February 2019

Today, students from all backgrounds are choosing to go to college, and many borrow money to make that possible. While education debt is of genuine concern for a wide range of students and families, the broad-brush narrative of student debt in this country ignores sharp differences in borrowing across racial and ethnic groups. As a nation, we should be very concerned that African Americans carry a disproportionate amount of higher-education debt. This unprecedented and unequal level of...

On Dec. 3 , a 28-year-old black mother lost her parental rights to her four children – ages 1 to 9 – in a Minnesota courtroom, just outside the Twin Cities. Instead of opening presents with their mother, the children spent Christmas with a white family two hours away. Across the country, black parents – like this mother, whom we will call Jane R. to protect her privacy – are more likely to lose custody of their children than their white, Asian and Latino peers. While African Americans...

“Smart, Safe, and Fair: Strategies to Prevent Youth Violence, Heal Victims of Crimes, and Reduce Racial Inequality,” published through a collaboration between the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) and the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) addresses how to help youth involved in violent crime — both offenders and victims. Confinement of youth convicted of crimes has decreased; however, violent crime convictions have not. The report shows that confinement of youth is more expensive and...