Truth and Action
We want to share with all MHSL students a significant DRI project which began last summer and is now entering its public-facing phase.
The project, Truth and Action: Addressing Systemic Racism in the Criminal Justice System in Minnesota, grew out of our need to work on addressing the longstanding issue of systemic racism in the criminal justice system. Given DRI’s established commitment to community engagement and expertise in convening, we believed that we had a role to play.
The initiative – led by an advisory group made up of more than three dozen members including community leaders, elected officials, judges, law enforcement professionals, prosecutors, public defenders, corrections officials, and academics – is designed as a “transitional justice” project, based on the belief that reform and reconciliation for societies—particularly those trying to move out of a period of longstanding human rights violations—requires first understanding the truth. The project will initially focus on Minneapolis and St. Paul, with a planned expansion to the greater metro area, and eventually statewide.
We invite you to visit the project webpage (https://mitchellhamline.edu/truth-and-action/) to view all of the program information. We welcome any input you may have.