The Investigative Project on Race and Equity is a Chicago-based organization that trains ethnic-minority journalists to conduct data-focused investigative reporting focused on race. Founded in 2023, ¹ the organization supports specific left-of-center journalistic projects and hosts an apprenticeship program for aspiring journalists. ²

History and Activities

The Investigative Project on Race and Equity initially formed in September 2020 by alumni of the Chicago Reporter, ³ a publication based in Chicago, Illinois, that focuses on issues of race and poverty. ⁴ The project at that time was called the Friends of the Chicago Reporter. ³ In December 2022, 100 Friends of the Chicago Reporter announced plans to create the Investigative Project on Race and Equity. ⁵ On September 27, 2023, the Investigative Project on Race and Equity was officially launched. ¹

The Investigative Project on Race and Equity trains journalists to report stories through the lens of systemic racism. The purpose of the organization is to create a pipeline of diverse journalists in Chicago while promoting reporting on data that it believes expose systemic injustices and patterns of abuse against minorities. ⁶

The Investigative Project on Race and Equity offers apprenticeships in investigative reporting. Apprentices have access to a network of more veteran editors, reports, and journalists who focus on race issues. ² The apprenticeship program also offers training sessions on subjects like how to obtain public records, how to interpret data, interviewing sources, and fact-checking. Using these tools, apprentices are then tasked with conducting their own investigative reports. ⁷

In the fall of 2023, journalists with the Investigative Project on Race and Equity launched their first initiative: a three-part series with WBEZ Chicago detailing Chicago traffic stops data by race. ¹ The data purported to show an increase in the percentage of African Americans stopped by the police from 17.5% in 2004 to 30.6% in 2022. ⁸ The organization claimed based on the data that stops of African-American drivers reached a 20-year high in 2023 and that the racial gap in stops is widening. ⁹

The Investigative Project on Race and Equity also hosts online information sessions on journalism. For example, in April 2022, the organization hosted a 90-minute workshop with four career journalists in conjunction with the National Association of Black Journalists. ³

People

The Investigative Project on Race and Equity is led by a three-person governing board. The board includes Kevin B. Blackistone, a sports columnist at the Washington Post; Rui Kaneya, a senior editor at ProPublica; and Laura S. Washington, a contributing columnist at the Chicago Tribune  and political analyst for ABC 7 Chicago. ¹⁰

Partners

Partner organizations to the Investigative Project on Race and Equity include the Chicago Community Trust, a community foundation and provider of donor-advised funds that provides grants to social programs and nonprofits, including left-of-center advocacy groups, primarily in the Chicago area; the Field Foundation of Illinois, a grantmaking organization focused on left-of-center principles of equity; WBEZ Chicago, the National Public Radio (NPR) station in Chicago; and the Joyce Foundation, a nonprofit based in Chicago that finances advocacy for gun control, environmental causes, and liberal education policy as well as opposition to right-of-center election reforms. ¹¹

1. “News Release: Investigative Project on Race and Equity Debuts with 3-Part Series with WBEZ Chicago.” Investigative Project on Race and Equity. September 27, 2023. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jw-j1CXc-YK4CPw6j7relyBJxFxcWZfK/view.
2. “Our Work.” Investigative Project on Race and Equity. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.raceandequityproject.org/our-work.
3. “Digging Into Investigative Journalism with the Experts.” Friends of the Chicago Reporter. March 25, 2022. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=d6b7e0f74d09d9a7a910db79f&id=d3852edac6.
4. “The Chicago Reporter.” The Chicago Reporter. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.chicagoreporter.com/.
5. “Help us launch our new project.” The Friends of the Chicago Reporter. Accessed January 15, 2024. December 2022. https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=d6b7e0f74d09d9a7a910db79f&id=25715632dd
6. “Our Mission.” Investigative Project on Race and Equity. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.raceandequityproject.org/our-mission.
7. “Apprenticeship Training Program.” Investigative Project on Race and Equity. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.raceandequityproject.org/apprenticeship-program.
8. Tweet by @raceandequity1. Twitter. December 22, 2023, 3:25pm. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://twitter.com/raceandequity1/status/1738309761605804287.
9. “Illinois traffic stops of Black drivers reach a 20-year high.” Investigative Project on Race and Equity. September 27, 2023. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.raceandequityproject.org/blog/illinois-traffic-stops-of-black-drivers-reach-a-20-year-high-1.
10. “Did you see us in the Sun Times?” Investigative Project on Race and Equity. October 1, 2023. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=d6b7e0f74d09d9a7a910db79f&id=a8efb5a9a9.
11. “The Investigative Project on Race and Equity.” Investigative Project on Race and Equity. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.raceandequityproject.org/.