Business & Society Institute

John R. Lewis Case Competition

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  • Focusing on the Intersection of Business & Racial Inequality

    The John R. Lewis Racial Justice Case Competition (JLCC) is a national case competition that focuses on the intersection of business and racial equity. JLCC leadership collaborates with corporate sponsors to develop industry and/or company-specific prompts centered on an issue of racial inequity while student teams from across the country develop bold, actionable, and innovative solutions in response to the prompt. Now in its fourth year, JLCC is expanding to increase participation; teams compete in Atlanta as part of a day of programming that provides a platform for companies and community leaders to share initiatives, emerging ideas, and actionable insights to address racial inequities.

  • 2023 Finals

    In its third year, the John R. Lewis Case Competition expanded to include racial justice programming around its nationally-broadcast finals. The four finalist teams met in Atlanta to participate in a 1.5-day “conference” with current sponsors, thought leaders, and community members. Teams presented their unique solutions to case prompts provided by sponsors Taco Bell and Delta.

  • 2022 Finals

    Building on the momentum of its inaugural year, the 2022 iteration of the John R. Lewis Case Competition challenged students nationwide to propose actionable business initiatives based on prompts created by corporate sponsors: Taco Bell, Accenture, Moderna, UPS, and IBM.

  • 2021 Finals

    The inaugural John R. Lewis Racial Justice Case Competition inspired thousands of participants, sponsors, speakers, and audience members to come together to learn about the issues affecting our society while providing actionable recommendations that the corporate sponsors as well as other corporations can utilize to advance racial justice. The competition prizes enabled teams to support their careers and invest in local organizations addressing issues of racial inequality.

  • Students Engaged

  • Team Applications

  • Universities Represented

  • Prizes & Grants Awarded

  • Corporate Racial Justice Action Plans Created

  • Finals Audience Attendees

Previous Corporate Sponsors

Case Competition Winners

2023 Competition

  • First Place: Indiana University Kelley School of Business (Taco Bell)
  • Second Place:  University of California, Berkley Haas School of Business (Taco Bell)
  • Audience Award: Indiana University Kelley School of Business (Taco Bell)

2022 Competition

  • First Place: Yale University School of Management (IBM Call for Code)
  • Second Place: USC Marshall School of Business (Taco Bell)
  • Audience Award: Georgetown University McDonough School of Business (UPS)

2021 Competition

  • First Place: USC Marshall School of Business (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Second Place: Emory University's Goizueta Business School (HP)
  • Audience Award: Harvard Business School (Truist)

Advancing Organizations Pursuing Racial Equality & Justice with Over $100,000 Invested

National Black Leadership Commission on Health (Black Health)

Black Health champions the promotion of health and prevention of diseases to reduce disparities and achieve health equity within the Black community.

Urban Canopy

Urban Canopy is working to create a more sustainable, nutritious, and equitable local food cycle, from production to distribution to waste.

Partnership For Southern Equity (PSE)

Partnership For Southern Equity (PSE) is a community-based non-profit focused on promoting equity & inclusion in under-resourced communities. Specifically, PSE’s energy equity section, Just Energy, aims to mobilize advocacy around energy equity issues & policies.

GirlTrek

GirlTrek uses fitness and storytelling “to heal intergenerational trauma, fight systemic racism and transform Black lives.”

The Village Market 

A community organization that has become a staple among Black business owners in Atlanta, an economic driver, and the first to coin the phrase, "support is a verb".

Black Girls Smile

Black Girls Smile is an Atlanta-based community non-profit focused on Black female mental wellness.

Circles & Ciphers

Circles & Ciphers is a hip-hop infused restorative justice organization led by and for young people impacted by violence. Through art-based peace circles, education, and direct action we collectively heal and work to bring about the abolition of the prison-industrial complex.

Surge Employment Solutions

Meeting human capital needs with formerly incarcerated people, Surge Employment Solutions is much more than a staffing organization or workforce development plan. Our organization negotiates permanent staffing contracts with companies and only trains people for specific positions our company has secured.

Step Up For Students

Empowers families to pursue and engage in the most appropriate learning options for their children, with an emphasis on families who lack the information and financial resources to access these options. By pursuing this mission, we help public education fulfill the promise of equal opportunity.

Black Girls Code

Builds pathways for young women of color to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and creators by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology.

OneGoal Metro Atlanta

OneGoal addresses the depth and breadth of the problem by focusing on three pivotal transitional years from high school through the first year of college, working in close partnership with districts, high schools and postsecondary institutions.

Advancement Project

A next generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change.

Opportunity Hub

Leading technology, startup, and venture ecosystem building platform created to ensure everyone, everywhere has equitable access to the future of work, fourth industrial revolution and beyond as a path to multi-generational wealth creation with no reliance on pre-existing multi-generational wealth.

