Increasingly, education policymakers are touting restorative justice as a way to interrupt the “school-to-prison pipeline,” which disproportionately impacts students by race, sexuality, and disability. A small but growing research literature suggests that restorative justice decreases suspension and behavioral incidents, while improving school climate—particularly when embraced as a schoolwide ethos, rather than a targeted disciplinary strategy. Restorative justice represents a marked departure from long-standing punitive approaches to discipline, however, and school communities are eager for support in navigating this culture shift. To this end, this article presents findings from case studies of five diverse NYC schools using restorative justice approaches. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with educators, students, parents, and school safety agents, our findings provide insight into key practices and resources, stakeholder perceptions, and challenges of and practical strategies for building holistic, schoolwide restorative justice. We present a series of “lessons” to inform restorative justice practice and policy, underscoring the importance of community-building, deliberate resources and infrastructure, interrogating localized and systemic power dynamics, and elevating student leadership.

Social scientists have a potentially important role to play in combatting discrimination and hatemotivated aggression, as has been noted for over 50 years. Nonetheless, there is still relatively little research in this area, despite increasing recognition of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics. One of the most important scientific trends in research on both discrimination and violence has been recognition of the intersectionality among many of these phenomena, including the intersection of characteristics that confer privilege or disadvantage, of different types of hate-motivated aggression, or among hate-motivated aggression and other forms of victimization. Much work still needs to be done to unpack the diverse sources and complex nature of prejudicial attitudes. In light of current events around the world, we are in urgent need of evidence-based approaches for prevention and intervention that focus both on individuals who commit hate-motivated aggression and those who are the targets of such behaviors. In this introduction to the special issue on hate and violence, we highlight key themes of a series of articles that advance our knowledge in this area. Given that they cover some, but not all, of the topics related to discrimination, we also present several recommendations for future research.

Due to systemic and structural inequities, the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacts the Black community, along with ongoing anti-Black racism and violence. Violence against women in the home, particularly Black women, was prevalent during shelter in place, along with the additional family responsibilities of Black mothers. Crenshaw's theory of intersectionality (1991) provides a foundation for examining Black mothers' experiences during shelter-in-place mandates. This mixed-methods study aimed to quantitatively assess violence victimization, acknowledged racial inequities, depression and anxiety, while qualitatively examining Black mothers' experiences in parenting during shelter-in-place orders. Participants (N = 127; M age = 32.4 years) were mothers who self-identify as Black or African American living in a Midwestern US city. Results showed that Black mothers who perceived greater COVID-19 inequities in the Black community reported increased parental stress, decreased emotional support, greater exposure to physical or sexual violence, and higher symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression.Qualitative results yielded numerous themes, including the integrative theme of two sides of the same coin, highlighting both positive parenting experiences and significant stressors for Black mothers. The implications point to the need for intersectional and feminist approaches to interventions and initiatives that support Black women as humans, mothers, souls, and spirits.

Objectives This randomized controlled trial evaluates the effectiveness of the Harlem Parole Reentry Court, an innovative reentry court model implemented by the Harlem Community Justice Center, examining its impact on recidivism. Methods After random assignment to either the treatment or control groups, the study compares recidivism (rearrest, reconviction, and revocation) among parolees released to Upper Manhattan between 2010 and 2013. Parolees were either assigned to report to the reentry court (N = 213) or to traditional parole for the control group (N = 291). Results Results from logistic regression models indicate that the court significantly reduced revocations within 18 months of release, when controlling for relevant covariates. Reentry court parolees demonstrated a significant 45% reduction in revocation. There was no evidence of significant differences on rearrest or reconviction. Moderator analysis showed no significant moderating effect for risk score, age, or sex. Conclusions While the reduction in revocations is promising, the results would be considered mixed, at best. Additional research with larger sample sizes is necessary to further explore differential impacts by risk level. Policymakers, practitioners, and researchers must have realistic expectations for recidivism reductions and consider outcomes beyond those found in traditional recidivism research, including potential impacts on quality of life, support networks, family, and community.