their full potential in life, regardless of race, ethnicity, or the communities in which they live. At the Center for Racial Justice, we seek to explore, analyze, and understand how public policies have undermined or advanced the goal of racial equity, illuminating evidence-based solutions and supporting the changemakers who advocate for sound, just, and fair public policies day in and day out.
The Center for Racial Justice is housed in the Ford School, but it belongs to the entire U of M community. We all have a role to play in constructively shaping it so that it can be a model of rigorous, respectful, and evidence-based dialogue. Planning is also underway for a future Global Racial Foundations of Public Policy series that will explore the relationships between race and public policy from an international perspective.
Through our visiting fellows program, our events, and the resources we offer, the Center for Racial Justice is a space for all who seek to make positive and lasting change in our shared society toward just futures for all. Learn more about us.
Programs & Initiatives
Our focus for year one
Masterclass in Activism
Reading circle
Racial Justice Student Initiative Fund
Undergraduate Lunch and Learn
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At the Center for Racial Justice, we believe in the power of public policy to help address the societal challenges that we all face.
Celeste Watkins-Hayes, director of the Center for Racial Justice
Watkins-Hayes is also the associate dean for academic affairs, Jean E. Fairfaix Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, and professor of sociology.
View Watkins-Hayes' profile
Featured news
Anti-racist and community-centered research approaches for a more just and equitable society
This community conversation further explores the principles and practices of academic responsibility and academic freedom, and how these are...
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What we want to do is put race to bed. But the problem is we can't do that until we actually face it. Facing it I don't believe will be complete in my lifetime because we've been facing race since before the United States was the United States. So, to deal with these issues, we have to deal with the fact of how central race was in the formation of our nation and the formation of policies we've enacted. Then, with that honesty, we can go forward in the present and actually make policies that can fulfill the promises of the United States as a representative democracy."
Dr. Trevon Logan
in conversation with Dr. Celeste Watkins-Hayes for the Racial Foundations of Public Policy speaker series. Logan is the Hazel C. Youngberg Trustees Distinguished Professor in the Department of Economics and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at The Ohio State University.
Watch the recording
Have any questions?
Dom Adams-Santos
Managing Director, Center for Racial Justice; Senior DEI Strategist, Ford School; Strategic Consultant for Democratic Engagement
Weill Hall
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