About

The Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network (RDCJN) has been an ongoing organization since 2003. To date, the network consists of approximately 200 scholars who are diverse across a host of dimensions, e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, sexual identification, stage of career, disciplinary background, etc. The activities of the network are oriented to: improving the quality of research on race, ethnicity, crime and justice; and facilitating the success of young (in career) scholars from underrepresented groups (broadly defined). These foci are grounded in the recognition that: (1) providing a broader and deeper understanding of patterns of crime and criminal justice require scholars to take seriously how race and ethnicity are organizing principles of society that must be taken into account in theoretical discussions and empirical analyses; (2) there is a diminution in the proportion of underrepresented scholars in fields that train criminologists as you move through the ranks from doctoral student through assistant, associate, and full professorship; and, (3) a part of the reason for this diminution is real and felt isolation (from resources that contribute to success) experienced by underrepresented scholars as they proceed through academe. RDCJN members regard the underrepresentation of criminologists-of-color as consequential for the ability of crime and justice research to provide a broad and deep understanding of these phenomena, and for the success of underrepresented student populations attempting to succeed in college, graduate school, and beyond.

In the early 2000s, when Ruth D. Peterson (i.e., Rudy) and Lauren J. Krivo were colleagues at Ohio State University (Laurie subsequently moved to Rutgers University), in collaboration with other interested scholars, they embarked upon a set of activities to address the above concerns. The result was the formation of the RDCJN, with two central activities: (1) engaging in collaborative projects to provide a deeper and better understanding of race, ethnicity, crime and criminal justice; and, (2) an annual Crime and Justice Summer Research Institute (SRI) to provide young underrepresented scholars with a “toolkit” of resources for survival in academe, and a second academic home to reduce their real and felt isolation. The main RDCJN website is housed at Rutgers University. Here we include supplemental information on the Network’s activities, and showcase members’ stories regarding their academic experiences and participation in the RDCJN or SRI.

Publications about the RDCJN and RDCJN Volumes