The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy serves as the hub of the Harvard Kennedy School’s research, teaching, and training in the human rights domain. The center embraces a dual mission: to educate students and the next generation of leaders from around the world in human rights policy and practice; and to convene and provide policy-relevant knowledge to international organizations, governments, policymakers, and businesses.

 

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Yanilda Maria Gonzalez Making a Movement

Making a Movement: Yanilda María González on Police Violence Against Racialized Communities

March 18, 2024

In her essay for the Carr Center's latest publication, Making a Movement: The History and Future of Human Rights, Yanilda María González discusses one of the most pervasive racial justice challenges: continued police violence against racialized and impoverished communities. 

... Read more about Making a Movement: Yanilda María González on Police Violence Against Racialized Communities
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Latest Publications

George Floyd and the history of police brutality in America

Citation:

Kadijatou Diallo and John Shattuck. 6/1/2020. “George Floyd and the history of police brutality in America.” Boston Globe. Read the article.
George Floyd and the history of police brutality in America

Full Text

By recognizing the long history of racism in the justice system, Americans can grasp why deaths like George Floyd's are symptomatic of a larger failure of American justice.

The horrific death, captured on video, of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck, spotlights the longstanding crisis of racism in policing.

To understand the protests that have erupted across the United States, one needs to understand the deeply troubled history of policing and race. Police brutality, racial discrimination, and violence against minorities are intertwined and rooted throughout US history. Technology has made it possible for the level and extent of the problem finally to be publicly documented. The anger expressed in the wake of Floyd's killing reflects the searing reality that Black people in the United States continue to be dehumanized and treated unjustly.

Read the article. 

: Kadijatou Diallo & John Shattuck | June 1 2020
: By recognizing the long history of racism in the justice system, Americans can grasp why deaths like George Floyd’s are symptomatic of a larger failure of American justice.

Examining the Ethics of Immunity Certificates

Citation:

Carr Center. 6/1/2020. “Examining the Ethics of Immunity Certificates.” Carr Center Covid-19 Discussion Paper Series, 05. Read full text.
Examining the Ethics of Immunity Certificates

Abstract:

Carr Center faculty and fellows examine the human rights implications and legal ramifications of introducing widespread immunity passports. In this latest issue, hear from Mark Latonero, Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center and Research Lead at Data & Society, Elizabeth Renieris, a Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center and founder of hackylawyER, and Mathias Risse, Faculty Director at the Carr Center.  

Read their discussion here. 

: Carr Center | June 1 2020
: Carr Center faculty and fellows examine the human rights implications and legal ramifications of introducing widespread immunity passports. 
Last updated on 06/01/2020

George Floyd and the History of Police Brutality in America

Citation:

Kadijatou Diallo and John Shattuck. 6/1/2020. “George Floyd and the History of Police Brutality in America.” Boston Globe. See full text.
George Floyd and the History of Police Brutality in America

Abstract:

Kadijatou Diallo and John Shattuck discuss the history of racist policing and violence against African Americans in the U.S.

 

The horrific death, captured on video, of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck, spotlights the longstanding crisis of racism in policing.

To understand the protests that have erupted across the United States, one needs to understand the deeply troubled history of policing and race. Police brutality, racial discrimination, and violence against minorities are intertwined and rooted throughout US history. Technology has made it possible for the level and extent of the problem finally to be publicly documented. The anger expressed in the wake of Floyd’s killing reflects the searing reality that Black people in the United States continue to be dehumanized and treated unjustly.

 

: John Shattuck et al. | June 1 2020
: Kadijatou Diallo and John Shattuck discuss the history of racist policing and violence against African Americans in the U.S.
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“The Carr Center is building a bridge between ideas on human rights and the practice on the ground. Right now we are at a critical juncture. The pace of technological change and the rise of authoritarian governments are both examples of serious challenges to the flourishing of individual rights. It’s crucial that Harvard and the Kennedy School continue to be a major influence in keeping human rights ideals alive. The Carr Center is a focal point for this important task.”

 

- Mathias Risse