Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ)
@crrj.bsky.social
CRRJ sponsors dynamic interdisciplinary research, fosters new pedagogies, and supports remedial practice on the national and community level.
Website: https://crrj.org
Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive: https://crrjarchive.org
Website: https://crrj.org
Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive: https://crrjarchive.org
Pinned
About CRRJ
Professor Margaret Burnham,Founder and Director
Mission & HistoryWe sponsor dynamic interdisciplinary research, foster new pedagogies, and support remedial practice on the national and community lev...
crrj.org
Welcome to CRRJ on @bsky.app!
Launched in 2007 by @nusl.bsky.social Professor Margaret Burnham, CRRJ is the premier academic program in the U.S. examining current racial inequities through the lens of history, investigating racially motivated violence and seeking reparative justice. crrj.org/about/
Launched in 2007 by @nusl.bsky.social Professor Margaret Burnham, CRRJ is the premier academic program in the U.S. examining current racial inequities through the lens of history, investigating racially motivated violence and seeking reparative justice. crrj.org/about/
🔖 From @eji.org: Across the South, Black voting-rights activists were murdered by white mobs and officials. Their killers walked free. Their courage changed democracy.
Read more: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Read more: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Black activists murdered for voting rights, killers never held accountable
From Lamar Smith in Mississippi to Harry and Harriette Moore in Florida, Black activists were murdered for voting rights. None saw justice.
www.usatoday.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:05 PM
🔖 From @eji.org: Across the South, Black voting-rights activists were murdered by white mobs and officials. Their killers walked free. Their courage changed democracy.
Read more: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Read more: www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Thank you to Auburn University's Alabama Political Reporter for sharing the story Eddie Green, a 23-year old minister who was lynched in 1943, one of the early cases investigated by CRRJ.
Read more about his case: www.alreporter.com/2025/11/11/t...
Read more about his case: www.alreporter.com/2025/11/11/t...
The untold story of a Black WWII veteran’s lynching
In 1943, Black minister Edward Green was kidnapped, tortured and killed by white men in Alabama. No one was ever arrested.
www.alreporter.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Thank you to Auburn University's Alabama Political Reporter for sharing the story Eddie Green, a 23-year old minister who was lynched in 1943, one of the early cases investigated by CRRJ.
Read more about his case: www.alreporter.com/2025/11/11/t...
Read more about his case: www.alreporter.com/2025/11/11/t...
✨ New post about former Kimbrough Scholar and CRRJ researcher, Helen Bekele, now @nusl.bsky.social '28, and her journey through justice
crrj.org/2025/10/kimb...
crrj.org/2025/10/kimb...
From High School to Law School: Kimbrough Scholar, Helen Bekele’s Journey Through Justice | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
How the 2017 Kimbrough scholarship program shaped one student's path to Northeastern University School of Law.
crrj.org
November 5, 2025 at 5:26 PM
✨ New post about former Kimbrough Scholar and CRRJ researcher, Helen Bekele, now @nusl.bsky.social '28, and her journey through justice
crrj.org/2025/10/kimb...
crrj.org/2025/10/kimb...
We were honored to attend this year’s Race & Law Center Network convening, generously hosted by UCLA's School of Law. Thank you for an enriching experience and congratulations on 25 years of Critical Race Studies.
October 28, 2025 at 1:34 PM
We were honored to attend this year’s Race & Law Center Network convening, generously hosted by UCLA's School of Law. Thank you for an enriching experience and congratulations on 25 years of Critical Race Studies.
🎙️ LISTEN: Latest season of @npr.org and @wkno.bsky.social's Civil Wrongs podcast out now, centers on case of Phillip Hatley, WWI veteran killed by Memphis police officers in 1939. @nusl.bsky.social's CRRJ has worked with Hatley's descendants for many years. Read more:
crrj.org/efforts/new-...
crrj.org/efforts/new-...
New Season of Civil Wrongs Podcast Centers on Tennessee Killing Investigated by CRRJ | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
Civil Wrongs Season 6 now available, centers case of Phillip Hatley, killed in 1939.
crrj.org
October 28, 2025 at 1:21 PM
🎙️ LISTEN: Latest season of @npr.org and @wkno.bsky.social's Civil Wrongs podcast out now, centers on case of Phillip Hatley, WWI veteran killed by Memphis police officers in 1939. @nusl.bsky.social's CRRJ has worked with Hatley's descendants for many years. Read more:
crrj.org/efforts/new-...
crrj.org/efforts/new-...
