By Jane Arnold Lincove, Catherine Mata & Kalena Cortes

This research analyzes the implementation of a school suspension ban in Maryland to investigate whether a top-down state-initiated ban on suspensions in early primary grades can influence school behavior regarding school discipline. Beginning in the fall of 2017, the State of Maryland banned the use of out-of-school suspensions for grades PK-2, unless a student posed an "imminent threat" to staff or students. This research investigates (1) what was the effect of the ban on discipline outcomes for students in both treated grades and upper elementary grades not subject to the ban? (2) did schools bypass the ban by coding more events as threatening or increasing the use of in-school suspensions? and (3) were there differential effects for students in groups that are historically suspended more often? Using a comparative interrupted time series strategy, we find that the ban is associated with a substantial reduction in, but not a total elimination of, out-of-school suspensions for targeted grades without substitution of in-school suspensions. Disproportionalities by race and other characteristics remain after the ban. Grades not subject to the ban experienced few effects, suggesting the ban did not trigger a schoolwide response that reduced exclusionary discipline.

Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2024. 65p.

By Margaret Love

This report deals with a form of relief from the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction that is less far-reaching than expungement or other forms of record clearing, but is potentially available to more people at an earlier point in time. These so-called “certificates of relief” do not limit public access to a person’s record, but they may be effective in reducing many conviction-related disadvantages in the workplace, including by providing employers and others with protection against the risk of being sued for negligence. At least as long as expungement and sealing remain unavailable to many people with a felony conviction record, or are available only after lengthy waiting periods, certificates of relief can provide an important addition to a state’s reentry scheme, and serve as a bridge to more thorough forms of record relief like expungement. We believe that, rather than competing as alternative forms of relief, certificates and expungement can operate as complementary parts of a structured system of serially available criminal record relief. Yet it appears that certificates have been largely ignored in many states by courts that are empowered to dispense them, as well as by the advocacy community whose clients might benefit from them. State court systems have failed to collect, track, or aggregate basic data like the number of certificate applications, grants, and denials, a failure that makes it almost impossible to evaluate a certificate’s effectiveness in a given state. At the same time, in a promising development, certificates are being used by prison and parole agencies to facilitate reentry for those exiting prison or completing supervision. Given the perceived limits of record clearing as a comprehensive reentry strategy, social science researchers have become interested in studying the effect of laws that aim to increase the positive information about individuals with a criminal record to counter the negative effect of the record itself. This report is intended to support these research efforts by describing the state of the law relating to certificates of relief in the 21 states that now offer them. A follow-up study will look at the state of executive pardoning

Washington, DC: Collateral Consequences Resource Center (CCRC), 2024. 42p.

By Patrick M. Kline, Evan K. Rose, and Christopher R. Walters

We develop an empirical Bayes ranking procedure that assigns ordinal grades to noisy measurements, balancing the information content of the assigned grades against the expected frequency of ranking errors. Applying the method to a massive correspondence experiment, we grade the race and gender contact gaps of 97 U.S. employers, the identities of which we disclose for the first time. The grades are presented alongside measures of uncertainty about each firm’s contact gap in an accessible report card that is easily adaptable to other settings where ranks and levels are of simultaneous interest.

Chicago: University of Chicago, The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics 2(BFI) , 2024

By: Theresa Wizemann, Kyle Cavagnini, Alex Helman, and Carolyn Shore

As stated in the 2022 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) report Improving Representation in Clinical Trials and Research: Building Research Equity for Women and Underrepresented Groups, “An equitable clinical research enterprise would include trials and studies that match the demographics of the disease burden under study. However, we remain far from achieve this goal” (NASEM, 2022). Despite decades of work and ongoing efforts on the part of policy-makers, patient groups, nonprofits, and industry sponsors to improve racial and ethnic diversity in clinical trials, there has been little change over time (Dzau, 2022). Furthermore, inconsistencies in data collection and reporting makes it difficult to track progress of demographic group participation in the United States for clinical trials. Given the urgent need, there have been calls for collective action across sectors and organizations “to align on goals for system-wide sustainable change.”

