Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law

Faculty Director Vincent Southerland leads the Criminal Defense and Re-entry Clinic.
Executive Director Jason Williamson leads the Racial Justice and Abolition Clinic.
At an NYU Law Forum entitled, "The State of the Death Penalty: Fifty Years After Furman," Vincent Southerland (left) moderated a panel featuring Aren Adjoian and Alexis Hoag-Fordjour '08.
Jason Williamson led a breakout session at the 2023 Race Center Convening, hosted at NYU Law.
The center's public conversation on New York's Chief Judge vacancy featured New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, Noah Rosenblum, Alice Fontier, and Tolu Lawal.
One of the Center's public conversations on parole justice included (from left) Steve Zeidman, New York State Assemblymember Maritza Davila, Jose Saldana, Nawanna Snipe, and TeAna Taylor.
Andrew Friedman is the director of the Initiative for Community Power.

About Us

The Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law confronts the laws, policies, and practices that lead to the oppression and marginalization of people of color. We believe that the racism that permeates our present day legal system has deep roots. By documenting the history of racism in America, elevating the stories of those affected by race-based inequality, and rigorously applying a racial lens to analyze unremitting disparities, we identify actionable, forward-looking solutions to address the injustices caused by racism and then take action.

Our Work

Narrative Change

Criminal Legal System

Social & Economic Justice

Technology

Initiative for Community Power

Programs for Students

Read our 2022-2023 Annual Report.

We're hiring!

The Center is currently seeking a Technology & Racial Justice Collaborative Fellow.

Visit our hiring page to learn more and apply.

NYU Law to launch new initiative targeting environmental racism

This fall, NYU Law School will launch the NYU Law Environmental Justice Laboratory (EJL), which will work with partners, including impacted communities, to address longstanding environmental racism and build a just, decarbonized future. The Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law and the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy, and Land Use Law will work together to develop and oversee ELJ's strategic direction and operations. See the announcement and learn more about the ELJ here.

Excessive Sentencers: Using Appellate Decisions to Enhance Judicial Transparency Report

In New York, appellate courts review sentences for excessiveness and can reduce them in the “interest of justice,” a rare and clear signal—from highly-respected institutional actors—that a lower court judge made an exceptionally troubling choice. This report, released in partnership by the Center and Scrutinize, assesses appellate court decisions to reduce sentences, revealing patterns of excessive sentencing by individual judges and raising questions about judicial accountability in New York.

Read the full report here.

Event Spotlight

At the 28th annual Derrick Bell Lecture on Race in America Society, Mehrsa Baradaran '05, Professor of Law at University of California Irvine School of Law, delivered her lecture, "The Spirit of the Law: Race and Legal Hypocrisy."

Media: Vincent Southerland on Washington News Bureau

Listen to Co-Faculty Director Vincent Southerland: "New TSA security tech raises concern about the potential of misidentifying minority travelers."

Recent Reports

The Center's 2023 Addendum to the Problem with Parole: New York State's Failing System of Release shows that racial disparities in parole release decisions have continued to worsen since 2021.

Racial Segregation in Housing Policy (PDF: 20.7 MB) highlights some of the present-day policies and practices that continue to perpetuate a racial caste system in the United States.

Building Safe, Thriving Communities: Research-Based Strategies for Public Safety (PDF: 7.11 MB) lays out a new path for public safety using research-based strategies in policing, prosecution, and sentencing.

The Problem with Parole: New York's Failing System of Release makes policy recommendations to transform the parole system, putting redemption and rehabilitation first.