Reposted by Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ)
#tdih 1955: 16-yr-old John Earl Reese was killed 💔 in Mayflower, Texas when white men fired shots into a café in an effort to stop implementation of Brown v. Board through terrorism.
Read more ⬇️and see a short film from @crrj.bsky.social
#TeachTruth
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/jo...
Read more ⬇️and see a short film from @crrj.bsky.social
#TeachTruth
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/jo...
Oct. 22, 1955: John Earl Reese Murdered
In an effort to stop the implementation of Brown v. Board through terrorism, 16-yr-old John Earl Reese was killed in Mayflower, Texas.
www.zinnedproject.org
October 22, 2025 at 12:53 PM
#tdih 1955: 16-yr-old John Earl Reese was killed 💔 in Mayflower, Texas when white men fired shots into a café in an effort to stop implementation of Brown v. Board through terrorism.
Read more ⬇️and see a short film from @crrj.bsky.social
#TeachTruth
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/jo...
Read more ⬇️and see a short film from @crrj.bsky.social
#TeachTruth
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/jo...
Reposted by Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ)
Identifying the names of victims is difficult when cataloging incidents of racial violence in the Jim Crow South. Learn how the staff at the @crrj.bsky.social Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive work to make researching and honoring these victims easier: librarynews.northeastern.edu?p=276909
Bringing It All Together: Methods for Cataloging News Articles for the BNDA Version 2.0 – Library News
librarynews.northeastern.edu
October 21, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Identifying the names of victims is difficult when cataloging incidents of racial violence in the Jim Crow South. Learn how the staff at the @crrj.bsky.social Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive work to make researching and honoring these victims easier: librarynews.northeastern.edu?p=276909
Reposted by Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ)
Misspellings, nicknames, and epithets make cataloging identities of racial violence victims especially difficult. Annie Ross of @crrj.bsky.social details the complicated and sensitive work of making these victims findable regardless of how they're identified: librarynews.northeastern.edu?p=276855
September 25, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Misspellings, nicknames, and epithets make cataloging identities of racial violence victims especially difficult. Annie Ross of @crrj.bsky.social details the complicated and sensitive work of making these victims findable regardless of how they're identified: librarynews.northeastern.edu?p=276855
✨ CRRJ Alumni Profile: Tayo Belle graduated from @nusl.bsky.social in 2010. She currently serves as Deputy Director of the School Justice Project in Washington, D.C. and sits on CRRJ’s advisory board. Read about her journey through the CRRJ Clinic.
crrj.org/2025/10/pre-...
crrj.org/2025/10/pre-...
The Pre-Clinic Pioneer: Tayo Belle ’10 and her CRRJ Story | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
Tayo Belle '10 reflects on her transformative experience as one of the first students to work with Professor Margaret Burnham, founder and director of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project ...
crrj.org
October 7, 2025 at 3:33 PM
✨ CRRJ Alumni Profile: Tayo Belle graduated from @nusl.bsky.social in 2010. She currently serves as Deputy Director of the School Justice Project in Washington, D.C. and sits on CRRJ’s advisory board. Read about her journey through the CRRJ Clinic.
crrj.org/2025/10/pre-...
crrj.org/2025/10/pre-...
Version 2 of CRRJ's Digital Archive - the most complete digital database of racially motivated killings in the Jim Crow South - introduces 290 new victims & more than 5,000 new documents.
Here are 6 recently discovered cases: crrj.org/2025/09/six-...
Here are 6 recently discovered cases: crrj.org/2025/09/six-...
Six New Cases From Expanded Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive, Victims’ Stories Public for First Time | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project launched Version 2 of the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive. Here are six cases, now publicly available in the Archive, the first time that some of these ...
crrj.org
September 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Version 2 of CRRJ's Digital Archive - the most complete digital database of racially motivated killings in the Jim Crow South - introduces 290 new victims & more than 5,000 new documents.
Here are 6 recently discovered cases: crrj.org/2025/09/six-...
