On safe spaces
In the fall of 1963, as a relatively naïve 19-year-old, I left my largely white environment and entered my sophomore year at Morehouse College, an historically Black college. I had prepared the best I knew how by reading mostly African American writers, especially novelists, and through conversations with people such as Dr. Vincent Harding. These....
Kindred spirits: restorative justice and permaculture
Guest blog by Jonathan McRay A Liberation Ecology Peacebuilding and sustainability often treat one another with suspicion. Both fields obscure the unbreakable lifeline between them with oversimplified arguments like social justice versus the environment, jobs versus nature preserves. Artificial distinctions between people and planet are dangerously misleading because our lives and all their conflict and....
Violence as a theological problem
[Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Ted Grimsrud. More on Ted below.] We live in a world where all too many people purposefully contribute to the harm of other human beings either by action or inaction. Most violence emerges with some kind of rationale to legitimize its use. Based on his work with extremely....
The shock of forgiveness
Guest blog by Fabrice j. Guerrier Hell is not merely a fiery story of eternal damnation written in a book; hell is what civilians experience in times of war. It is a lived experience that brings deep psychological trauma. War disintegrates the very social fabric people live in – their sense of safety, hope, and....
A case of mistaken identity
On the day before the conference began I was walking through the market in Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico with friends Katia Cecilia Ornelas-Núñez and Nuri Nusrat. When we emerged from the church on the square, two men were staring at me. We ignored them and began to walk away but they approached us, identifying themselves as journalists. Someone....
Restorative justice in education – possibilities, but also concerns
The following is a guest blog post by our colleague in the EMU Education Department, Kathy Evans. There is a great deal of momentum right now for implementing restorative justice in education. This makes me incredibly excited – and a bit nervous. Let’s start with the good news! RJ is gaining lots of attention in....
Reflections on reconciliation and forgiveness
The following is a guest blog post by CJP graduate Sanjay Pulipaka. A short bio can be found at the end. Often Truth and Reconciliation Commissions have been initiated as a response to mass violence. It is interesting to note that the phrase “reconciliation commission” is used in responses to mass violence but not ‘forgiveness commission.”....
Restorative justice and the arts
Don’t miss our webinar next week! How can artistic practices and approaches be applied in restorative justice? In what ways might restorative approaches and principles inform artistic practices? In this webinar, the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Restorative Justice Program will provide a case study in the intersection of socially-engaged art and restorative justice. The....
Restorative justice as a social movement: upcoming webinar
Our next webinar, entitled “Possibility or pipedream: A restorative justice movement,” is coming up March 19, 2014. Join us for a frank conversation between Dr. Dana Greene and Dr. Carl Stauffer exploring the unrealized revolutionary promise of restorative justice. They will examine the current direction of restorative justice in particular highlighting missteps all too reminiscent....
Critical conversation with “The New Jim Crow” – next webinar
Real World Restorative Justice Webinar: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 4:30-6:00 p.m. EST Michelle Alexander’s book, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness,” has gained widespread attention for its compelling analysis of the relationship between mass incarceration and racism in the U.S. Join us as guests Jacqueline Roebuck Sahko, Shiv Desai and....