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W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship for Research on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Justice System

2023 Awards

See below for a list of the 2023 awardees and all past recipients. 

The W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship for Research on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Justice System supports quantitative and qualitative research that furthers the Department’s mission by advancing knowledge regarding the intersections of race, crime, violence, and the administration of justice within the United States.

The program funds of investigator-initiated research examining how observed racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system might be reduced through public policy interventions at any point during the administration of justice. NIJ seeks applications for funding from two categories of researchers:

  • W.E.B. Du Bois Scholars – Researchers who are advanced in their careers may apply for grants for research, evaluation, and mentoring less-experienced researchers.
  • W.E.B. Du Bois Fellows – Researchers who are early in their careers  may apply for grants for research and evaluation.

About W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an early leader in the struggle for racial equality in the United States. As a social scientist, Du Bois used objective methods to challenge discriminatory ideologies and institutions to advocate for social change. His classic study "The Philadelphia Negro," published in 1899, was a groundbreaking sociological study of the city's Black community, and one of the first research projects to combine urban ethnography, social history, and descriptive statistics.

W.E.B. Du Bois Fellows and Scholars

Fellows and Scholars
Year Award Number Fellow or Scholar [1] Project Title
(links to description or final report if available)		 Amount
2023 15PNIJ-23-GG-01363-NIJB Spencer Lawson, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School Building Equity in Objective Prison Classification: A Model for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities $599,976
2023 15PNIJ-23-GG-01365-NIJB Clare Strange, Drexel University A Statewide Mixed-methods Evaluation of Pennsylvania’s 8th Edition Sentencing Guidelines and their Impacts on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Sentencing Outcomes

$730,834
2023 15PNIJ-23-GG-01367-NIJB S. Rebecca Neusteter, University of Chicago

911, What’s Your Emergency? Factors Impacting Call Coding

 $500,000
2021

15PNIJ-21-GG-04707-NIJB

 Bryan L. Sikes (PI), Emily Owens (Co-PI), The University of California Irvine Shadow Costs: The Effect of Economic and Informational Inequality on Court-Order Compliance $885,090
2018 2018-R2-CX-0022 Joseph R. Cohen, University of Illinois

A Novel, Trauma-Informed Screening Approach for Teen Dating Violence Perpetration in Racially Diverse Adolescents: A Multi-Site Study

 $1,013,422
2018 2018-R2-CX-0020

Joel Capellan, Rowan University

Does the Detention and Deportation of Illegal Immigrants Reduce Crime? A Nationwide Examination of the Impact of 287(g) agreements on Violent and Property Crime

 $248,077
2018 2018-R2-CX-0023 Bradley Ray, Indiana University

Improving the Accuracy and Fairness of Pretrial Release Decisions: A Multi-Site Study of Risk Assessments Implemented in Four Counties