Here are 6 recently discovered cases: crrj.org/2025/09/six-...
👋 Meet CRRJ's latest team member, Elizabeth Zitrin Justice Fellow, Meg Gould.
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Gould expects to advance CRRJ’s Posthumous Exonerations project and is looking forward to teaching once again, joining CRRJ's Spring Clinic staff next year:
crrj.org/2025/09/spot...
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Gould expects to advance CRRJ’s Posthumous Exonerations project and is looking forward to teaching once again, joining CRRJ's Spring Clinic staff next year:
crrj.org/2025/09/spot...
Spotlight on: Meg Gould, Elizabeth Zitrin Justice Fellow | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
Raymond Wilkes first participated in the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Clinic at Southern University a decade ago. Now he’s back at Northeastern University as CRRJ’s Senior Staff Attorney.
crrj.org
September 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM
👋 Meet CRRJ's latest team member, Elizabeth Zitrin Justice Fellow, Meg Gould.
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Gould expects to advance CRRJ’s Posthumous Exonerations project and is looking forward to teaching once again, joining CRRJ's Spring Clinic staff next year:
crrj.org/2025/09/spot...
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Gould expects to advance CRRJ’s Posthumous Exonerations project and is looking forward to teaching once again, joining CRRJ's Spring Clinic staff next year:
crrj.org/2025/09/spot...
"The work of artists, activists, and scholars investigating the story of Emmett Till has expanded our understanding of not just the case, but the wide range of tactics that can be deployed to confront ongoing racial discrimination and violence in the United States."
More: crrj.org/efforts/emme...
More: crrj.org/efforts/emme...
Emmett Till, Seventy Years Later | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
Emmett Till was lynched on August 28, 1955. This year marks the 70th anniversary of his killing. Margaret Burnham serves on The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board, responsible for their relea...
crrj.org
August 28, 2025 at 8:13 PM
"The work of artists, activists, and scholars investigating the story of Emmett Till has expanded our understanding of not just the case, but the wide range of tactics that can be deployed to confront ongoing racial discrimination and violence in the United States."
More: crrj.org/efforts/emme...
More: crrj.org/efforts/emme...
Reposted by Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ)
Northeastern University Library and @crrj.bsky.social hosted a meeting of more than 100 representatives of other racial violence archives to discuss an update of the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive and the development of a white paper aimed at creating a national digital archive.
August 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Northeastern University Library and @crrj.bsky.social hosted a meeting of more than 100 representatives of other racial violence archives to discuss an update of the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive and the development of a white paper aimed at creating a national digital archive.
This Thursday marks 70 years since Emmett Till’s lynching. More than 6,500 pages of case records were made public, many for the first time. CRRJ's Director @nusl.bsky.social Professor Margaret Burnham is a member of the Federal Board, responsible for the release: mississippitoday.org/2025/08/21/e...
Emmett Till lynching documents detail federal response - Mississippi Today
Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board released over 6,500 pages of federal records on Emmett Till’s Aug. 28, 1955, killing.
mississippitoday.org
August 25, 2025 at 5:47 PM
This Thursday marks 70 years since Emmett Till’s lynching. More than 6,500 pages of case records were made public, many for the first time. CRRJ's Director @nusl.bsky.social Professor Margaret Burnham is a member of the Federal Board, responsible for the release: mississippitoday.org/2025/08/21/e...
CRRJ joined citywide memorial in Memphis, TN, honoring lives taken by the MPD, cases dating from the Jim Crow era to the present. Our Research Associate, Lydia Beal, travelled to Memphis to support efforts to recover buried histories and call for accountability. Read more: crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
CRRJ Travels to Memphis for Memorial Honoring Lives Taken by Memphis Police Department | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
CRRJ joined a citywide memorial in Memphis honoring lives taken by the Memphis Police Department on June 21, 2025.
crrj.org
August 11, 2025 at 6:02 PM
CRRJ joined citywide memorial in Memphis, TN, honoring lives taken by the MPD, cases dating from the Jim Crow era to the present. Our Research Associate, Lydia Beal, travelled to Memphis to support efforts to recover buried histories and call for accountability. Read more: crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
“A nation-wide digital archive will both inform today’s racial redress agenda and significantly expand our knowledge about these atrocities beyond lynching.” - Margaret Burnham, founder of CRRJ.
