Race and the Legal Process Working Group » Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee

In 2020, GIPC established the Race and the Legal Process Working Group to combat racism and bias in Indianapolis as well as to address the disparate impact of pandemic-related events on Black residents. The Group worked through two teams to address both the immediate needs of these residents as well as lasting reforms to how we police our community.

Pro Bono Legal Services

This team worked to 1) identify specific and focused legal needs of disadvantaged residents and 2) collaborate with legal service groups and lawyers that provide legal services free of charge to increase their capacity.

Structural Reform

This team explored data-based research, best practices, and funding models related to policing, police governance, and the disparate impact of policing practices on Black residents, seeking ways law and policy can be reformed to achieve significant, immediate, and long-lasting impact.

In February 2021, GIPC released the Team’s recommendations in a report entitled “Police Reform: Equal Treatment of Black Americans.” Read it here.

Watch our discussion with the authors below:

Leadership

Working Group Chair
Dean Karen E. Bravo
Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law

Pro Bono Legal Services Team Chair
Myra C. Selby
Ice Miller

Structural Reform Team Co-Chairs
John O. Gaidoo
Cummins Inc.

Joseph L. Smith, Jr.
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath

Resources

GIPC collaborates with Tenant Advocate Project

GIPC helped launch the Tenant Advocate Project (TAP), through which tenants facing eviction have access to free legal advice. TAP pilot clinics began in early August 2021, and since then, volunteers, including former GIPC Executive Director Beth White (pictured below), have answered the call to help.

Get help with eviction prevention here.