Chicago organization aims
to dismantle the bias of
criminal justice institutions
Illinois’ most populous county has hired a consulting agency to introduce concepts of racial equity to the county’s criminal justice system.
Cook County’s Justice Advisory Council announced in January that it would work with the Chicago Regional Organization for Anti-Racism (ROAR) to address systemic racism in the county court system. The organization works to dismantle White supremacy culture inside criminal justice institutions, according to a story by Fox News.
“Our theory of change begins with understanding the root of the problem is White supremacy, enshrined in and reproduced by our systems and institutions,” the organization said. “White supremacy produces a culture of domination that conditions systems, institutions, and people to uphold and legitimize Whiteness and its ways as normal, standard, moral and universal.”
Our theory of
change begins with
understanding the root
of the problem is White
supremacy, enshrined in
and reproduced by our
systems and institutions.
Chicago Regional Organization for Anti-Racism
The organization’s ethos borrows from critical race theory, the concept that many of America’s institutions grew from structurally racist systems based on slavery that White people continue to benefit from today.
A $500,000 grant from the Justice Challenge and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation funds the contract. ROAR offers clients nine-12 month audits to determine whether an institution harbors systemically racist practices. The organization and Cook County did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News.
ROAR also offers trainings about White cultural domination in the U.S. and how White supremacy is framed as normal and universal throughout American institutions.
One such training, hosted by ROAR trainer Emily Drew, asks participants how White people can better support people of color and fight racism in their communities.
“How can White people engage in efforts to dismantle racism in ways that do not reproduce or place unfair burdens upon people of color to be our teachers?” a description of Drew’s speaking engagement reads.
