About Us

The Ethics Project is multiple award-winning a non-profit, 501(c) (3) corporation, with a mission to reduce the impact of crime, wrongful prosecutions and mass incarcerations by increasing collaboration of agencies and ministries that serve those most affected by crime and by raising the bar on ethical conduct within the system. By convening consortiums of criminal justice professionals, agencies and faith-based ministries throughout the country, designing and implementing programs that serve to decrease conflicts between law-enforcement and the community, The Ethics Project provides opportunities for integration of services, effective use of resources, heightened awareness of national trends and best practices, and guidance toward joint problem solving and strategic execution.

The Ethics Project Strives To:

• Educate the public on laws regulating the behavior of lawyers, prosecutors, judges & police
• Increase the ethics of attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders and judges
• Bring together agencies and ministries to engage in purposeful collaboration
• Provide links to Innocence Projects to address wrongful prosecutions
• Partner with other concerned  individuals and agencies to address incarcerations and their impact on the community.

Vision:

The vision of The Ethics Project is a more just, equitable and less punitive society that recognizes and encourages the talents and abilities of all.

Mission:

To improve the well-being of our youth and strengthen our community by addressing the impact of crime, incarceration and injustice on children, families and the community as a whole.

History:

The Ethics Project was founded in 2007 with the realization of the brokenness within the legal system that contributes to a disparate number of African Americans (as high as 78%) being imprisoned. To address the problem, the Project’s website provides links to the most comprehensive list of Codes of Professional Responsibility that pertain to attorneys, prosecutors, and judges in the entire country. The organization has also conducted consortiums of agencies and ministries throughout the country to create collaborations that more effectively address the impact of those incarcerations on children and families.

Recognizing that 1 out of every 4 African American children has at least one parent in prison, the organization has also designed and presented Youth Gang Summits, Youth Empowerment Forums and Leadership Workshops for 10,000+ youth and community leaders that directly address issues most affecting the crime and violence that surrounds them. In doing so, the Project has worked closely with the St. Louis City and County Police Chiefs, gang unit detectives, six school district superintendents, Juvenile Court Judge Jimmie Edwards, more than 150 community leaders and has partnered with more than 300 agencies.

In 2012, The Ethics Project was granted the unlimited use of a 126,000 square foot educational and retreat center in Spanish Lake, MO and designed a weekend retreat that focuses on developing parenting skills, strengthening parent-child relationships and increasing youth decision-making skills. Community leaders spent the three day weekend interacting with participating parents and youth and providing tools for developing a sense of self-worth and ability.

At the invitation of The Missouri History Museum, The Ethics Project developed a presentation and photo exhibit to create awareness of the impact of crime, incarceration, and injustice on our children, families and community. It was launched at The Museum on October 29, 2013, in conjunction with Michelle Alexanders’ lecture on The New Jim Crow on November 1st.  The organization has since presented additional programs at the St. Louis Art Museum, Washington University School of Law, and additional programs at the Missouri History Museum.

Since 2015 The Ethics Project has hosted over 7000 high school student leaders at the National Youth Summit on Education, Justice and Leadership at varying times in collaboration with the US Department of Justice, the University of Missouri St. Louis, the King Collection and others at UMSL, Howard University, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Morehouse College, Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Jackson State University, the Two Mississippi Museums, and the Medgar Evers Home Museum where a select group of students held a private conversation with the Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. For five years, The Ethics Project concurrently hosted a series of community conversations designed to heal past racial wounds and create understanding. While the work has been placed in the hands of the attendees, more information regarding Mother 2 Mother, Man 2 Man, Father 2 Father and Face 2 Face is available on this site. For additional information regarding The National Youth Summit, please visit www.TheNYS.org.

REQUEST YOUR COPY. As our thank you for a donation of $25 or more, we will send you a copy of the 2nd Edition of Incarcerations in Black and White, The Subjugation of Black America by TEP founder and president, Christi M. Griffin. To receive your copy, please send your name, full mailing address with zip code with a request for your copy to, [email protected]. Please allow up to two weeks for delivery.