Berkley Center

This seminar examined anti-black racism within the criminal justice system to consider whether racial equity within the criminal justice system is even possible. In particular, students analyzed and debated how anti-black racism governs laws, policies, policing, juror selection, prosecutorial discretion, and the rights of the accused. Beyond thinking about the problem, this course challenged its participants to develop solutions to some aspect of the criminal justice system and/or a related institution. Students had the opportunity to develop racial-bias training for police departments, juror bias-training, and other solutions that alleviate racial inequity in the criminal justice system. The purpose of the course was to provide thought-leadership on some of the key issues in criminal justice that stymie racial economic empowerment and justice and to propose new models for engaging these topics. While criminal justice remained the primary focal point, employment, housing, and education inequality and reform necessarily factored into the discussion. This course (AFAM 406) was taught by Robert Patterson as a Doyle Seminar in spring 2021. Please refer to the current course catalog for an up-to-date description of the course.