OFFICE OF POLICY
When we change policy, we change the world. How does society create and perpetuate racism? We believe that racist policies uphold racial inequities and continue to give certain groups greater access to social goods such as education and healthcare, as well as economic and geographic mobility. We define a “racist policy” broadly as any measure that leads to, or maintains, racial inequity or injustice. We describe a policy as racist if it has a disparate racial impact. By contrast, we define an “antiracist policy” as any measure that leads to, or maintains, racial equity or justice. To address racial inequities and help enact antiracist policies, the Center’s Office of Policy transforms antiracist data and research insights into tangible policy products, including policy reports, legal briefs, policy convenings, and trainings.
The Office of Policy creates and implements antiracist policies, galvanizing the Center’s mission to dismantle systemic racism, through these initiatives: • We draft antiracist model legislation and partner with policymakers and legislators at the federal, state, and local levels to mitigate and eliminate racial inequities. • In our Amicus Brief Practice, we file amicus briefs to educate the US Supreme Court and state supreme courts in order to transform the law and enhance public understanding of critical legal issues that impact racial equity. • The Evidence Equity Project leverages the Center’s network of hundreds of affiliates to create a pool of pro bono expert witnesses who can testify about racism and the racialized experiences of people of color in a select number of high-impact, antiracist cases each year.