Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project

How did the Black Lives Matter movement get to where it is today?

Historical perspective on the civil rights movements of the past is offered by the Archives and Special Collections at the Northeastern Library. “Placing the current movement in a much longer time horizon really gives you critical context,” says Dan Cohen, dean of the university library.

by Ian Thomsen August 6, 2020

The untold stories of 123 Black people killed by white police officers in one Alabama county

No officers were convicted for the killings, which occurred between 1932 and 1968 in Jefferson County, Alabama, according to a three-year investigation by Northeastern's Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project. “What are the numbers in other police departments across the country?” asks Katie Sandson, a legal fellow for the project who led the study.

by Ian Thomsen July 30, 2020

“Murder in Mobile” honored with a Regional Emmy Award for best documentary

“Our goal was to tell a story that would honor this man who had died needlessly and unjustly,” says Adam Fischer, who directed the 23-minute documentary in collaboration with his partner at Northeastern Films, Benjamin Bertsch. “Sadly, the story of Rayfield Davis is more relevant than ever.”

by Ian Thomsen June 22, 2020

‘Let us pledge that our university will take action’

In response to the outcry over recent killings of George Floyd and other Black people by police officers, Northeastern on Monday affirmed its support for the Black Lives Matter movement. A vigil and a roundtable discussion honored the Black people whose lives were taken and set a course for what must happen next.

by Ian Thomsen June 8, 2020

A day for reflection, engagement, and action

Northeastern is suspending operations on Monday to hold two live events focused on unity, equality, and justice. A morning vigil will be held in response to the killing of George Floyd and other Black people, to be followed by a discussion on civil rights and justice.

by Ian Thomsen June 7, 2020

How do today’s Black Lives Matter protests compare to the civil rights movement of the 1960s?

Margaret Burnham, university distinguished professor of law, and director of Northeastern’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, offers a lifetime of perspective on how to confront systemic racism in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a police officer.

by Ian Thomsen June 4, 2020

Stock photo of the The New York Times Magazine on Aug. 20, 2019. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

What we can learn from the backlash to the The New York Times history of slavery in the United States

“There has been a sustained campaign to erase the experience of enslaved people and the consequences and legacy of slavery in America,” says Margaret Burnham, director of Northeastern’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project. “But this is American history, and you have to face it to fix it.”

by Molly Callahan August 21, 2019

Toni Morrison’s groundbreaking novels about black history and identity helped to advance issues of civil rights and racial justice. The author was the keynote speaker at an event at Northeastern University in 2013, and afterward, she met with families who’d lost a relative to racial violence. Photo by Mary Knox Merrill/Northeastern University

Toni Morrison’s influence extends beyond literature

Morrison, whose groundbreaking novels about black history and identity opened the door for scores of authors who followed, also helped to advance issues of civil rights and racial justice.

by Molly Callahan August 9, 2019

Murder In Mobile hits the red carpets

The documentary by Northeastern Films will be shown at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Saturday as part of the Roxbury International Film Festival—one of many screenings for this story of reclaimed justice.

by Ian Thomsen June 18, 2019

Murder in Mobile: A documentary short film about race, murder, and one family’s search for the truth 70 years later

In 1948, in Mobile, Alabama, a black man named Rayfield Davis was beaten to death by a white man who was not prosecuted. The crime…

by Adam Fischer and Benjamin Bertsch January 28, 2019