On May 20, 2024, the National Academies Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation, in collaboration with the National Cancer Policy Forum, convened a public workshop to explore opportunities to improve racial and ethnic diversity with a focus on system-level change and collective efforts across organizations and sectors that no one entity can effectively take on alone (see Box 1-1). The workshop builds on meetings hosted by the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI) in June 2023, the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCT) Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University in September 2023, and Faster- Cures of the Milken Institute in November 2023.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024.

By Transform Justice

Hate crime is a growing problem in England and Wales, highlighted by the Home Office’s Annual Statistical Bulletin which reported 155,841 hate crimes recorded by police in the year ending March 2022, this is a 26% increase compared to 2020-21.1 This reflects a year-on-year rise since 2013 and demonstrates the need to use new interventions to drive real behaviour change in offenders. However, it should be noted that an increase in public awareness of hate crime alongside improved police recording means that it can be difficult to definitively determine the cause of the increase, but rather a number of factors leading to this. Out of Court Disposals2 (OOCDs) are a method of resolution for an offence, designed to reduce re-offending by enabling restorative justice and giving offenders an opportunity to take responsibility for their behaviour through education, before they find themselves in the formal Criminal Justice System (CJS). They also offer victims a chance to see some resolution to their case even if they do not wish for it to be dealt with in a formal setting. There are a number of different forms an OOCD can take, however all may only be considered in situations where the offender is known and admits guilt of their offence. They are typically used in cases where the offending is deemed to be lower-level. In 2022, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) published its Out of Court Disposals (Resolutions) National Strategy.3 This strategy highlighted that the CJS cannot address vulnerability solely through prosecution. Instead, a sophisticated, whole-system approach is needed to give policing the capacity to make professional decisions and access a range of services in partnership such as early intervention pathways, OOCDs and where necessary, prosecution. Over the past nine years, there has been a growing evidence base that, for acquisitive and violent crime, early intervention (such as Turning Point4, CARA5 and Checkpoint6) as part of a conditional caution can reduce reoffending. However, the evidence is minimal with regards to hate crime interventions as its application is limited through the OOCD framework. In 2014, three police forces (West Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire) were given dispensation to use OOCDs for hate crime during a tri-force pilot of a simplified two-tier framework, designed to be easier for practitioners to implement and the public to understand.7 However, there was no specific rehabilitative intervention commissioned and the total number of offenders given OOCDs were low in all three forces, particularly for hate crime which only represented 1% of the total offences. This meant that it was not possible to draw statistically robust conclusions around reoffending rates. Existing interventions for hate crime tend to be targeted at more serious offenders, carried out post-conviction on a one to one basis and last for several months. Since the start of the 2014 pilot, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has adjusted its guidance to allow for the use of OOCDs in relation to hate crime and domestic abuse8, however statutory guidance states that issuing a conditional caution is “unlikely to be appropriate where the offence forms part of a pattern of offending”.9 A tri-force OOCD hate crime pilot with Avon and Somerset Police (A&S Police), West Midlands Police (WMP), and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary (HIOWC) was established in June 2021. All three police forces were given dispensation from the DPP to use conditional cautions for hate crime providing prescribed pre conditions (see Appendix 1) were met. RISE Mutual CIC10, a social enterprise which specialises in offender rehabilitative interventions, were commissioned via a procurement process to deliver a four session group intervention programme formerly known as Rise Against Hate, (from April 2023 this is now known as Perspective), for those who met the DPP OOCD hate crime criteria. It was envisaged that a high proportion of suitable offences for the proposed pilot would be of a public order nature, or involve minor assaults accompanied by the use of racist language towards figures of authority (police officers, door staff, store detectives) or individuals providing a service (ambulance crew, taxi drivers). These were deemed to be the most likely cases, where the victim often does not see the offence as serious enough to take the time to attend court, but at the same time, a meaningful sanction is desirable to protect victims who are providing a community service. Aims and objectives Aim: to develop and deliver a rehabilitative early intervention course specific to hate crime, commissioned by the three named forces (A&S Police, HIOWC and WMP) and offered at no cost to the offender. Objectives:  To increase the evidence base in the use of disposals in cases of hate crime  To increase victim satisfaction in hate crime outcomes  To reduce reoffending rates of hate crime  To better understand the demand profile for hate crime intervention and the processes surrounding this

