In order to promote racial justice and organizations that espouse it, Google.org has committed $11.5 million in a series of new grants for ten racial criminal justice organizations. The company started along this road last year, when it committed $3 million for the cause of advanced racial justice. With this grant, it is further strengthening its commitment to things that matter.
Google.org’s efforts are aimed towards increasing transparency in crucial places that need to be before the public’s eyes. For example, despite all the organizations claiming to work in the field, there is hardly any data available regarding criminal sentencing. Also, racial justice is a point that jumped to the fore last year, after several cops were claimed to have acted upon a racial bias, during the course of discharging their duty.
In conversation with the TechCrunch, Google.org Principal Justin Steele said that his organization wanted to provide grants to organizations that had the reduction of racial disparity in the criminal justice system within their sights. Of course, the aim is not easy, as the justice system and those working in it aren’t going to accept that there is indeed a racial bias at all, that easily.
However, with Google.org helping tech intensive organizations that will be deploying cutting edge tech like data sciences to come up with innovative solutions for the problem, there certainly is hope.
A little over half of the grant is focused on data science and getting transparency into the state of policing and the court system. The other half is entrepreneurs trying to introduce new models of reform in the criminal justice system.
Meanwhile, the list of organizations that are receiving these grants include Center for Policing Equity, Measures for Justice, W. Haywood Burns Institute, Impact Justice, JustLeadershipUSA, Defy Ventures,Center for Employment Opportunities, Silicon Valley De-Bug,#cut50 and Code for America.
