The North Carolina Central University School of Law has launched the Social Justice and Racial Equality Initiative to provide educational outreach on social justice, anti-racism and other equity concerns.
The four-part initiative will include partnerships with the University’s School of Business and Department of Criminal Justice. It will offer a Social Justice Lecture Series delivered via the School of Law’s Virtual Justice Project (VJP). The lecture series will feature scholars, practicing attorneys and community leaders addressing topics that range from the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color to the persistence of environmental racism and economic injustice.
The initiative will also establish a Social Justice Research Center to conduct and sponsor empirical research, draft and publish white papers and host conferences and workshops on social justice issues. The third component, a Social Justice Training Center, will develop online training modules on social justice topics. A Social Justice Impact Center is the fourth component of the initiative and will focus on bringing positive change by partnering with community organizations to address issues such as foster care reform, land acquisition for community gardens in food deserts, and oversight of disciplinary actions in the public school system.
“NCCU School of Law has been educating social justice advocates for over 80 years, and most of our graduates accept public service positions, so the initiative aligns with our mission,” said Browne Lewis, dean of NCCU’s School of Law. “With all the turmoil occurring throughout the world, we are using our resources to help bring about a world that is more just and less racist. Our Social Justice and Racial Equality Initiative will help us to achieve that goal.”
As part of the initiative, the School of Law will collaborate with NCCU’s School of Business on economic empowerment and entrepreneur training projects. The School of Law will also work with NCCU’s Department of Criminal Justice through its Juvenile Justice Institute.
“We will reach out to our campus health experts, the Durham County Health Department and other relevant community partners to plan a panel discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on people of color as one of our first projects,” Lewis said.
For more information, contact Angela Gilmore, associate dean of Pipeline and Non-JD programs, at 919-530-5482 or [email protected].
