About CRDJ
Advancing racial and disability justice by bringing research, law, policy, and community knowledge together to challenge racism, ableism, and other systems of exclusion.
The Collective for Racial and Disability Justice (CRDJ) is a first-of-its kind collective founded in Fall 2022 by Professor Jamelia Morgan. As a Disabled Person's Organization, the Collective is dedicated to advancing a more equitable society by promoting the rights and voices of multiply-marginalized people, with a particular focus on the intersections of race and disability.
CRDJ's work is rooted in scholarly research, critical theory, and interdisciplinary collaboration. We are committed to advancing racial and disability justice through academic inquiry and public advocacy, engaging in discourse and actions aligned with our mission to explore and challenge systemic injustices.
Our Mission
The Collective for Racial & Disability Justice advances racial and disability justice by turning research, legal and policy analysis, and community knowledge into action-ready tools, strategies, and partnerships that make courts, care systems, public institutions, and public life more accessible, accountable, and equitable for disabled people of color and other marginalized communities. Grounded in community knowledge and collective struggle, CRDJ works with partners to translate ideas into strategies, resources, and reforms that expand rights, challenge criminalization and discrimination, and build disabled futures.
Who We Are
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Jamelia Morgan, Faculty Director
Jamelia Morgan (she/her) is the founding Faculty Director of the Collective for Racial and Disability Justice and a Professor of Law at the Critical Race Studies program at UCLA Law. Professor Morgan is an award-winning and acclaimed scholar focusing on issues at the intersection of race, gender, disability, and criminal law and punishment. Her scholarship and teaching examine the development of disability as a legal category in American law, disability and policing, over-criminalization, and the constitutional dimensions of the criminalization of status. She received a B.A. in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Sociology from Stanford University, and her J.D. from Yale Law School.Kate Caldwell, PhD, Director of Research & Policy
Dr. Kate Caldwell (she/they) is the Director of Research & Policy, a role she tackles with gusto as a disabled researcher committed to ensuring policy decisions are informed by marginalized and disenfranchised voices. As a Disability Studies Professor, Kate specialized in interdisciplinary mixed-methods research. She is known for her work on participatory intellectual disability research methods, knowledge translation, and inclusive curriculum and program design. As a leading expert on disability-entrepreneurship, Kate works with policymakers at the Federal, State, and Local levels. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Colby College, a M.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Disability Studies from UIC.Dimitri Nesbitt, Civic Planning & Design Manager
Dimitri Nesbitt (he/him), WEDG is an urban design, planning, and editorial design practitioner whose work focuses on spatial justice, climate resilience, and the role of design in shaping more equitable environments. At CRDJ, he contributes to research, publications, and program development, exploring how planning, design, culture, and knowledge production can support more inclusive and accessible spaces and systems. He is an adjunct of Urban Planning & Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He holds a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Wyoming and both a Master of Urban Planning & Policy and Master of City Design from UIC. Dimitri a WEDG Associate accredited with the Waterfront Alliance.
What We Do
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Equity & Justice Under the Law: Rights, access, and accountability in legal and public systems
This program area examines how race and disability shape access to justice, public safety, housing, and state power. It develops legal and policy tools that help make courts and other public systems more accessible, accountable, and responsive to disabled people of color and other marginalized communities.
Ableism & Discrimination in Care: Care systems, autonomy, and health justice
This program area addresses how racism and ableism structure healthcare, interdependence and autonomy, caregiving, institutionalization, reproductive justice, and access to support. It produces research, policy analysis, and practical tools that advance autonomy, accountability, and equitable care systems.
Challenging Status & Social Mobility: Education, work, leadership, and economic justice
This program area challenges the structures that limit education, employment, entrepreneurship, leadership, and social mobility for disabled people of color and other marginalized communities. It focuses on democratizing access to opportunity by turning research into tools, models, and strategies that institutions and communities can use.
Imagining Sustainable Futures: Data, climate, abolition, and reparative futures
This program area focuses on the long-term systems that shape whose futures are possible. It advances disability data justice, inclusive disaster and climate response, reparative policy, and abolitionist approaches to public safety and governance. The goal is not only to imagine better futures, but to build the knowledge, tools, and partnerships needed to make them actionable.
Connect
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- Learn about how to get involved with CRDJ
- Sign up for our newsletter
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- Visit our full site
- Email us at crdj@law.ucla.edu