Racial Justice Project

About the Project

The Racial Justice Project is a legal advocacy organization sponsored by New York Law School's Justice Action Center. It is dedicated to protecting the constitutional and civil rights of people of color. The Racial Justice Project also seeks to increase public awareness of racism, racial injustice, and structural racial inequality in the areas of education, the school-to-prison pipeline, economic justice, political participation, and criminal justice. To accomplish its mission, the Racial Justice Project engages in impact litigation, public education, and other forms of advocacy that seek to ensure equal access and opportunity.

The Racial Justice Project’s initiatives include:

Amicus Projects
The Racial Justice Project is actively engaged in promoting racial justice through law reform. In support of this goal, the Racial Justice Project files and joins amicus curiae briefs in federal and state court cases that will have a significant impact on the protection of constitutional and civil rights. Please click here to review amicus curiae briefs filed by the Racial Justice Project.

Impact Litigation
In coalition with other civil rights organizations and local advocates, the Racial Justice Project brings impact litigation throughout the country designed to ensure equality of opportunity for communities of color. Please click here to learn more about our litigation docket.

Public Education
The Racial Justice Project provides public education on issues of racial justice through community outreach, including conferences and symposia, as well as through its blog, Race to Justice, and the publication of white papers. To find out more about our public education initiatives, please click here.

Street Law Project
New York Law School has teamed up with the non-profit organization Groundwork, Inc., as well as the New York office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver, and Jacobson LLP in an effort to teach high school students about the law and legal profession. Through their participation, law students increase their legal knowledge and lawyering skills, develop new perspectives, and enrich their overall law school experience. Click here for more details or to learn how to get involved.

Student Initiatives
The Racial Justice Project seeks to encourage law students to explore issues of racial justice and to consider careers in public interest. The project also provides students with the opportunity to write about important questions of racial justice. To review student articles or to learn about opportunities available for students in the area of racial justice, please click here.

Who We Are
Interested in learning more about the people behind the project? Click here to find out who we are.

For further information on the Project, please contact the Project's Director, Deborah Archer, at darcher@nyls.edu. For information on the Justice Action Center generally, please contact the Center at jac@nyls.edu.