Video
A Conversation with Ava DuVernay: Resistance, Storytelling, and Film
Professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad was joined by Oscar-nominated filmmaker and screenwriter Ava DuVernay in JFK Jr. Forum
Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project
If you don’t have multiracial democracy, you don’t have democracy. How can we truly achieve antiracist change?
The Institutional Antiracism and Accountability (IARA) Project conducts rigorous research to find what works — and doesn’t — to create antiracist change.
As institutions make commitments to racial equity, there’s a growing need for effective and implementable policies and practices. Research can play a crucial role in identifying field-tested solutions.
Practitioners in the field want to know: Which structures and strategies are proven to achieve more equitable outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and communities of color? And which are ineffective or even harmful? The IARA Project evaluates these efforts to move organizations from words to action to accountability.
What does this look like in practice?
IARA’s current work includes:
- Race, Research, and Policy Portal: A free online resource that features easily accessible research summaries on diversity, racial equity, and organizational change.
- Global Processes of Justice, Truth–Telling, and Healing: This three-year project surveys international examples of truth-telling and societal repair, learning directly from those involved in truth commissions across the world and locally in the U.S.
- Healthcare Institutions: This research focuses on the organizational practices and policy changes that effectively create institutional change and community health equity.
- Bias Education: This project aims to inspire parents, teachers, and school leaders to disrupt racism, sexism, xenophobia, and other harmful biases in early childhood education and curricula.
The Latest News and Research
Video
Art Imitates Nation: A Conversation with Hank Willis Thomas
Artist Hank Willis Thomas spoke with Harvard professor Sarah Elizabeth Lewis about how love guides his artwork at a Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics forum.
Feature
Five books and a podcast on sports, patriotism, and racial justice
This reading list from the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project explores the intersection of sports and racial justice, in the lead-up to their panel on March 19.
Feature
Five most-read antiracism research articles on RRAPP in 2023
The best of the Race, Research, and Policy Portal (RRAPP) this year
Q+A
‘We deserve to enjoy this land’
A Conversation with Eternal Polk, Director of Gaining Ground, a new film about reclaiming Black land in the US
Feature
How can we hold institutions accountable for antiracist change?
During the fifth-annual convening of the Truth and Transformation Conference hosted by the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project (IARA), experts discussed challenges as well as best practices for holding organizations accountable for antiracist change.
Video
Panel 3 — Turning Up the Heat: Social Pressure for Organizational Accountability
When it comes to establishing accountability in institutions, how can pressure be deployed, and what can it help accomplish? This panel featured leading advocates who have used a range of social and political tactics to push for change. They shared how they and their collaborators have instigated these efforts and illuminate lessons we should glean from their work.
Video
Panel 4 — Reckoning with History: Moving Beyond Organizational Accountability
This panel was part of the Truth & Transformation Conference 2023, hosted by the Instructional Antiracism and Accountability Project (IARA). In this session, panelists discussed real-world examples of historical reckoning and truth-telling, exploring how historical documentation, resources, and materials can be applied to antiracism work.
Video
Truth and Transformation 2023: Panel 1 — Roadmaps: Charting Paths to Organizational Accountability
This panel was part of the Truth & Transformation Conference 2023, hosted by the Instructional Antiracism and Accountability Project (IARA). This panel featured advocates with years of experience establishing systems for accountability in their own organizations.
Video
Truth and Transformation 2023: Panel 2 — (Re)writing the Rulebook: Reporting and Regulating for Organizational Accountability
This panel was part of the Truth & Transformation Conference 2023, hosted by the Instructional Antiracism and Accountability Project (IARA). In this panel, we examined how tools like analysis, metrics, and reporting are advancing within the private sector today and explored the impact of government insight on transparency and accountability.
Video
Truth and Transformation 2023: Lunch Keynote by Christine Cordero
This panel was part of the Truth & Transformation Conference 2023, hosted by the Instructional Antiracism and Accountability Project (IARA). Christine Cordero’s keynote talk explored the strategic connections between stewarding a just transition from our fossil fuel infrastructure and building resilience in communities of color on the frontlines.
Commentary
5 ways that college campuses benefit from diversity, equity and inclusion programs
For more than half a century, colleges and universities have relied on dedicated programs to attract students of color and support them. Today, those programs – known as diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs – are under attack.
Feature
Five ways to use our antiracism resource database
Answer pressing questions, discover new strategies, and more with our Race Research and Policy Portal — a free database featuring easy-to-read summaries of peer-reviewed research.
Feature
Antiracism Summer Reading List
This summer’s recommended reads from the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project includes autobiographies, graphic novels, children’s books, and much more.
Media Release
Research Reveals Path to Effective Antiracist Change in American Healthcare
The Institutional Antiracism and Accountability (IARA) Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation released a new report that provides a comprehensive overview of racial equity in practice and details the critical mechanisms for evaluating antiracism interventions in healthcare institutions.