- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/racial-justice/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Mon, 07 Feb 2022 14:51:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Researchers Receive Grant to Investigate Faith-based Racial Justice and Reconciliation in Little Rock /news-archive/2022/02/07/lrcs-receive-research-funds/ Mon, 07 Feb 2022 14:51:27 +0000 /news/?p=80507 ...]]> The newest study, “Race and Faith: The Role of Congregations in Racial Justice,” is funded by a $5,000 Jack Shand Research Grant from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. The support projects on racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups. The Little Rock Congregations Study, a longitudinal, community-based research project that began in 2012, is led by ��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors Rebecca Glazier, Gerald Driskill, and Kirk Leach, in consultation with the project’s Clergy Advisory Board, a group of eight clergy members in Little Rock who advise the Little Rock Congregations Study. Recent data from the Little Rock Congregations Study indicates that religious people and spaces present an opportunity for progress on race relations. Since 2012, an increasing percentage of clergy members have recognized the importance of the issue of race relations. Last year, nearly 2,300 congregants from 35 diverse congregations in Little Rock said that race relations is the issue they most want their place of worship to get involved in helping to solve. “We know people sometimes have a difficult time talking about race, but they see their religious leaders as people who can lead those conversations and their places of worship as a safe place to have those difficult conversations,” Glazier said. “We wanted to look at what is being done for faith-based racial justice and reconciliation in Little Rock.” The researchers will learn more about faith-based community engagement in Little Rock, and they will use what they learn to inform congregations and activists who are hoping to make progress on race relations in their city. Glazier is working with a team of students from the ��Vlog��ý-Clinton School of Public Service who are conducting research with faith leaders in Little Rock as well as faith-based racial justice leaders around the country. “I’m so excited to be able to join such a long-standing and important project like the Little Rock Congregations Study,” said Kate Deegan, a Master of Public Service student. “Having these difficult discussions about race in a time of political polarity and social division is important for moving forward.” The LRCS Team also plans to conduct focus groups with congregations that are making substantial efforts on race relations. They will study how Little Rock congregations address the issue of race relations as well as how clergy and congregation members view efforts to address race relations. In addition, the researchers will interview experts about best practices for faith-based racial justice programs. Once the study is complete, the LRCS members plan to hold a conference where they can share their results and resources that will help Little Rock congregations address faith-based racial justice programs. “We are partnering with the and the Race Under Grace Project at City Church Network,” Glazier said. “These community partners are helping us make sure the final resources we provide to our congregations fit best with our city and community. They are all passionate and excited about this work and want to help our city move forward.” Researchers said this new project is also in response to the increased activism, public demonstrations, and community conversations about race that took place in Little Rock and around the country last year. “We are responding to the 2020 Summer of Resistance where people worldwide went to the streets to express their dismay for, and rage against, the structural violence that melanated peoples are made to endure,” said Kwami Abdul-Bey, a Master of Public Service candidate and co-convenor of the Arkansas Peace & Justice Memorial Movement. “We hope that our present research will yield actionable data on racial justice and reconciliation that the City of Little Rock and its houses of faith can use to address this problem collectively to create a more equitable society for our citizens.” In 2020, LRCS researchers interviewed 38 clergy members from Little Rock. Many described undertaking efforts in response to the racial climate in the city, including holding reading groups, meeting with local law enforcement, recording podcasts with clergy from other congregations, and engaging in conversations about racial justice. “This qualitative data has just begun to scratch the service of what is happening in the Little Rock faith community regarding racial justice and reconciliation,” Glazier said. “Although many places of worship are making efforts to learn about and improve race relations, we don’t know much about what is currently being done in Little Rock, how clergy view the efforts, and whether Black and white congregants think they are working.”]]> Bowen Law School Receives $1 million from Walmart to Fund Court Observation Project /news-archive/2021/09/17/walmart-bowen-justice-initiative/ Fri, 17 Sep 2021 15:06:17 +0000 /news/?p=79916 ...]]> Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform. The project will introduce a state-wide court observation initiative that will create and share a transparent body of reliable data and research about Arkansas’s criminal justice system that is otherwise unavailable in the state. The goal is to use the data collected to craft targeted solutions, such as policy changes and training materials. The project has two inaugural research modules. The first will survey pre-trial detention practices. The second will collect data on criminal charging. “The project can provide valuable information and data about how the Arkansas criminal justice system operates. Policymakers can then use this data to develop strategies to improve the criminal justice system in Arkansas,” said Anastasia Boles, a law professor at Bowen and the center’s co-director. Project faculty and staff will work with consultants, stakeholders and subject-matter experts to design the data collection sheet. After that, student fellows will work with court personnel and the project’s program manager to gather and compile data from criminal court proceedings throughout Arkansas. Law school faculty will help develop assessments to track student progress. In addition, the project plans to work with faculty from partner institutions each semester to include as court observers a small cohort of undergraduate students who are interested in criminal justice and the project’s research. “Developing the instruments used for court observations and sharing the data this project generates will improve the lives of all Arkansans,” said andré douglas pond cummings, associate dean for faculty development and the center’s co-director. The primary goal is gathering data about the incarceration for many–particularly nonviolent offenders – and then improving outcomes for those already impacted by the justice system in its current form. These solutions will, for the first time in Arkansas, be based on accurate observed data that can be shared across the nation, building an infrastructure for positive change that can eventually have a global impact. “The project is positioned to become a valuable part of Bowen’s core values of access to justice, public service, and professionalism,” said Dean Theresa Beiner. “I am grateful for Walmart, Inc.’s support.”]]> Law school creates Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform /news-archive/2021/09/01/bowen-center-for-racial-justice-and-criminal-justice-reform/ Wed, 01 Sep 2021 21:01:53 +0000 /news/?p=79773 ...]]> Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform. The Center recently received approval by both the ��Vlog��ý System Board of Trustees and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. The Center’s mission is to advance legal equity, access to justice, and fairness in Arkansas and the region. Bowen professors Anastasia Boles and andré douglas pond cummings co-founded the Center and will act as its co-directors. “The Center will provide educational and professional development opportunities for Bowen law students, empowering them to become the next generation of legal leaders,” said Boles. “Research fellowships, such as the newly created Sam Reeves Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform Fellowship, will provide stipends for student researchers.” In addition, the Center will focus on specific criminal justice research projects while offering workshops and educational events for the legal community and the community as a whole. “The Center is enthusiastic about engaging with stakeholders across the state, including the legal and law enforcement communities, academics, students, and community members, in developing research tools and sharing data to improve the lives of all Arkansans,” said cummings. Another part of the Center’s mission is to increase diversity in law school and the legal profession. The law school recently received a $25,000 grant from the Building Black Communities Fund, coordinated by the Arkansas Community Foundation and the Arkansas Black Philanthropy Collaborative, to create and implement a law school pipeline program that will include an LSAT prep course as well as prospective student visits to the law school to sit in on classes and learn how to navigate the law school application process. The course will be part of Bowen’s existing pipeline programs with Arkansas historically Black colleges and universities. An advisory group of leaders, policymakers, and criminal justice experts from across the state representing a range of perspectives and experiences will support the Center’s work. This will ensure the Center and its initiatives are designed and executed in a way that maximizes collaboration, engagement, efficiency, transparency, and credibility. “The Center is firmly rooted in Bowen’s core values of access to justice, public service, and professionalism,” said Dean Theresa M. Beiner. “The events over the past year have brought these values to the forefront. Many students choose to attend law school because they seek to improve their communities and to be part of local, regional, and national conversations about the legal system. The Center, through research opportunities and educational programs, will give them the opportunity to achieve those goals.” The Center will build on other Bowen initiatives, including the Racial Disparities in the Arkansas Criminal Justice System Research Project. That project released a 2015 report analyzing racial disparities in Arkansas criminal sentencing and has worked with the community to examine criminal justice issues. In addition, the Rural Practice Incubator Project trains and supports new attorneys who wish to open law practices in underserved counties in Arkansas. Bowen’s public service externship program also provides students opportunities to work in federal, state, and local court systems, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. “The Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice at the Bowen Law School builds on a long-standing institutional commitment to foster discussion of racial equity issues in our communities,” said ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Chancellor Christina Drale. “Chancellor Joel Anderson made this commitment explicit in 2003 when he implemented the annual Racial Attitudes Survey to promote racial equity through research and dialogue. We are proud to continue this public service tradition through our new center at the Bowen School of Law.”]]>