The Antiracist Research and Policy Center is an interdisciplinary hub for the research and practice of racial justice and intersectional liberation. We convene scholars, educators, community-based changemakers, cultural workers, and policy advocates in sustainable and equitable collaborations.
Contact Us
General Inquiries:
202-885-2892
arpc@american.edu
Media Inquiries:
AU Communications
aumedia@american.edu
202-885-5950
Antiracist Research & Policy Center
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
United States
Abolition, Everywhere? A National Convening
April 4-5, 2025 | Call for papers open now through January 5
Abolition Everywhere? brings together scholars and practitioners working to abolish the prison industrial complex with those who engage abolition as a praxis to dismantle other systems and structures of unfreedom.
Toolkit: Six Election Takeaways through an Antiracist Lens
Race and The Elections: On October 23, ARPC held a panel discussing the intersections of race and the elections. Faculty panelists discussed key issues for racial justice, how they are reflected in the current election, how they play out in local elections and communities, and how to mobilize beyond the elections. Watch the recording here. Read our toolkit: Six Ways Racial Justice is on the Ballot.. and what you can do about it to learn more.
Photo: Vlad Tchompalov via Unsplash
Congratulations to our 2024-2025 ARPC Faculty Fellows: This year we are proud to announce Dr. Omi Davis-Smith as our Transformative Scholarship Fellow and Dr. Sarah Iverson as the recipient of our Racial Justice Research Seed Grant. Dr. Davis-Smith's book examines the development of the Acogny dance technique to reveal intersections between African dance, geopolitics in post-independence Senegal, and modernism within a Francophone African Context. Dr. Iverson's research investigates the impact of the 2023 Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action on racial inequalities in higher education.
What We Do
Together, we generate critical knowledge around race, power, and difference and forge shared tools and resources for social change. Our work takes four trajectories: research, community collaboration, education, and public engagement. Read more about what we believe.
This year we are also prioritizing four thematic areas of intervention:
Fire Right Now: Farm Bill Summer 2024
Following up on our 2023 Pointing the Farm Bill Toward Racial Justice Summit, ARPC spent June–September 2024 having a Farm Bill Summer! With support from the Platform for Agriculture and Climate Transformation, we partnered with grassroots organizations including Black Food + Justice Alliance, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Freedmen Heirs, and National Young Farmers Coalition - plus Alcorn State University - to host a series of conversations on the stalled legislation. If you think the Farm Bill is just for policy wonks, watch now to learn about the intersections of agrarian policy with climate justice, racial justice, reproductive justice, and more.
Abolition Everywhere Working Group
This interdisciplinary research cluster brings AU scholars of policing and the carceral state together with AU scholars deploying abolitionist frameworks to stage critical interventions on a range of racial justice issues, including education, climate justice, urban gentrification, and reproductive justice. More about Abolition Everywhere
Reproductive Justice
ARPC is part of an ongoing initiative to explore reproductive freedom in a post-Dobbs world. Check out the resource guide from our Spring 2024 event, or watch this conversation exploring the intersections of reproductive and abolitionist thinking to learn ways to dig deeper and take action.
Support ARPC
Thank you for supporting the work of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center! Your donation will support our mission to seek the enactment of antiracist policies at the local, state, and national levels.