SEARCH THE CSI SITE
MAKE A DONATION
Cycle-of-opportunity

The Center for Social Inclusion identifies causes of racial inequity growing out of  public policy. Racial injustice is not only about individual attitudes. Our collective decisions shape where we invest our resources, develop relationships and build opportunities. Too often these decisions open a racial divide that undermines opportunity in communities of color. In the end, this injustice is becomes a drag on the nation’s prosperity, and a critical barrier to our long-term health as a society. CSI develops ideas, supports grass roots leaders and moves public will to promote structural transformation through public policy, sowing seeds of racial, gender and class equity for all.

CSI develops tools, strategies and leadership for dismantling what we call structural racism, the many unintentional ways in which race-neutral decisions about how to allocate resources  and opportunities exclude communities of color and weaken our society as a whole.

Ridding society of structures that reproduce racial divides requires effective research and policy analysis to uncover the root causes of lower opportunity among people of color.  We must also invest in community leaders and bring them together to form broad, multi-racial networks that can develop and move policy reforms. Together we can translate America’s changing demographics into a new source of power and prosperity.

All of CSI’s projects are built around three important principles.

  • Ideas: We can build a vibrant and just society, but we must have policy ideas that transform what is possible. CSI works with our partners to understand the structures and systems that perpetuate the exclusion of communities of color, and shed light on the negative effects on us all. With our partners, CSI develops community-level solutions and national policy proposals. At CSI we believe both are essential to galvanize a movement to build an inclusive nation.

  • Leadership: Effective policy reform requires leadership. CSI invests in community leaders, because community organizers and other grassroots advocates can and should play a much larger role in the policy debates that shape all of our lives.

  • Communications: We cannot create structural arrangements that promise opportunity for everyone without building public support. But for too long, race has been a polarizing issue in America. CSI tests strategies for creating more productive public discussion on issues relating to race.