Read more about CRRJ's ambitious project with @nu-archives.bsky.social
crrj.org/efforts/gath...
Read more about CRRJ's ambitious project with @nu-archives.bsky.social
crrj.org/efforts/gath...
Gathering the Red Record: Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive Updates, National Anti-Black Violence Database Discussed | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
CRRJ hosted a first-of-its-kind, two-day conference, July 24-25, at Northeastern University's Snell Library, to unveil updates to the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive, and discuss pathways to creating a...
crrj.org
August 11, 2025 at 2:59 PM
“A nation-wide digital archive will both inform today’s racial redress agenda and significantly expand our knowledge about these atrocities beyond lynching.” - Margaret Burnham, founder of CRRJ.
Read more about CRRJ's ambitious project with @nu-archives.bsky.social
crrj.org/efforts/gath...
Read more about CRRJ's ambitious project with @nu-archives.bsky.social
crrj.org/efforts/gath...
CRRJ's former Project Archivist, @northeasternlib.bsky.social's Gina Nortonsmith, on digitizing the archive of Boston legend Elma Lewis, and expanding visibility and access for Black art and artists. Great read from @nuglobalnews.bsky.social
news.northeastern.edu/2025/07/29/e...
news.northeastern.edu/2025/07/29/e...
Northeastern to digitize archive of Boston legend Elma Lewis' work, chronicling Black art and joy
Northeastern archivists plan to digitize several collections of Boston legend Elma Lewis’ work, chronicling Black art and joy.
news.northeastern.edu
August 5, 2025 at 3:22 PM
CRRJ's former Project Archivist, @northeasternlib.bsky.social's Gina Nortonsmith, on digitizing the archive of Boston legend Elma Lewis, and expanding visibility and access for Black art and artists. Great read from @nuglobalnews.bsky.social
news.northeastern.edu/2025/07/29/e...
news.northeastern.edu/2025/07/29/e...
CRRJ's Associate Director, Professor Rose Zoltek-Jick, on the Jeffrey Epstein files, the politicization of victim safety, and how the DOJ’s past failures undermine public trust in future prosecutions.
news.northeastern.edu/2025/07/31/j...
@nusl.bsky.social @nuglobalnews.bsky.social
news.northeastern.edu/2025/07/31/j...
@nusl.bsky.social @nuglobalnews.bsky.social
Transparency vs. victim safety? Experts say it isn’t a case of either/or in the Jeffrey Epstein files
As pressure mounts over the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files, Northeastern legal experts warn that victim safety is being politicized.
news.northeastern.edu
August 1, 2025 at 2:11 PM
CRRJ's Associate Director, Professor Rose Zoltek-Jick, on the Jeffrey Epstein files, the politicization of victim safety, and how the DOJ’s past failures undermine public trust in future prosecutions.
news.northeastern.edu/2025/07/31/j...
@nusl.bsky.social @nuglobalnews.bsky.social
news.northeastern.edu/2025/07/31/j...
@nusl.bsky.social @nuglobalnews.bsky.social
🎉 NOW LIVE! Our Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive v2.0 is now available to search 5,000 new documents, 275 new incidents, across 14 newly added US states and cities.
A huge congratulations to all involved @nusl.bsky.social Northeastern University Library and partners across the country.
A huge congratulations to all involved @nusl.bsky.social Northeastern University Library and partners across the country.
July 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
🎉 NOW LIVE! Our Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive v2.0 is now available to search 5,000 new documents, 275 new incidents, across 14 newly added US states and cities.
A huge congratulations to all involved @nusl.bsky.social Northeastern University Library and partners across the country.
A huge congratulations to all involved @nusl.bsky.social Northeastern University Library and partners across the country.
Case of Leonard McCowin, a 21-year-old Black veteran who was killed in 1947, first uncovered by CRRJ student, featured in Capital B News by @chriscarrega.bsky.social
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth capitalbnews.org/texas-lynchi...
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth capitalbnews.org/texas-lynchi...
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth
Seven decades after a white officer killed a Black WWII veteran, Shelby County eyes an NAACP chapter.
capitalbnews.org
July 21, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Case of Leonard McCowin, a 21-year-old Black veteran who was killed in 1947, first uncovered by CRRJ student, featured in Capital B News by @chriscarrega.bsky.social
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth capitalbnews.org/texas-lynchi...
