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Rights and Justice

Racial Equity and Justice

We promote systemic reforms to dismantle structural racial injustices, give everyone an equal opportunity to thrive, and ensure society benefits from our nation’s diversity.

A mural honoring people of peace is seen, realized in a Black district of Philadelphia as part of the "Mural Art Program" that began in 1984. (Getty/Frédéric Soltan/Corbis)

What We're Doing

Promote executive actions advancing racial equity and justice

We propose recommendations for federal, state, and local executive branches to adopt robust racial equity policies and ensure agencies are equipped to implement these policies effectively.

Develop a racial equity and justice legislative platform

We coalesce around and promote key legislative actions to garner tangible reforms during this Congress.

Cultivate private sector racial equity and justice initiatives

We partner with the private sector to champion solutions to address the root causes of racial wealth and opportunity gaps and strengthen the case for such solutions to be enacted and scaled by local, state, and federal leaders.

Change the conversation on racial equity and justice

We seek to fundamentally change Americans’ understanding of current and historic structural barriers that have long shut out communities of color from our economic, political, and social systems, building support for both long-term and systemic reforms.

The Racial Equity and Justice team promotes systemic reforms to dismantle structural racial injustices, give everyone an equal opportunity to thrive, and ensure society benefits from our nation’s diversity.

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Recent work

Latest

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Film Screening: ‘The 50’ Past Event

Film Screening: ‘The 50’

A documentary film about a groundbreaking mental health program in a California prison, told by the program’s first 50 participants. The film will be followed by a discussion with the film's director and subjects.

Executive Summary: How Federal Investments in Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure Are Improving Public Health Fact Sheet
Photo shows a hand holding a clear glass underneath a running faucet

Executive Summary: How Federal Investments in Safe Drinking Water Infrastructure Are Improving Public Health

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center for American Progress report highlighting the use of federal investments from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to replace dangerous lead service lines and advance public health among vulnerable communities.

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference Past Event
CAP IDEAS Conference logo

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference

Join the Center for American Progress as we celebrate 20 years of innovative policy solutions and look boldly forward to a progressive future.

Transforming the Economy: Forging Black Economic Power Across America Past Event
Logos of CAP and NPWF over an image of a lighthouse.

Transforming the Economy: Forging Black Economic Power Across America

Join the Center for American Progress and the National Partnership of Women & Families on Martha’s Vineyard for a moderated panel which explores new ways to promote economic opportunity in Black communities.

The Disproportionate Burden of Eviction on Black Women Report
Sun coming through clouds behind apartment building

The Disproportionate Burden of Eviction on Black Women

The United States continues to face an eviction crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and that disproportionately affects communities of color, particularly Black women.

Cleo Bluthenthal

America Needs Better Data on Race and Ethnicity In the News

America Needs Better Data on Race and Ethnicity

Rose Khattar and Edwith Theogene lay out glaring omissions in the way that the United States collects data on race and ethnicity and call for improvements to the processes.

The Messenger

Rose Khattar, Edwith Theogene

How Federal Agencies Can Advance Equity Through Biden’s Second Executive Order Report
Vice President Kamala Harris looks on as U.S. President Joe Biden signs executives orders related to his racial equity agenda.

How Federal Agencies Can Advance Equity Through Biden’s Second Executive Order

The Biden administration’s recent executive order makes clear its intent to swiftly advance racial equity and support underserved communities by directing federal agencies to deliver equitable outcomes and foster an inclusive and prosperous America for all.

Justin Dorazio

7 Facts on Racial Equity and the Economic Recovery Article
A girl rides on her father's shoulders through the Orange County Fair against a green, leafy backdrop.

7 Facts on Racial Equity and the Economic Recovery

The economic recovery has supported workers of color, but inequities persist, and the Federal Reserve risks undoing the equitable economic gains achieved.

Justin Dorazio

A Conversation With Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall Past Event

A Conversation With Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall

Discussing Air Force and Space Force personnel, the crisis in Ukraine, competition with China, human rights, and the role of the U.S. in the world

Localized Anti-Displacement Policies Report
Photo shows a construction worker standing on the roof of a house.

Localized Anti-Displacement Policies

As more investments enter disadvantaged communities, it is crucial that local policies stabilize current residents, ensure they benefit from expanded opportunity, and protect them from displacement.

Justin Dorazio

Hospital-Based Intervention Programs Reduce Violence and Save Money Article
A man and woman are pictured in a room at the Violence Advocacy Program offices at Boston Medical Center in Boston.

Hospital-Based Intervention Programs Reduce Violence and Save Money

Hospital-based community violence intervention programs combat cycles of violent crime and retaliation by engaging patients in the recovery process immediately following injury.

Karenna Warden

How FEMA Can Prioritize Equity in Disaster Recovery Assistance Report

How FEMA Can Prioritize Equity in Disaster Recovery Assistance

Current disaster recovery efforts in the United States exacerbate racial disparities, as people of color experience greater harms from natural disasters, receive less support, lose wealth, and take longer to recover.

Justin Dorazio

Latino Workers Continue To Experience a Shortage of Good Jobs Article
A California street vendor serves customers in front of a colorful mural in Los Angeles.

Latino Workers Continue To Experience a Shortage of Good Jobs

Although Hispanic and Latino workers have high employment rates in the United States, labor market experiences differ substantially within this community, with Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran Americans experiencing significant and intersecting gender and ethnic wage gaps.

Rose Khattar, Jessica Vela, Lorena Roque

Fact Sheet: Advancing Equity Fact Sheet
A group of Black Lives Matter demonstrators protest about the minimum wage in New York City, July 2020.

Fact Sheet: Advancing Equity

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center for American Progress report on the Biden administration’s efforts to advance racial equity through the federal government.

Lorena Roque, Justin Dorazio

Advancing Equity: Review of the Biden Administration’s Efforts in Its First Year To Implement a Racial Equity Agenda Report
A group of people holding their fists in the air, man in foreground

Advancing Equity: Review of the Biden Administration’s Efforts in Its First Year To Implement a Racial Equity Agenda

This report reviews the Biden administration’s key efforts and accomplishments to advance equity in its first year and outlines future policies needed to build a better and more dynamic nation that equitably respects the rights and meets the needs of all Americans.

Nicole Lee Ndumele, Lorena Roque, Justin Dorazio

How To Make Policies Work for Black Women With Disabilities Article
Transit riders, elected officials, and advocates, including Access-a-Ride organizer Eman Rimawi, rally outside Cuomo's office

How To Make Policies Work for Black Women With Disabilities

To create more equitable systems, policymakers must take an intersectional approach that includes Black women and girls with disabilities.

Megan Buckles

10 Policies To Improve Economic Security for Black Women With Disabilities Report
A teenage girl sits at a desk to take part in remote distance learning on a laptop, while her mother stands behind

10 Policies To Improve Economic Security for Black Women With Disabilities

To advance economic security for Black disabled women and girls, policymakers must make intersectionality central to modernizing the social safety net and to dismantling the barriers that contribute to inequality.

Megan Buckles

Investing in Home Care and Early Childhood Educators Has Outsize Impacts on Employment Article
Long-term caregivers and supporters rally in Los Angeles on July 13, 2021, for greater federal and local investment in the country's caregiving infrastructure. (Getty/Frederic J. Brown/AFP)

Investing in Home Care and Early Childhood Educators Has Outsize Impacts on Employment

Proposed investments in the Build Back Better agenda would benefit a significant number of workers, particularly women and women of color; transform the home care and early childhood sectors; and lift living standards and employment prospects for millions of Americans.

Marina Zhavoronkova, Rose Khattar

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