London: Transform Justice, 2023.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Health Care Services; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice; Committee on Unequal Treatment Revisited: The Current State of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care; Georges C. Benjamin, Jennifer E. DeVoe, Francis K. Amankwah, and Sharyl J. Nass, Editors

Racial and ethnic inequities in health and health care impact individual well-being, contribute to millions of premature deaths, and cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Addressing these inequities is vital to improving the health of the nation’s most disadvantaged communities—and will also help to achieve optimal health for all. In 2003, the Institute of Medicine examined these inequities in Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.

Because disparities persist, the National Academies convened an expert committee with support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institutes of Health. The committee’s report reviews the major drivers of health care disparities, provides insight into successful and unsuccessful interventions, identifies gaps in the evidence base, and makes recommendations to advance health equity.

National Academies. 2024. 375p..

by A. G. R U S S E L.L

● Focus on Race and Colour: The document explores the social and economic implications of racial differentiation, particularly within the British Colonial Empire, emphasizing the practical importance of these issues over physical differences.

● Historical Context: It discusses the historical development of racial issues, including the impact of European expansion and the Industrial Revolution on race relations.

● Colonial Exploitation: The text highlights the economic exploitation of colonies, particularly in Africa, and the profits made by European companies at the expense of native labor.

● Educational Challenges: The document addresses the educational disparities faced by colonized peoples and critiques the Western educational system for its failure to adequately serve these populations.

London. Gollancz. 1944. 273p.

By EUGENE L. HOROWITZ

● Study Focus: The research investigates the development of attitudes toward African Americans in white children, aiming for objective, verifiable, and significant results.

● Historical Context: The study highlights the historical evolution of attitudes toward African Americans, noting legal and social discrimination dating back to the 17th century.

● Methodology: The research employs three tests involving pictorial materials to measure children's attitudes, focusing on ranking preferences and imagined social situations.

● Findings: The study finds that prejudice begins early in childhood and is influenced more by societal attitudes than direct contact with African Americans.

NY. ARCHIVES OF PSYCHOLOGY. R. S. WOODWORTH, EDITOR. No. 194. 1916. 48p.

By W.D. Weatherford,

Addresses the complex issue of racial adjustment and is introduced by James H. Dillard. It explores the history and progress of Black people from Africa to America, highlighting the struggles and achievements in the face of adversity. The author emphasizes the importance of mutual understanding and trust between races to overcome racial antipathy and achieve social justice. Historical Context: The book provides a detailed account of the African background, the impact of slavery, and the ongoing challenges faced by Black people in America.

NEGRO UNIVERSITIES PRESS. NEW YORK. 1924. 483p.

Kenneth Little

● This book emphasizes that history and social context are more influential than biological race in shaping cultural differences and racial attitudes. Racial prejudice is not innate but learned through socialization, often during early childhood.

● Global Examples: The book provides case studies from various countries, including South Africa, Brazil, Hawaii, and the United States, to illustrate different racial dynamics and policies.

● References: The document includes numerous references to works by various authors on race and society, providing a comprehensive bibliography for further reading.

UNESCO. 1958. 54Pp.

By Arun Kundnani

Liberals have been arguing for nearly a century that racism is fundamentally an individual problem of extremist beliefs. Responding to Nazism, thinkers like gay rights pioneer Magnus Hirschfeld and anthropologist Ruth Benedict called for teaching people, especially poor people, to be less prejudiced. Here lies the origin of today 39 liberal antiracism, from diversity training to Hollywood activism. Meanwhile, a more radical antiracism flowered in the Third World. Anticolonial revolutionaries traced racism to the broad economic and political structures of modernity. Thinkers like C.L.R. James, Claudia Jones, and Frantz Fanon showed how racism was connected to colonialism and capitalism, a perspective adopted even by Martin Luther King.Today, liberal antiracism has proven powerless against structural oppression. As Arun Kundnani demonstrates, white liberals can heroically confront their own whiteness all they want, yet these structures remain.This deeply researched and swift-moving narrative history tells the story of the two antiracisms and their fates. As neoliberalism reordered the world in the last decades of the twentieth century, the case became clear: fighting racism means striking at its capitalist roots

London: Verso, 2023. 304p.

