racial justice

News

Highlights from the Dean's Symposium

Apr 21, 2024

Two days of panels, chats, and keynotes focused on examining and seeking solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face in Michigan, in the United States, and across the globe. More than 400 students, faculty, staff, and friends attended in...

News

Stacey Abrams, other policymakers and leading scholars to join Ford School symposium

Mar 12, 2024

The Ford School of Public Policy is happy to announce the Dean’s Symposium, which will take place April 11 and 12 at Weill Hall, with the theme, “Policy Innovation for Our Times.” The two days will feature keynote appearances by voting rights...

Stacey Abrams, other policymakers and leading scholars to join Ford School symposium

Publication

Injuries of inequality and the promise of safety nets

Mar 7, 2024

What would a comprehensive strategy for reproductive rights and access look like, borrowing from the lessons from the fight against HIV? This is the question that Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy at the Ford School...

Injuries of inequality and the promise of safety nets

News

Julian Brave NoiseCat receives Sundance Directing Award for "Sugarcane" Documentary

Feb 1, 2024

Former Center for Racial Justice Fellow Julian Brave NoiseCat, along with co-director Emily Kassie, received the United States Directing Award for the Documentary Sugarcane at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Sugarcane follows an investigation...

Julian Brave NoiseCat receives Sundance Directing Award for "Sugarcane" Documentary

News

Center for Racial Justice welcomes 2023-24 visiting fellows cohort!

Sep 18, 2023

The Ford School’s Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes Dr. Moya Z. Bailey, Dr. Angela S. García, Dr. Clarence Wardell III, and Diane J. Wright as Visiting Fellows for the 2023-24 academic year. The Visiting Fellows Program, the signature...

Center for Racial Justice welcomes 2023-24 visiting fellows cohort!

News

Meet our new faculty: Mo Torres

Aug 25, 2023

Mo Torres returns to the Ford School (he graduated with his MPP in 2015) as one of six University of Michigan Society of Fellows for a three-year appointment. He will work closely with the Center for Racial Justice. Torres is a historical...

News

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

Aug 2, 2023

What are the dynamics of inequity in labor markets? How do we determine appropriate categories for people in a multicultural society? How is the U.S. approach to ethnicity and nationality different from what they are doing in Europe? These were...

PPIA students reflect on their summer of study and social life

News

Engaged Learning Student Projects Catalog: Preparing Ford School students for leadership

Jun 29, 2023

During the Winter Term 2023, Ford School students were involved in projects with federal, state, county, city, and township governments, school districts, non-profit organizations, and commissions. They worked with the school’s numerous research...

Engaged Learning Student Projects Catalog: Preparing Ford School students for leadership

News

Racial justice practitioners help policy students apply new skills

May 5, 2023

How do policy professionals apply racial justice in practice? This semester, the Ford School’s Center of Racial Justice hosted a series of workshops to explore different dimensions of justice, from antiracism and global development to community...

News

U-M report on Detroiters’ opinions of reparations gains traction in media

Apr 18, 2023

The Center for Racial Justice, the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study, and Poverty Solutions released a new report detailing Detroiters’ opinions on reparations and racial inequity in March 2023. Since its release, multiple news outlets picked up...

U-M report on Detroiters’ opinions of reparations gains traction in media

News

Detroiters' views on reparations connected to perception of racial wealth gap, other inequality

Mar 29, 2023

Detroiters' perceptions of the racial wealth gap, the legacy of slavery and other forms of racial inequity are strongly connected to their support for reparations and policies that address racial inequity. Overall, 63% of Detroit residents support...

Detroiters' views on reparations connected to perception of racial wealth gap, other inequality

News

We must change hearts to achieve equality - Alemu

Mar 19, 2023

What is the best way to combat racism -- change policies or change hearts? That is the question Matthew Alemu (MPP '09, PhD) contends with in an essay for Bridge Detroit. "Racism resides where society and policy have yet to tackle it directly,...

We must change hearts to achieve equality - Alemu

News

Poverty Solutions marks impact of action-based research in 2022

Mar 15, 2023

From informing how the U.S. Census estimates populations to reimagining land contracts as a path to homeownership and inspiring state legislation that would aid homeless youths, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan continued to tackle the...

Poverty Solutions marks impact of action-based research in 2022

News

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

Feb 16, 2023

Elected officials from local, county, and state government came to the Ford School to hear about the potential for collaborations with their offices and the School’s faculty, research centers, and students. Fifteen members of the Michigan State...

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

News

Poverty Solutions report on police reform widely referenced in wake of recent alleged police abuse

Jan 31, 2023

Following the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of the Memphis police, national attention is once again focused on the use of force by police. The Detroit Free Press, among other outlets, turned to a report written by Trevor Bechtel, Mara C....

