A mural in Belfast depicts civil rights leaders form around the world

Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project

If you don’t have multiracial democracy, you don’t have democracy. How can we truly achieve antiracist change?

Visit the IARA Website

Photo Credit: Khalil Gibran Muhammad

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.

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Healing through History
Howard Medical School laboratory setting, with three gentlemen seated at the counter, looking through microscopes, while two others look on

Feature

Healing through History

Examining the American Medical Association Archives to Understand Racial Disparities in Healthcare

Representative Barbara Lee on the Imperative of Reparative Justice

Feature

Representative Barbara Lee on the Imperative of Reparative Justice

At the Global Justice, Truth-Telling, and Healing Symposium, Lee speaks on how we can interrupt the cycle of inaction when it comes to reparative justice in the United States.

Antiracism Summer Reading List
Collage of cover photos of all of the books

Feature

Antiracism Summer Reading List

15 noteworthy recent releases handpicked by the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability (IARA) Project.

Art Imitates Nation: A Conversation with Hank Willis Thomas
Hank William Thomas speaking with Sarah Elizabeth Lewis

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.

Five books and a podcast on sports, patriotism, and racial justice

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.

The latest antiracism research and events in your inbox.

‘We deserve to enjoy this land’
The sun rises over a farkm

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

How can we hold institutions accountable for antiracist change?
Collage of all of the speakers

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.

Panel 3 — Turning Up the Heat: Social Pressure for Organizational Accountability
Graphic of the 2023 Truth and Transformation conference

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.

Panel 4 — Reckoning with History: Moving Beyond Organizational Accountability
Graphic of the 2023 Truth and Transformation conference

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.

Truth and Transformation 2023: Panel 2 — (Re)writing the Rulebook: Reporting and Regulating for Organizational Accountability
Graphic of the 2023 Truth and Transformation conference

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.

Truth and Transformation 2023: Lunch Keynote by Christine Cordero
Graphic of Christine Cordero and the Truth and Transformation conference details

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.

5 ways that college campuses benefit from diversity, equity and inclusion programs
Photo of a group of students walking and smiling at each other

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.