Christina Dunbar-Hester

"Hacking Diversity: The Politics of Inclusion in Open Technology Cultures" delves into the complex dynamics of diversity within the realm of open technology. The book critically examines the challenges and opportunities surrounding inclusivity, offering insights into how diversity can be effectively navigated and embraced in these fast-paced, innovation-driven environments. Through a blend of research, analysis, and real-world case studies, this book serves as a valuable resource for individuals and organizations seeking to cultivate more diverse and inclusive open technology cultures.

PRINCETON. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS. 2020. 283p.

HO, BIANCA; DOYLE, KIERAN

From the document: "Pro-Palestine demonstrations involving students in the United States have nearly tripled from 1 to 26 April compared with all of March, ACLED [ [Armed Conflict Location and Event Data]] data show [...]. New York has been one of the main student protest battlegrounds since the Israel-Palestine conflict flared up in and around Gaza last October, and the arrest of more than 100 students at Columbia University in New York around 18 April heralded a new wave of campus demonstrations."

ARMED CONFLICT LOCATION & EVENT DATA PROJECT. 2 MAY, 2024. 5p.

By Timothy Cubitt, Anthony Morgan and Isabella Voce

Recent protest activity in Australia has related to a range of political and social causes, including climate change, women’s rights, pandemic-related government policies, and a range of ideological movements. While peaceful protests were held in parts of the country, some resulted in arrests, fines and violence (ABC News 2021; Bavas & Nguyen 2021). Over time, fringe and conspiratorial rhetoric increased across social media (De Coninck 2021) and began featuring more prominently in anti-authority ‘freedom’ protests (Khalil & Roose 2023). While the public health measures have ceased, these freedom protests—and related social movements—have persisted. Conspiratorial and far-right actors have become increasingly prominent among anti-government or anti-authority protests

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 693. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2024. 16p.

By Brittany Torrez, LaStarr Hollie, Jennifer Richeson, and Michael Kraus

Despite a checkered racial history, people in the US generally believe the nation has made steady, incremental progress toward achieving racial equality. In this paper, the researchers investigate whether this US racial progress narrative will extend to how the workforce views the effectiveness of organizational efforts surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Across three studies (N = 1,776), they test whether Black and White US workers overestimate organizational racial progress in executive representation. Torrez, Hollie, Richeson, and Kraus also examine whether these misperceptions, surrounding organizational progress, drive misunderstandings regarding the relative ineffectiveness of common organizational diversity policies. Overall, they find evidence that US workers largely overestimate organizational racial progress, believe that organizational progress will naturally improve over time, and that these misperceptions of organizational racial progress may drive beliefs in the effectiveness of DEI policies.

Evanston, IL: Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research, 2024. 49p.

By Gabriel Ahmanideen

In the aftermath of the war on terror, mosques have become targets for hate groups, leveraging online platforms to amplify global anti-mosque campaigns. These groups link local protestors with international hate networks, fuelling both online and offline (i.e., onsite) anti-mosque campaigns. Thoroughly reviewing the literature addressing the interaction between online and offline Islamophobia and introducing an anti-mosque social media page instilling the public with online and offline anti-mosque hate, this article suggests a strong interaction between online and offline Islamophobia. In the provided case study from the Stop Mosque Bendigo (SMB), purposeful sampling was used to collect postings before and after the Christchurch Mosque attacks to analyse the evolution of online anti-mosque campaigns in tandem with real-life hate cases. The literature and the case study reveal the interaction between local and global, digital, and physical realms, as well as the convergence of everyday racism with extremist far-right ideologies like the Great Replacement theory. Relying on the present literature and indicative findings, the article advocates for systematic investigations to uncover the direct connection between online hate and physical attacks and urges closer monitoring and accountability for those online platforms and social media pages apparently contributing to onsite hate-driven actions.