Poverty Solutions report on police reform widely referenced in wake of recent alleged police abuse

News

Research centers give U-M students hands-on, practical policy experiences

Jan 27, 2023

With the guidance and support of the Ford School’s research centers, graduate and undergraduate students are creating a real-life impact in a range of areas by working with external partners. The Ford School is deeply integrated with a wide range of...

Research centers give U-M students hands-on, practical policy experiences

News

Gun control measures associated with reduced police use of force

Jan 24, 2023

As police departments and activists look for strategies to reduce excessive use of force by police, new research from the University of Michigan shows limited data, lack of transparency and irregular implementation of reforms make it difficult to...

CLOSUP and Poverty Solutions to examine Michigan’s approach to criminal justice reform

News

Puerto Rican Opinion Lab: Understanding how U.S. policies affect islanders

Jan 5, 2023

Mara Ostfeld, PhD, associate faculty director at Poverty Solutions, assistant research scientist at the Ford School of Public Policy, research director at the Center for Racial Justice, and faculty lead for the Detroit Metro Area Community Study,...

Puerto Rican Opinion Lab: Understanding how U.S. policies affect islanders

State & Hill

Diversity, equity, and inclusion highlights

Dec 19, 2022

The University of Michigan is currently in an interim period between its strategic plans for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with the next plan set to launch in early fall 2023. The Ford School community did not pause, however, and is hard...

Diversity, equity, and inclusion highlights

News

Students find inspiration from racial justice changemakers

Dec 7, 2022

In October 2022, students from the Ford School and members of the greater University of Michigan community gathered together to hear “Racial Justice Changemakers”—social justice leaders, artists, and advocates—share their diverse journeys into...

Students find inspiration from racial justice changemakers

News

Ostfeld appointed research director of the Center for Racial Justice

Dec 5, 2022

Political scientist Dr. Mara Celicia Ostfeld has been named the inaugural research director of the Center for Racial Justice (CRJ) at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. In this role, Ostfeld will lead the development of the...

Ostfeld appointed research director of the Center for Racial Justice

News

Detroiters say quality K-12 schools is top policy priority for November elections

Nov 3, 2022

Detroit residents say the quality of K-12 schools is their top priority for the November elections, followed closely by inflation, affordable housing, affordable health care, and crime. That's according to a new representative survey of Detroiters...

Detroiters say quality K-12 schools is top policy priority for November elections

News

Candidate support for reparations would mobilize Detroit voters

Nov 2, 2022

While most Detroiters intend to vote in the November midterm election, those who are uncertain about voting or unlikely to vote could be motivated to cast a ballot by a candidate's support for reparations, according to a new survey from the...

Candidate support for reparations would mobilize Detroit voters

In the Media

Brave NoiseCat provides insight into U.S. tribal system

Sep 30, 2022 The Robesonian

Julian Brave NoiseCat, The Robesonian: "Because in the strange racial politics of the United States, the Lumbee htave to dance hard. The tribe has been seeking federal recognition through various means since 1888, when they first petitioned the...

Brave NoiseCat provides insight into U.S. tribal system

News

Ford School events for fall 2022 explore racial justice, international affairs, the state of democracy and more

Aug 30, 2022

The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for the fall 2022 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus. We are hosting distinguished policymakers, scholars,...

Ford School events for fall 2022 explore racial justice, international affairs, the state of democracy and more

News

Center for Racial Justice welcomes inaugural visiting fellows

Aug 24, 2022

The Ford School’s Center for Racial Justice proudly welcomes Atinuke (Tinu) Adediran, Makeda Easter, and Julian Brave NoiseCat as inaugural Visiting Fellows for the 2022-23 academic year. The visiting fellows program recognizes and supports the...

Center for Racial Justice Visiting Fellows fall welcome symposium

News

Center for Racial Justice calls for inaugural visiting fellows applications

Jun 9, 2022

The Center for Racial Justice has opened applications for the inaugural cohort of the Visiting Fellows Program for the 2022-23 academic year. The program is a nine-month, non-residential fellowship that offers social justice leaders, activists,...

Center for Racial Justice calls for inaugural visiting fellows applications

News

Ford School to expand anti-racism faculty, address environment and health disparities

May 26, 2022

The Ford School will participate in a cross-campus University of Michigan initiative to address environmental racism and promote health equity. Three tenure track faculty positions will be hired, one each in the Ford School, the School for...

Fall 2021 incoming master's welcome week

News

Ford School experts comment on Buffalo shooting

May 16, 2022

Ford School experts are available to comment on the racially motivated massacre over the weekend at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Celeste Watkins-Hayes Celeste Watkins-Hayes is the associate dean for academic affairs and founding director of...

Watkins-Hayes and Ali comment on racial and domestic terrorism aspects of the Buffalo shooting

News

U-M virtual series to explore racialized health, economic disparities stemming from COVID-19

Mar 29, 2022

The University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy is kicking off a virtual event series this week with a discussion about the local impact of safety nets on communities of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists at Friday's event,...

U-M virtual series to explore racialized health, economic disparities stemming from COVID-19