Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project

The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice (CRRJ) Project, founded by Professor Margaret Burnham, addresses harms resulting from the massive breakdown in law enforcement during the civil rights movement, from the 1950s to the early 1970s. This was a time of great political protest and turmoil as African-Americans and their allies militantly rejected Jim Crow, second-class citizenship, and economic exploitation.

Their protests were greeted with systemic violence and repression. Thousands were arrested and imprisoned, hundreds were murdered and beaten, and untold numbers lost their jobs, their churches, and their homes. These crimes against the civil rights movement were committed by institutions, organized groups, individuals acting alone, and by government actors, often colluding with private persons. Rarely were the perpetrators of these violations prosecuted in court or otherwise made to answer for their offenses.

CRRJ's aim is to investigate the role of state, local and federal law enforcement agencies and courts in protecting activists and their work. CRRJ examines the geo-politics that led to the large-scale breakdown of law enforcement, the wide-spread repression against the movement's participants, and the reforms that have been initiated to rectify these abuses. The project engages teachers and students across the university and is directed by faculty from the School of Law and the College of Criminal Justice.

Dee-Moore Case Settles — June 2010

A landmark lawsuit against Franklin County, Mississippi, filed by Professor Margaret Burnham and the law school's Civil Rights and Restorative Justice project on behalf of the families of two black teens killed by Klansmen in 1964, has settled.

•The Boston Globe: "Justice follows decades of silence — Northeastern law students aid kin of Miss. slay victims"
•National Public Radio: "Miss. Officials Agree To Settlement In '64 Slayings"
•The Clarion Ledger: "Attorney: Settlement near in '64 slayings"