Australia, Sociology Compass. 2023, 14pg

By Runnymede Trust

Racism has always been a matter of life and death. This was never more true than for Stephen Lawrence, a bright young man who dreamed of becoming an architect. Stephen was murdered by racist strangers as he made his way home with a friend in South East London, 30 years ago. It was not only his killers who targeted Stephen with racism. The behaviour of the police - from those first on the scene, to those who handled the disastrous investigation into his murder and dealt closely with his family - was characterised at every stage by racist treatment and bias in the system. Significant questions were raised on accountability in the criminal justice system and whether Black and minority ethnic communities and families were treated fairly. The fight for justice that followed, led by Stephen’s grieving parents, has brought us all to know Stephen’s name, and carry forward his legacy. The seminal 1999 Macpherson Report, published in direct response to the manner in which the police handled Stephen’s case, recognised unequivocally that the Metropolitan Police Force was ‘institutionally racist,’ an unprecedented finding at the time. Many events in the wake of Stephen’s murder, including race equality legislation, still inform and influence racial justice work today.

London, Runnymede Trust. 2023, 80pg

By Crimmins, Allison R.; Avery, Christopher W.; Easterling, David R.; Kunkel, Kenneth E. (Kenneth Edward), 1950-; Stewart, Brooke C.; Maycock, Thomas K.

From the document: "The Global Change Research Act of 1990 mandates that the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) deliver a report to Congress and the President not less frequently than every four years that 'integrates, evaluates, and interprets the findings of the Program and discusses the scientific uncertainties associated with such findings; analyzes the effects of global change on the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, human health and welfare, human social systems, and biological diversity; and analyzes current trends in global change, both human-induced and natural, and projects major trends for the subsequent 25 to 100 years.' The Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) fulfills that mandate by delivery of this Assessment and provides the scientific foundation to support informed decision-making across the United States. By design, much of the development of NCA5 built upon the approaches and processes used to create the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), with a goal of continuously advancing an inclusive, diverse, and sustained process for assessing and communicating scientific knowledge on the impacts, risks, and vulnerabilities associated with a changing global climate (App. 1)."

U.S. Global Change Research Program. 2023. 144p.

By Victor Viruena

The global economy has driven companies to develop strategies, adopt and promote diversity as a core value in their organizations. The blend of ethnicity, gender, and age strengthens internal ties, boosts productivity, creativity, and innovation. According to Esvary (2015), the sharing of best practices in managing and promoting workplace diversity is intended to strengthen diversity policies further. All around the world, discrimination is rejected by society, but at the same time, businesses still reluctant to incorporate women, LGTB, young and people of different races and cultures on boards and top management positions. Lately, the raising of nationalism, racism, and political polarization has polluted the environment, making it more challenging to integrate minorities as decision-makers in organizations. The national protests against police brutality and racism have opened a new chapter in the U.S. civil rights movement; for the first time in history, Fortune 500 corporations were obligated to publicly stand against racism and take concrete actions to boost management diversity medium-level positions in their organizations.

Academia Letters, Article 430. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL430.. 5p.

By United States. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency

From the document: "As noted in the landmark Executive Order 14110, 'Safe, Secure, And Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI),' [hyperlink] signed by the President on October 30, 2023, 'AI must be safe and secure.' As the nation's cyber defense agency and the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience, CISA [Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency] will play a key role in addressing and managing risks at the nexus of AI, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure. This '2023-2024 CISA Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence' serves as a guide for CISA's AI-related efforts, ensuring both internal coherence as well as alignment with the whole-of-government AI strategy. [...] The security challenges associated with AI parallel cybersecurity challenges associated with previous generations of software that manufacturers did not build to be secure by design, putting the burden of security on the customer. Although AI software systems might differ from traditional forms of software, fundamental security practices still apply. Thus, CISA's AI roadmap builds on the agency's cybersecurity and risk management programs. Critically, manufacturers of AI systems must follow secure by design [hyperlink] principles: taking ownership of security outcomes for customers, leading product development with radical transparency and accountability, and making secure by design a top business priority. As the use of AI grows and becomes increasingly incorporated into critical systems, security must be a core requirement and integral to AI system development from the outset and throughout its lifecycle."

United States. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. Nov, 2023. 21p.