Edward Waters College, the historically Black educational institution in Jacksonville, Florida, has announced that it will establish the A. Philip Randolph Institute for Law, Race, Social Justice and Economic Policy. The college plans to hire an executive director/scholar-in-residence and provide opportunities for students, scholars, practitioners, and community members to examine and exchange ideas related to race, law/criminal justice, and socioeconomic policy matters through research, lectures, symposia, and scholarship.
The announcement of the new institute states that “over the coming years, the Randolph Institute will seek to accomplish positive change through the promulgation of research-based policy recommendations made to state and local Jacksonville governmental, law enforcement, business, civic, and economic development agencies, or other related organizations with the intention of achieving qualitative and/or quantitative improvements related to the aforementioned intersectional matters of race, law, and social and economic justice.”
A. Zachary Faison, Jr., president of Edward Waters College, added that “this is a tremendous opportunity and potentially transformative development for our institution and the greater Jacksonville community. It is also a timely initiative for all of us given the recent events that have occurred throughout the country over the past year heightening our collective scrutiny of matters of race, law, and the engagement of African-American citizens with law enforcement as well as the ongoing plight for social and economic equity that has come even more to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The new institute is made possible by a multi- year, six-figure grant from the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund.
