CALIFORNIA
Residents from around the city concerned about dealing with conflict brought their imaginations of justice to a "talking circle" Saturday at Cole Middle School. They discussed ideas about what to do when a crime occurs or an injustice is done and then what needs to happen.
They envisioned criminal justice as restorative justice, the practice of allowing a person responsible for harm to make amends and the person harmed to begin the process of healing.
The community talk session organized by Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth included guest speakers Howard Zehr, a sociology and restorative justice professor at Eastern Mennonite University, and Don Johnson, a district attorney in the juvenile prosecution division of his Minnesota county. Together, the group imagined what it would be like to revolutionize the U.S. criminal justice system and create a model patterned after one in New Zealand, which in 1989 began exclusively using restorative justice practices for juvenile cases.
"Imagination is when a community says we don't have to do it this old way," Zehr said. "And restorative justice is more than about dealing with crime. It's a way to remind us that we are interconnected."
Cole Middle School in West Oakland recently incorporated restorative justice practices as a way of addressing conflicts. The school got help from the Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth organization founded by attorney Fania Davis, activist Aeeshah Clottey and Oakland City Councilmember Nancy Nadel (Downtown-West Oakland).
Students at the school are taught to form talking, support and accountability and peacemaking circles to air their feelings, communicate their needs and reduce violence. They pass around a talking stick, rock or feather as they take turns speaking around the circle. In some cases, students are encouraged to write letters of apology.
"I used to fight to get my anger out and argue," said Portia Lee-Fletcher, a 12-year-old Cole Middle School seventh-grader. "Now I just sit down to talk and try to make it right."
Rita Alfred, one of Oakland Unified School District's restorative justice counselors and a member of the staff at Cole, said she has trained students, teachers and parents to use restorative justice principles. "Sometimes these circles are scary, because there's a lot of feeling in it," Alfred said. "But when you call a circle, you can get to know people more deeply."
Last year, Cole switched from a zero-tolerance policy to using restorative justice practices that students can use to help shape the culture of the school. As a result, the school has seen a drop in the number of suspensions and physical conflicts.
Despite efforts to improve student relations, Cole – like many other schools in Oakland – is slated for closure next year due to low student performance and test scores. Cole Principal Ivory Brooks declined to comment about the school's closing but said he was proud of progress his students have made to avoid conflict and better communicate their needs on the playground and in the classroom.
At Saturday's talking circle in the Cole auditorium, Johnson, the prosecutor from Minneapolis, shared his thoughts about justice and how society often treats young people unfairly. People have used their imagination to hurt others, he said. "We need to understand where we are with our imagination," Johnson said. "Let's figure out what kids do right, and that is the space that opens us up to restorative justice."
Kamika Dunlap
27 January 2008
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_8093037