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth capitalbnews.org/texas-lynchi...
On April 29, 2025, Lydia Beal, CRRJ’s Research Associate, and Joy Zanghi, CRRJ’s Project Archivist, presented the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive (BNDA) at Digital Commonwealth’s 19th Annual Conference.
Read more: crrj.org/efforts/the-...
Read more: crrj.org/efforts/the-...
The Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive presented at Digital Commonwealth’s annual conference | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
On April 29, 2025, Lydia Beal, CRRJ’s Research Associate, and Joy Zanghi, CRRJ’s Project Archivist, presented the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive (BNDA) at Digital Commonwealth’s 19th Annual Conference...
crrj.org
June 30, 2025 at 3:14 PM
On April 29, 2025, Lydia Beal, CRRJ’s Research Associate, and Joy Zanghi, CRRJ’s Project Archivist, presented the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive (BNDA) at Digital Commonwealth’s 19th Annual Conference.
Read more: crrj.org/efforts/the-...
Read more: crrj.org/efforts/the-...
Meet CRRJ's Program Director and Staff Attorney, Alex Stein ’19: crrj.org/2025/06/spot...
Spotlight on: Alex Stein, CRRJ Staff Attorney and Program Director | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
Alex Stein ’19, recently joined CRRJ as Staff Attorney and Program Director. Here he shares his journey with the project, researching cases of homicidal racial violence, and the legacy of police viole...
crrj.org
June 30, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Meet CRRJ's Program Director and Staff Attorney, Alex Stein ’19: crrj.org/2025/06/spot...
EVENT: June 11. Join our colleagues at @nusl.bsky.social Center for Law, Equity and Race for this hybrid discussion on preparing students to support organizational clients through community-centered, culturally responsive practice:
bit.ly/44LHpzT
bit.ly/44LHpzT
Training for Trust: Preparing Students to Support Organizational Clients
This workshop explores how to prepare students across disciplines to engage with organizational clients in ways that are culturally appropriate, trauma-informed, and grounded in community-defined need...
lp.constantcontactpages.com
May 22, 2025 at 2:11 PM
EVENT: June 11. Join our colleagues at @nusl.bsky.social Center for Law, Equity and Race for this hybrid discussion on preparing students to support organizational clients through community-centered, culturally responsive practice:
bit.ly/44LHpzT
bit.ly/44LHpzT
🏆 CRRJ Director, Margaret Burnham, honored by The C.T. Vivian Foundation, during their 4th annual Kaleidoscope Awards for Literary Excellence, in Atlanta, Georgia.
crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
CRRJ Director Margaret Burnham Honored by The C.T. Vivian Foundation | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
Margaret Burnham's book, By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners, honored at 4th annual Kaleidoscope Awards for Literary Excellence, in Atlanta, Georgia.
crrj.org
May 5, 2025 at 1:54 PM
🏆 CRRJ Director, Margaret Burnham, honored by The C.T. Vivian Foundation, during their 4th annual Kaleidoscope Awards for Literary Excellence, in Atlanta, Georgia.
crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
📣 STUDENTS: looking for a unique summer job and invaluable research experience? 💼
CRRJ to Host Summer 2025 Undergraduate Program: APPLY NOW! crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
Previous students from: Northeastern Law, Vassar College, Bates College, Temple University and the University of Chicago. +more.
CRRJ to Host Summer 2025 Undergraduate Program: APPLY NOW! crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
Previous students from: Northeastern Law, Vassar College, Bates College, Temple University and the University of Chicago. +more.
April 17, 2025 at 2:52 PM
📣 STUDENTS: looking for a unique summer job and invaluable research experience? 💼
CRRJ to Host Summer 2025 Undergraduate Program: APPLY NOW! crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
Previous students from: Northeastern Law, Vassar College, Bates College, Temple University and the University of Chicago. +more.
CRRJ to Host Summer 2025 Undergraduate Program: APPLY NOW! crrj.org/efforts/crrj...
Previous students from: Northeastern Law, Vassar College, Bates College, Temple University and the University of Chicago. +more.