Keynote Speakers

  • Nikema Williams

    2023 Keynote

    U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia's Fifth Congressional District

    Congresswoman Nikema Williams has been a fierce advocate for social justice, women and families throughout her political and professional career. As a Member of Congress, Congresswoman Williams continues to uplift the legacy of her mentor and predecessor, Congressman John Lewis, by fighting to prevent voter suppression and expand free and fair access to the ballot box. She always centers the voices of those who are most marginalized. She brings this concern to Congress having seen firsthand how women and people of color continue to fight for racial and social justice in our country. Congresswoman Williams has a passion for a number of legislative issues including voting rights, reproductive justice, social justice, economic justice and healthcare. She is particularly focused on policies to close the racial wealth gap, which she advances as a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee. As Freshman Class President for the 117th Congress, she organized and advanced the interests of her Freshmen Democratic colleagues to fulfill their oaths to work for the people. She has membership in several caucuses including the Congressional Black Caucus, Democratic Women’s Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Voting Rights Caucus, LBGTQ+ Equality Caucus and the HBCU Caucus. Prior to her congressional service, Congresswoman Williams served in the Georgia State Senate where she got in the “Good Trouble” encouraged by Congressman Lewis. In the wake of the disastrous 2018 Georgia elections, marked with rampant voter suppression, she was arrested at the Georgia State Capitol peacefully protesting with her constituents, demanding that every vote be counted. Congresswoman Williams was born in Columbus, GA and raised by her grandparents in Smiths Station, Alabama. She attended Talladega College where she was initiated into Chi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Williams has been recognized as one of Georgia Trend magazine’s 100 Most Influential Georgians, Forty under Forty, Power 30 Under 30, Outstanding Atlanta, and Who’s Who in Black Atlanta. As State Senator, she received the Freshman Legislator of the Year award from the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and the 2020 Pinnacle Leadership Award from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Recently, she was awarded the ACLU of Georgia’s Dare to Create – Liberty Award. Congresswoman Williams and her husband, Leslie Small, reside in Atlanta with their son, Carter.

  • Andrew Young

    2022 Keynote

    Andrew J. Young has earned worldwide recognition as a pioneer in and champion of civil and human rights. Young’s lifelong dedication to service is illustrated by his extensive leadership experience of over sixty-five years, serving as a member of Congress, African American U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mayor of Atlanta, and ordained minister, among other positions. During the 1960s, Andrew Young was a key strategist and negotiator during Civil Rights campaigns that led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Appointed as an Ambassador to the United Nations in 1977, Young negotiated an end to white- minority rule in Namibia and Zimbabwe and brought President Jimmy Carter's emphasis on human rights to international diplomacy efforts. Later, As two-term Mayor of Atlanta, Young brought in over 1,100 businesses, over 70 billion in foreign direct investments and generated over a million jobs. Young has received honorary degrees from more than 100 universities and colleges in the U.S. and abroad and has received various awards, including an Emmy Lifetime Achievement award in 2011 and the Dan Sweat Award in 2017. His portrait also became part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Ambassador Young also serves on a number of boards, including, but not limited to, the Martin Luther King Center for Non-Violent Social Change, Morehouse College, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State and Americas Mart. In 2003, he and his wife Carolyn McClain Young founded the Andrew J. Young Foundation to support and promote education, health, leadership and human rights in the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean. Young currently serves as the Chairman of the Andrew J. Young Foundation. In 2012, Young retired from GoodWorks International, LLC, after well over a decade of facilitating sustainable economic development in the business sectors of the Caribbean and Africa. Young was born in 1932 in New Orleans, and he currently lives in Atlanta with his wife, Carolyn McClain, who serves as Vice Chair of the Andrew J. Young Foundation. He is also a father of three daughters and one son, a grandfather of nine and a great grandfather on one.

Competition Judges

2023 Final Round

  • Alan Pisano, Partner at PwC
  • Alex Martinez, Senior Director of Global Diversity Talent and Strategic Engagements at Nike
  • Miguel Henderson, President & CEO of Brakkam Aviation Management
  • Pat Upshaw-Monteith, President & CEO of Leadership Atlanta
  • Yonina Gray, Board Member at Georgia Social Impact Collaborative

2022 Final Round

  • Lola Banjo, Sr. Managing Director, Strategy and Innovation Consulting at Salesforce
  • Aubree Broadwater, 

    Equity Enablement Manager and President of BOLDforce Atlanta at Salesforce

  • Ruth Davis, Director of Call for Code at IBM*

  • Stephanie Espy, Founder and CEO at MathSP
  • Abigail Gross, Board Member at Sandy Springs Conservancy 
  • Joseph Handy, President & CEO at National Black MBA Association
  • Kamau Massey, Co-Author of Harvard Business School case note "African American Inequality in the United States"
  • Demetria Miles-McDonald, Founder & CEO at Decide Diversity
  • Debra Nealy, Founder & CEO at Step Ahead Scholars
  • Corie Pauling, SVP, Chief Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Officer, Head of CSR at TIAA
  • Marty Rodgers, Market Unit Lead of US South at Accenture*
  • Mac Schuessler, President & CEO at EVERTEC
  • Mandell Smith, VP, Banker at JP Morgan Private Bank

  • Willie Sullivan, Founder at The John R. Lewis Racial Justice Case Competition

  • Charlene Thomas, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at UPS*

  • KT Thornton, Chief Equity Inclusion and Belonging Officer at Taco Bell*

  • Rachel Yuen, Sr. Director, Legal at Momentive.ai

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