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/
NEW 📖 "Nearly a century after Denna & Estella Strickland were killed in their own home, this marker will ensure that their names & their story are part of Georgia’s public memory."
crrj.org/2026/06/land...
crrj.org/2026/06/land...
A Landscape Shaped by White Citizen Violence: The Strickland Family in Coweta County, Georgia | The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project
On June 13, 2026, the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, the Strickland family, and other community partners will gather to dedicate a historical marker honoring Denna and Estella Stricklan...
crrj.org
June 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM
NEW 📖 "Nearly a century after Denna & Estella Strickland were killed in their own home, this marker will ensure that their names & their story are part of Georgia’s public memory."
crrj.org/2026/06/land...
crrj.org/2026/06/land...
Superb retelling of Eleanor Rush's death in 1954 thank you @theassemblync.bsky.social and Michael Hewlett for focusing on this case, honoring her story with accurate and thorough research, restoring dignity to Rush and victims with similar histories: www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...
A 1954 N.C. Prison Death, Reexamined: The Case of Eleanor Rush
Newly released federal records shed light on Eleanor Rush's 1954 death in a North Carolina prison—and the uprising and reforms that followed.
www.theassemblync.com
March 24, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Superb retelling of Eleanor Rush's death in 1954 thank you @theassemblync.bsky.social and Michael Hewlett for focusing on this case, honoring her story with accurate and thorough research, restoring dignity to Rush and victims with similar histories: www.theassemblync.com/news/politic...
Reposted by Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ)
Professor Margaret Burnham reflects on Jesse Jackson's legacy: "His enduring gift...was his ability to empathize with and thereby empower people from all corners of the world who aspired to equality and freedom.“ @nuglobalnews.bsky.social @crrj.bsky.social
news.northeastern.edu/2026/02/17/j...
news.northeastern.edu/2026/02/17/j...
Jesse Jackson recalled for empathy, listening and Northeastern visits
Jesse Jackson will be remembered for empathy, friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr., and calling for social justice as a campus speaker.
news.northeastern.edu
February 18, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Professor Margaret Burnham reflects on Jesse Jackson's legacy: "His enduring gift...was his ability to empathize with and thereby empower people from all corners of the world who aspired to equality and freedom.“ @nuglobalnews.bsky.social @crrj.bsky.social
news.northeastern.edu/2026/02/17/j...
news.northeastern.edu/2026/02/17/j...
📺 WATCH: Margaret Burnham, CRRJ Director, on ABC News, talking about the declaration of innocence and wrongful execution of Tommy Lee Walker
abcnews.com/video/130509...
@nusl.bsky.social @innocenceproject.bsky.social
abcnews.com/video/130509...
@nusl.bsky.social @innocenceproject.bsky.social
Video Son of exonerated man: 'It’s…joyful and painful'
ABC News’ Linsey Davis spoke with Edward Smith, son of Tommy Lee Walker, about his father being declared innocent after 70 years and professor Margaret Burnham on what this means for justice.
abcnews.com
February 26, 2026 at 5:59 PM
📺 WATCH: Margaret Burnham, CRRJ Director, on ABC News, talking about the declaration of innocence and wrongful execution of Tommy Lee Walker
abcnews.com/video/130509...
@nusl.bsky.social @innocenceproject.bsky.social
abcnews.com/video/130509...
@nusl.bsky.social @innocenceproject.bsky.social
Here's the 2016 article from Mary Mapes for @dmagazine.bsky.social that sparked the re-investigation by CRRJ, Margaret Burnham and @innocenceproject.bsky.social @chrisfabricant.bsky.social
Thank you for shedding light on this atrocious miscarriage of justice: www.dmagazine.com/publications...
Thank you for shedding light on this atrocious miscarriage of justice: www.dmagazine.com/publications...
When Henry Wade Executed an Innocent Man
The legendary DA ran a conviction machine that got results. In 1954, he persuaded a jury to send Tommy Lee Walker to the electric chair just three months after his arrest. But a new look at the case r...
www.dmagazine.com
January 22, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Here's the 2016 article from Mary Mapes for @dmagazine.bsky.social that sparked the re-investigation by CRRJ, Margaret Burnham and @innocenceproject.bsky.social @chrisfabricant.bsky.social
Thank you for shedding light on this atrocious miscarriage of justice: www.dmagazine.com/publications...
