REFORM Alliance (REFORM), a nonprofit organization fighting for reform in the U.S. legal system, has entered into a new partnership with Columbia University in New York City to study policies, practices and reform opportunities within the legal system. REFORM is specifically working with the Columbia Justice Lab, which aims “to foundationally reconceive justice policy through actionable research, community-centered policy development, and the sustained engagement of diverse constituencies.” Through the collaboration, which went into effect in 2022, the Alliance and Justice Lab will release 12 policy papers on the legal system that will take a closer look at intractable problems like racial disparities in arrests, convictions, sentencing and parole decisions.
Though the partnership between REFORM and Columbia University is new, REFORM has been working to further criminal justice reform for several years now. The organization was established in 2019 by a group of business and entertainment leaders, including rapper Meek Mill and business mogul Jay-Z. After being convicted and serving time in prison, Mill committed to increasing his advocacy for people impacted by the American system of mass incarceration. Shortly after being released from prison Mill said, “Although I’m blessed to have the resources to fight this unjust situation, I understand that many people of color across the country don’t have that luxury and I plan to use my platform to shine a light on those issues.” Today REFORM carries out Mill’s mission with the broader aim to “transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing.”
In the years since the organization was founded, Mill and his allies in the prison reform movement have used REFORM as a vehicle to advocate for social and economic justice for people impacted by the legal system. REFORM’s work has included organizing events like the Philadelphia Job Fair and advocating for prison and parole reform legislation across the U.S. For example, REFORM pushed for Florida’s recently passed Senate Bill 752 that seeks to expand the economic and educational opportunities afforded to Floridians on parole. REFORM also advocated for bipartisan reforms to California’s parole and probation system through the passage of AB 1950, which aims to limits misdemeanor and felony probations, AB 3234, which would expand access to diversion programming for those arrested and convicted for the first time and SB 118, which introduces evidence-based modeling to safely reduce supervision after release.
Despite REFORM’s work, stark disparities remain in the U.S. Today, there are roughly two million people in American jails and prisons. Even more, the U.S. accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, but is home to 25% of the world’s prisoners. Americans of color, particularly Black and Latino men, come into contact with the legal system at disproportionate rates; 1 in 3 Black men are put in jail or prison during their lifetimes compared to just 1 in 17 white men. Calls to reform the legal system and policing efforts in the U.S. increased in the 2010s, particularly after intense media coverage of law enforcement killings of young, unarmed Black men. REFORM was born within the larger context of a growing movement for racial justice.
Smith’s Legal Reform Efforts
Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, remains a strong advocate for reform of the American legal system. Along with Mill and Jay-Z, Smith is a Founding Partner of REFORM. He has contributed $5 million to the organization to support its efforts organizing programs like the Philadelphia Jobs Fair and legislative lobbying efforts. In 2018, Smith was awarded the National Action Network’s Keeper of the Dream Award in recognition of his social justice work.
Smith’s advocacy for legal reform is part of his broader advocacy for social, racial and economic justice. His philanthropy in education and workforce development has been significant, and includes the internXL program that guides students of color to competitive internships and his $34 million contribution to Morehouse College’s class of 2019 that wiped out the college loans of all the graduating students that year. At Smith’s alma mater, Cornell University, President Martha Pollack thanked Smith for his contributions to the school and society at large, saying, “His leadership in advancing equity and making higher education accessible to all students will have an impact for generations to come.”
Learn more about REFORM Alliance.
