The Center for Politics and Race in America (CPRA) seeks to fill a critical gap in our understanding of America’s political landscape by serving as a non-partisan, multidisciplinary, fact tank on the link between race and politics in the US.
CPRA draws on the expertise of Rutgers-Newark’s nationally and internationally renowned scholars in political science, sociology, psychology, history, public administration, and data science, as well as local and state-level partners to examine the link between race and political attitudes, beliefs, practices, contexts, and structures. The center has three foci, serving as 1) a data resource center that produces and rapidly disseminates high-quality data on race and politics; 2) as a center for cutting-edge training in critical methods and data analysis relevant to understanding race and politics; and 3) a resource for diversifying the field of people who have access to and ultimately pursue careers in public service.
Serving as a data resource center that produces and rapidly disseminates high-quality data on race and politics at the local, national, and transnational levels. Ongoing work in this area includes funding for faculty research projects aligning with CPRA content areas, namely – producing factsheets and datasets on ethno-racial diversity of individuals who currently hold positions at local, state, and national levels of government; mapping how political strategies inform political outcomes for ethno-racial and minoritized communities; examining relationships between race, voting, and political attitudes & behavior in New Jersey and the US more broadly; and, the impact of policy initiatives on the socio-political development of various ethno-racial and minoritized groups.
Facilitating cutting-edge training in critical methods and data analysis relevant to understanding race and politics. The Center’s work in this area includes – a three-day workshop on visual ethnography conducted in Spring 2023, and planned programming including the Fredrick Morrow Speaker Series on “Race and the Importance of Representation in American Politics”, and an intimate conversation series with political leaders on joining and navigating the American political landscape as a public servant.
Developing programs and networks to support students from backgrounds underrepresented in public service, thereby diversifying who has access to and ultimately pursues careers in public service. Ongoing work in this area includes supporting students working on the Center’s projects, leadership training for future public servants in the form of a paid internship program where students receive mentoring and experience working in government offices, and matching student fellows with faculty fellows looking for research assistants on CPRA funded or aligned projects.
Questions about the CPRA? Please reach out to us at the email below.
The Center for Politics and Race in America at Rutgers University-Newark was named in honor of the late-Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, the first Black woman in New Jersey to hold statewide office, at a ceremony attended by Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, Oliver’s family, members of the Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association, and leaders from Johnson & Johnson.
Program and scholarship, funded through J&J charitable donation, honors Oliver’s legacy, supports next generation of N.J. public service leaders
A ‘fact-tank’ where students study the links between race and politics, the late Lieutenant Governor’s niece, Renee Oliver, was honored to help dedicate it in her Aunt’s memory.