Center for Racial Justice
Advancing racial equity and cultivating a diverse community of changemakers
Our mission
At the Center for Racial Justice, we seek to explore, analyze, and understand how public policies have undermined and 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 a space for all who seek to make positive and lasting change in our shared society toward just futures for all.
Winter 2025
Top news
Making it: Snapshots from the Artist Pay Project explores the financial struggles facing artists
Chicago-based artist and journalist Makeda Easter explores the financial challenges facing artists across disciplines in her immersive...
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Programs & Initiatives
Engagement Opportunities
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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, founder of the Center for Racial Justice
Watkins-Hayes is also the Dean of the Ford School, Jean E. Fairfaix Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor, and professor of sociology.
View Watkins-Hayes' profile
2024-2025 cohort
"I wish every policymaker would understand that you can go not to federal court, you can go to your state court and learn so much about the health of your community. I wish every policymaker would spend a day in court because, again, we're talking about people. And it's very easy in the policy space to kind of crunch numbers or sit and be smart, write a really good article. But going someplace... seeing what happens in a courtroom... going to a prison... Go to the places and meet the people about the policy that you're making."
Judge Laurel Beatty-Blunt
Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence
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