Zoe Walker received Anti-Racism Graduate Research Grant

Anti-Racism Collaborative awards over $100,000 in Graduate Research Grants

Zoe Walker, a Ph.D. Student in Political Science is one of the Anti-Racism Graduate Research Grant recipients! Her paper, titled Angry White Parents: How Race and Emotions Mobilize Local School Board Politics, theorizes that attention to teaching about white privilege in schools induces anger in Whites and increases participation in school board politics.

The Anti-Racism Collaborative, administered by the National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID), has awarded 21 summer research grants, totalling more than $100,000, to individuals and teams comprised of University of Michigan (U-M) graduate students.

“Graduate students make important contributions toward the advancement of innovative research and anti-racist principles,” says Elizabeth R. Cole, NCID director and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Psychology and Women's and Gender Studies. “It’s critically important to provide resources that support this current generation of emerging anti-racism scholars.”

Along with the NCID, the student focused grant initiative is co-sponspored by the Rackham Graduate School and the Center for Racial Justice (CRJ) in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and aims to support research projects focused on racial inequality, racial equity, and racial justice while advancing graduate student progress toward degree. Additionally, the program provides ongoing professional development and support to the grantees.

"I am continually inspired by the innovation and insight that graduate students bring to pressing issues through their research and scholarship,” says Rackham Dean Mike Solomon. “And I am grateful that this ongoing partnership provides them an opportunity to pursue critical inquiry through the lens of racial justice."

Grant recipients include master's and doctoral students from a wide range of fields and disciplines, such as information science, women’s and gender studies, environmental justice, music theory, and education.

"The Center for Racial Justice is excited for our continued partnership with NCID and Rackham on this important initiative,” says Celeste Watkins-Hayes, CRJ Founding Director and pending Board of Regents’ approval, the next Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. “The brilliance and ingenuity of our grantees cannot be overstated, and we are honored to support their development as scholars committed to anti-racism and racial equity."

The NCID, Rackham, and CRJ will host opportunities for the campus and broader communities to engage with award recipients and learn more about their research during the 2023–2024 academic year.