Thank you for shedding light on this atrocious miscarriage of justice: www.dmagazine.com/publications...
Reposted by Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ)
Following a joint reinvestigation by NUSL’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, @innocenceproject.bsky.social and Dallas DA, the Dallas County Commissioners Court has declared Tommy Lee Walker innocent—70 years after his wrongful execution at age 19.
innocenceproject.org/news/tommy-l...
innocenceproject.org/news/tommy-l...
Tommy Lee Walker Declared Innocent 70 Years After His Execution
Dallas County Commissioners Court posthumously proclaimed Mr. Walker’s innocence in the 1954 racially-fueled capital murder case.
innocenceproject.org
January 22, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Following a joint reinvestigation by NUSL’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, @innocenceproject.bsky.social and Dallas DA, the Dallas County Commissioners Court has declared Tommy Lee Walker innocent—70 years after his wrongful execution at age 19.
innocenceproject.org/news/tommy-l...
innocenceproject.org/news/tommy-l...
Reposted by Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ)
In a historic move, Dallas County officials voted Wednesday to symbolically exonerate a man executed nearly 70 years ago for a crime he could not have committed.
Tommy Lee Walker was convicted in 1954 of the murder of Venice Lorraine Parker under a bridge near the Love Field airport.
Tommy Lee Walker was convicted in 1954 of the murder of Venice Lorraine Parker under a bridge near the Love Field airport.
Dallas County exonerates Tommy Lee Walker, an innocent man Texas executed in 1956
Following the hourslong special session, the Dallas County Commissioners Court downtown passed a resolution that stated evidence showed “egregious violations”...
www.dallasnews.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:40 PM
In a historic move, Dallas County officials voted Wednesday to symbolically exonerate a man executed nearly 70 years ago for a crime he could not have committed.
Tommy Lee Walker was convicted in 1954 of the murder of Venice Lorraine Parker under a bridge near the Love Field airport.
Tommy Lee Walker was convicted in 1954 of the murder of Venice Lorraine Parker under a bridge near the Love Field airport.
⚖️ Justice, 70 years after Tommy Lee Walker was executed in Dallas, TX. Thank you to our colleagues at the Dallas County DA's office and @innocenceproject.bsky.social -- CRRJ is proud to have worked side-by-side with you all in reaching this historic day & congratulations to Walker's son and family.
BREAKING: 70 years after his wrongful execution, Tommy Lee Walker is declared innocent.
“The court’s declaration today provides some semblance of belated justice to Mr. Walker’s legacy, and to his son, our client Edward Smith,” said Chris Fabricant. https://bit.ly/3LVoOKA
“The court’s declaration today provides some semblance of belated justice to Mr. Walker’s legacy, and to his son, our client Edward Smith,” said Chris Fabricant. https://bit.ly/3LVoOKA
Tommy Lee Walker Declared Innocent 70 Years After His Execution
Dallas County Commissioners Court posthumously proclaimed Mr. Walker’s innocence in the 1954 racially-fueled capital murder case.
innocenceproject.org
January 21, 2026 at 9:45 PM
⚖️ Justice, 70 years after Tommy Lee Walker was executed in Dallas, TX. Thank you to our colleagues at the Dallas County DA's office and @innocenceproject.bsky.social -- CRRJ is proud to have worked side-by-side with you all in reaching this historic day & congratulations to Walker's son and family.
🖋️ Our colleagues at CLEAR have launched a petition demanding justice for Renee Nicole Good and an official independent state investigation into Officer Ross' actions.
SIGN HERE: www.change.org/p/justice-fo...
SIGN HERE: www.change.org/p/justice-fo...
Sign the Petition
JUSTICE FOR RENEE NICOLE GOOD: A DEMAND FOR AN OFFICIAL INDEPENDENT STATE INVESTIGATION
www.change.org
January 13, 2026 at 7:38 PM
🖋️ Our colleagues at CLEAR have launched a petition demanding justice for Renee Nicole Good and an official independent state investigation into Officer Ross' actions.
SIGN HERE: www.change.org/p/justice-fo...
SIGN HERE: www.change.org/p/justice-fo...
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
January 7, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Texas Man’s Fight to Move a Lynching Marker Sparks New Battle for Truth capitalbnews.org/texas-lynchi...
🔖 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...