Danielle Allen
Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor
Multiracial Democracy
Antiracism is a critical building block for a modern, healthy democracy
Multiracial, multiethnic democracy doesn’t just happen — we have work to do to get there.
Antiracist institutions and organizations address and challenge racial disparities by instituting policies and recommendations to foster greater diversity, equity, and inclusion.
We encourage you to explore the below events, research, and commentary to learn more about our work.
Meet the Experts
Gloria Yayra A. Ayee
Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy
Cornell Brooks
Hauser Professor of the Practice of Nonprofit Organizations;
Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice
Archon Fung
Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation;
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government
Yanilda María González
Ford Foundation Assistant Professor of Public Policy
The Latest News and Research
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.
Feature
Re-envisioning a new Black agenda for Boston
David Corbie MPA 2023 is sparking a new conversation about how to shift the paradigm in Boston and strengthen opportunities for the city’s Black community
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.
Video
Key Findings from Antiracist Change in Healthcare Organizations
As a greater number of American healthcare organizations have proclaimed their commitments to racial justice and equitable care, the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project (IARA) team at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation set out to answer the key question: What enables effective and sustained antiracist change in healthcare organizations?
Policy Brief
Antiracist Institutional Change in Healthcare
The IARA project investigates new and existing strategies for antiracist transformation in the healthcare sector.
Feature
There’s still something in the water
During a discussion at Harvard Kennedy School, activists featured in the film “There’s Something in the Water” warn that environmental racism continues to stymie efforts for clean water in Black and Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia.
Feature
As attacks on campus diversity programs grow, HKS researchers point to evidence that equity and inclusion programs strengthen higher ed outcomes
Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts may have a political target on them, but the scholarly literature is clear that they help universities recruit, retain, and teach a more racially diverse pool of talented students and faculty, says the Kennedy School’s Khalil Gibran Muhammad.
Feature
What does it mean to have a strong multiracial democracy?
The Ash Center’s Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Archon Fung discuss how without a more robust commitment to upholding and protecting multiracial democracy, the United States won’t be able to solve its democratic backsliding.
Media Release
IARA Project Receives Grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Feature
Representative Barbara Lee on the United States’ need for a “truth-telling moment” on race
As the IARA Truth and Transformation Conference keynote speaker, Lee asks if the U.S. is ready for a national racial reckoning?