On Race Matters and Social Justice

Click on the linked title to track this as it seeks to addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts the use of certain policing practices, enhances transparency and data collection, and establishes best practices and training requirements.

"Its Time for a New Approach to Racial Equity" was first published by McKinsey & Co in December 2020, reporting on the $200 billion commitment by public-, private-, and social sector organizations to increase racial justice and equity since the murder of George Floyd. This article, published in June 2021, provides an update on their commitments to fulfill.

The Davos Agenda 2021 forum unveiled "Partnering for Racial Justice in Business" initiative with 48 founding partner organizations representing 13 industries, with more than 5.5 million employees worldwide. Among the partners are: AstroZeneca, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, Mastercard, Mayo Clinic, Paypal, The Coca Cola Company, and UPS. They aim to operationalize and coordinate commitments to eradicate racism in the workplace and set new global standards for racial equity in business. (Diversity Best Practices: Feb 2, 2021)

In January 2021, the Lumina Foundation awarded $3.2 million in grants to improve racial justice and equity on college campuses. The Lumina Foundation established this grant in 2017. (Lumina Foundation Website)

The current president of Duke University, Vincent Price, addresses his community with updates of what has or is being put into place towards eradicating racism and building a more inclusive future at Duke U.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in the South in 1863, it could not be enforced in many places until after the end of the Civil War in 1865. In 2021, Congress passed a bill to set aside June 19th as a federal holiday that now officially commemorates the end of slavery. The Bill was signed by President Joe Biden. Click on the highlighted title to read more about the journey of this Bill. PBS.Org, June 17, 2021.

In January 2021, Apple committed $100 million in support of the Race Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI) Projects it launched last June, 2020. Projects include: (i) The Propel Center, an innovative and learning hub for the HBCU community, based in Atlanta University Center; (ii) scholarships and grants to engineering programs for underrepresented minorities; (iii) the Apple Developer Academy, an academy designed to empower young Black entrepreneurs, creators, and coders cultivate skills necessary for iOS app economy; and (iv) investment in small to medium-sized minority-owned businesses. Teleworldwire, Jan 15, 2021

The new strategic direction of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will engage the public in support of sharper critical thinking across America, expose more people to experience the power and value of learning and art, and in all of this, reflect the true heterogeneity of our communities. To achieve those goals, the Foundation’s grantmaking will be divided into four program areas: Higher Learning, Public Knowledge, Arts and Culture, and Humanities in Place. (Andrew W. Mellon Website, June 30, 2020). In August 2020, CUNY received $10 million to "drive change and expand initiatives related to the pandemic and racial justice."

This article textually examines the “Inspire Change” campaign and its associated media materials, contextualizing it against the kneeling protests carried out by Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players as well as the NFL’s reactions to those protests. (Communication and Sport, 2020, v.8: n4, pp611-628