Mission and Areas of Focus

Law

Examines racial disparities in the criminal justice system and seeks strategies for reducing recidivism and increasing fairness in the treatment of all citizens.

Faculty Chair

Sheila Vélez Martínez

Research & Publications

Access publications and grants related to race & economics.

Alexandra Filindra

"Race, Rights, and Rifles: White Racial Attitudes and the Debate Over Guns"

October 8, 2019

View lecture

2020-2021

Dr. Jhacova Williams, RAND Corporation. Historical Lynching and the Black Vote Today. View Video of Lecture > >

Clare Malone., FiveThirtyEight.com. Race, Voting, and the Major Political Parties. View Video of Lecture > >

Gena Gunn McClendon, PhD, Bhavini Patel, Rob Bandes, Washintong University in St. Luis, Beamdata- Be the Change, VoteAllegheny. Voting Justice: Protecting and Engaging Voters in the 2020 Election. View Video of Lecture > >

2019-2020

Alexandra Filindra, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago. Race, Rights, and Rifles: White Racial Attitudes and the Debate Over Guns. View Video of Lecture > >

Desmond Patton Ph.D., Colombia University School of Social Work. Confronting Racial bias in the Use of Social Media Data and Al Tools for Gun Violence Prevention. View Video of Lecture > >

Richard M. Lee, Ph.D., Univesity of Minnesota. Xenaphobia and COVID-19: Strategies to Support Asian American Communities. View Video of Lecture > >

David Harris, JD, LL.M., Univerity of Pittsburgh School of Law. Race, Police, and Unarmed Civilian Deaths: What Can Be Done? View Video of Lecture > >

2015-2016

Tanya Hernandez, JD., Fordham University. Multiracial in the Workplace: A New Kind of Discrimination? View Video of Lecture > >

Cameron McLay, Pittsburgh Police Department. Policing Reform, Community, and Ethical Leadership. View Video of Lecture > >

Jacqueline Battalora, Ph.D., J.D., Saint Xavier University, Chicago. Birth of a White Nation: The Invention of White People and Its Relevance Today. View Video of Lecture > >

2014-2015

Gary Orfield Ph.D., Civil Rights Project, UCLA. The Crisis of College Access for Students of Color. View Video of Lecture > >

David Harris, J.D., University of Pittsburgh. The Collision of Race and Criminal Justice: Lessons from the Aftermath of Ferguson. View Video of Lecture > >

2012-2013

Joe Feagin, Ph.D., Texas A&M University. Obama’s Campaigns and Presidency: No Post-Racial America. View Video of Lecture > >

2011-2012

Elizabeth Anderson, Ph.D., University of Michigan. The Imperative of IntegrationView Video of Lecture > >

2010-2011

Robert Hill, Ph.D., Morgan State University. The Intractable Career of James Crow III. View Video of Lecture > >

2009-2010

Vincent L. Hutchings, Nicholas A. Valentino, University of Michigan. Wedge Politics: The Structure & Function of Racial Group Cues in American Politics. View Video of Lecture > >

2008-2009 

David J. Herring J.D., University of Pittsburgh: School of Law. The Multiethnic Placement Act: Threat to Foster Child Safety and Well-being? View Video of Lecture >>

2007-2008 

Chaz Puzzanchera, National Center for Juvenile Justice. The Juvenile Justice System's Response to Youth Violence. View Video of Lecture > >

Michael Yonas, Ph.D., John Wallace, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Social  Work, UPMC/Family Medicine. Violence, Race/ Ethnicity, and American Youth: Patterns, Trends and Correlates. View Video of Lecture > >

Shaun L. Gabbidon, Ph.D., Penn State Harrisburg School of Public Affairs. Shopping Under Suspicion: Consumer Racial Profiling and Perceived Victimization. View Video of Lecture > >

John Wallace, Ph.D., Michael Yonas, DrPH, MPH., University of Pittsburgh. Violence, Race/Ethnicity, and American Youth. View Video of Lecture > >

Nancy LaVigne, Ph.D., Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Race and Prisoner Reentry: Men Returning to Huston, Texas. View Video of Lecture > >

Hidenori Yamatani, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. Allegheny County Jail Collaborative Evaluation Study Findings. View Video of Lecture > >

Steven Raphael, Ph.D., University of California Berkeley. Race and Prisoner Reentry: An Overview. View Video of Lecture > >

Fred Thieman, JD., Buhl Foundation. The Challenge of Creating Buy-in and Credibility around Race and Violence: The Pittsburgh Experience. View Video of Lecture > >

Erin Dalton, Allegheny County Department of Human Services. An Analysis of Local Violence. View Video of Lecture > >

David M. Kennedy, John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Race, Crime and Justice: Finding and Standing on Common Ground. View Video of Lecture > >

2005-2006

Alfred Blumstein Ph.D., Carnegie Melon: Heinz College. Race, Crime and Community Response-- Measurement of Community Characteristics, Pt 2. View Video of Lecture > >

Rolf Loeber Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Race Differences in Violence, Risk Factors, and the Explanation of Disproportionate Minority Representation in the Justice System. View Video of Lecture > >

David S. Kirk, University of Oxford. The Community Context of Violence: Race, Social Networks and Residential Change. View Video of Lecture > >

Alfred Blumstein. Ph.D., Carnegie Melon: Heinz College. Race, Crime and Community Response / Some Recent US Trends in Violent Crime by Race and AgeView Video of Lecture > >

George Tita, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine. Community Context of Crime: Ethnographic Studies of Race, Communities, and Drug Markets, part two. View Video of Lecture > >

Ruth McRoy. Ph.D., Boston College. Disproportionality: Overview and Research Methods. View Video of Lecture > >

Darnell Hawkins. Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago. Context and System Factors Affecting Race and Crime. View Video of Lecture > >

2004-2005

Alfred Blumstein, Ph.D., Carnegie Melon University. Race and Incarceration. View Video of Lecture > >

David A. Harris, J.D., University of Pittsburgh: School of Law. Profiling: A Common Sense To Tool for the Post-9/11 World? View Video of Lecture > >

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