The Road to Equal Justice

Building the Road to Equal Justice 

In 2020, Sheldon Himelfarb, CEO of PeaceTech Lab, called on the United States to  “address the culture of violence that could very well flare up during a long and tumultuous presidential election.” In light of the proliferation of racism, extremism, and hate speech in the run up to the 2020 election, it was clear that new strategies and solutions were needed. The Lab launched The Road to Equal Justice program to promote peace and equality in U.S. communities. 

Between 2020 and 2022, the Road to Equal Justice program at Peace Tech Lab empowered U.S. communities with free training and mentoring on media, technology, and data tools to accelerate and amplify the fight for equal justice in 16 U.S. cities. The program took lessons learned from PeaceTech Lab engagements around the world, and applied them in a domestic context. 

Collaborating with Communities 

Through this program, the Lab worked with racial and social justice organizations in Baltimore, Boston, Dearborn, Denver, Louisville, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, and Washington DC.  We held workshops in all of these cities to bring together social and community advocates, business leaders, local government, and grassroots organizations who care about making a difference. In all, we trained 448 people from 243 organizations who tackled issues including voting rights, economic justice, fair housing, and criminal justice reform. We were proud to have worked with leading social advocates across the U.S. through this program, including activists Opal Tometti, Maryum Ali, and Deray McKesson.

To ensure that activists have the tools they need well into the future, we also compiled a social justice toolkit with platforms, primers, and tools.