 $77,768
2018 2018-R2-CX-0021

Ojmarrh Mitchell, University of South Florida

Understanding Prosecutorial Discretion in Florida Criminal Courts

 $438,152
2017 2017-IJ-CX-0116 Brian Renauer, Portland State University Assessing the Impact of Pre-Adjudication Assessment Approaches on Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Oregon $360,620
2017 2017-MU-MU-0055 Kimberly Bernard, County of Multnomah Disrupting the Pathways to Gang Violence for Youth of Color $468,740
2017 2017-IJ-CX-0044 Mona Lynch, The Regents of the University of California, Irvine Can Jury Instructions Have an Impact on Trial Outcomes $489,085
2017 2017-IJ-CX-0033 Amy Lerman, University of California, Berkeley The Downstream Effects of Prison Reform $500,000
2016 2016-R2-CX-0004 Brandi Blessett, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Camden; Tia Sherèe Gaynor, Marist College Intersectional Subjection and Law Enforcement: Examining Perceptions Held by LGBTQ People of Color in New Orleans, LA $150,000
2016 2016-R2-CX-0055 Rodney Green, Howard University Do DOJ Intervention and Citizen Oversight Improve Police Accountability $292,979
2016 2016-R2-CX-0045 Christina Campbell, University of Cincinnati The Influence of Race/Ethnicity on Disparities in Correctional Dispositions: Examining How Risk Assessment & Neighborhood Socioeconomic Context Affects Sentencing Decisions of Adjudicated Juveniles $134,762
2016 2016-R2-CX-0042 Shamena Anwar, RAND Corporation Racial Disparities in Virgina Felony Court Cases $99,517
2016 2016-R2-CX-0043 Melinda Tasca, Sam Houston State University; Jillian Turanovic, Florida State University Examining Race and Gender Disparities in Restricted Housing Placements $100,000
2016 2016-R2-CX-0041 William Horrace, Syracuse University Police Officer Learning, Mentoring, and Racial Bias in Traffic Stops $279,810
2016 2016-R2-CX-0044 Maria João Lobo Antunes, Towson State University; Eileen Ahlin, Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg Moving to Collective Efficacy: How Inner-City Mobility Impacts Minority and Immigrant Youth Victimization and Violence $99,993
2015 2015-IJ-CX-0003 Kevin H. Wozniak, University of Massachusetts Boston Racialized Cues and Support for Justice Reinvestment: A Mixed-Method Study of Public Opinion $144,329
2014 2014-IJ-CX-0031 Kevin Drakulich, Northeastern University Implicit Racial Bias, Community Context, and Perceptions of Crime and Justice $49,279
2013 2013-IJ-CX-0021 Irshad Altheimer, Rochester Institute of Technology Enhancing Knowledge of Dispute-Related Violence $99,727
2013 2013-IJ-CX-0022 Callie Burt, Arizona State University Racial Discrimination, Racial Socialization, Gender, and Crime: Understanding Mechanisms and Developmental Pathways $98,120
2013 2013-IJ-CX-0020 Charles F. Klahm, IV, and Yuning Wu, Wayne State University Victimization and Fear of Crime among Arab Americans in Metro-Detroit $99,788
2012 2012-IJ-CX-0004 Jana Arsovska, John Jay College, City University of New York Culture, Migration and Transnational Crime: Ethnic Albanian Organized Crime in New York City $99,868
2011 2012-IJ-CX-0003 Anthony A. Peguero, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Social Bonds Across Immigration Generations and the Immigrant School Enclave $99,122
2011 2011-IJ-CX-0004 Ojmarrh Mitchell, University of South Florida Race and Drug Arrests: Specific Deterrence and Collateral Consequences $93,553
2011 2011-IJ-CX-0002 Bianca Bersani, University of Massachusetts, Boston
Stephanie DiPietro, University of Missouri, St. Louis		 An Examination of the "Marriage Effect" on Desistance from Crime Among U.S. Immigrants $99,149
2010 2010-IJ-CX-0005 Hung-En Sung, John Jay College of Criminal Justice The Forsaken "Out-Laws": Crime and Justice Among Undocumented Migrant Workers in Palisades Park, New Jersey $99,843
2008 2008-IJ-CX-0003 Chris Gibson, University of Florida
Holly Ventura Miller, University of Texas, San Antonio		 Crime and Victimization Among Hispanic Adolescents: A Multilevel Longitudinal Study of Acculturation and Segmented Assimilation $74,934
2007 2007-IJ-CX-0032 Cynthia Lum, George Mason University The Impact of Racial and Ethnic Composition on Police Decision Making Pathways in African, Asian, Hispanic and Immigrant Communities $74,872
2006 2006-IJ-CX-0009 Amy Farrell and Geoff Ward, Northeastern University The Contextual Significance of Courtroom Workgroup Racial Diversity to Crime Case Outcomes $75,523
2005 2005-IJ-CX-0035 Eric Stewart, University of Missouri, St. Louis The Impact of Race, Structure, Discrimination and Culture on Youth Violence: A Multilevel Longitudinal Investigation $75,237
2004 2004-IJ-CX-0043 Johnna Christian, Rutgers University Exploring the Factors Influencing Family Members' Connections to Prisoners $78,767
2003 2003-IJ-CX-1006 Ivory Toldson, Southern University Evaluating the Predictive and Structural Validity of an Actuarial Method for Screening Civil Liabilities Among Police Officer Candidates $74,815
2003 2003-IJ-
CX-0002		 Valli Kalei Kanuha, University of Hawaii Exploring the Construction of Violence Against Women and Children in an Indigenous Cultural Context: Applications of Alternative Justice Strategies in Contemporary Society $76,488
2001 2001-IJ-CX-0012 Ramiro Martinez, Florida International University The Impact of Immigration in Ethnic-Specific Violence: Identifying Individual and Community Characteristics in Miami $61,997
2000 2000-IJ-CX-0032 Becky Tatum, Georgia State University The Role of Social Support on Adolescent Crime: Identifying Race, Class and Gender Variations

$45,343

Date Published: September 28, 2023