Restorative Justice, Reintegration, and Race: Reclaiming Collective Identity in the Postracial Era

Abstract

Restorative justice has gained ascendancy within both judicial systems and educational settings through which court-involved youth are resocialized as part of reintegration intervention. This article explores the conflict over collective representation at the intersections among public education, criminal justice, and restorative intervention. The author argues that restorative intervention must attempt to broaden its cultural reach and implicate the countercultural realities that exist at the margins of society and at the interstices of its own praxis. [restorative justice, conflict resolution, urban education; minority youth] Setting the Scene: New Horizons High SchoolThe main research site upon which this article builds constituted one of numerous educational institutions throughout the United States experimenting with restorative bs_bs_banner

Complexity in restorative justice education circles: Power and privilege in voicing perspectives about sexual health, identities, and relationships

“…In her studies of heterogeneous small-group work, Cohen (1994) demonstrated how status inequality often prevails, and is often even reinforced, during interactive group workif the interaction encourages confident students to come to think of themselves, and to be considered by peers, as more valuable contributors to the learning process than quieter or marginalised students. When an alternative pedagogical process such as the restorative justice circle is created for inclusion, status and inequality remain present, and may even become more visible in the context of the ostensible equality of circle members (Utheim, 2014;Wing, 2009). In some cases, as observed in various circle interactions in this study, outgroup members become visible in ways that further entrench their exclusion.…”

“…Within the specificities of practice, circle norms may evade or silence the feelings, identities and stories of some, while welcoming others: these choices (intentional or not) circulate and normalize unequal power relations. Without critical reflection on how power relations are produced spatially and culturally, restorative pedagogy could unintentionally perpetuate the harm it seeks to remedy (Lustick, 2017;Parker, 2020;Utheim, 2014). This is crucial for democratic development and participation.…”

Restorative justice as a tool to address the role of policing and incarceration in the lives of youth in the United States

“…Other influential scholars in restorative justice are Marshall, Sharpe, and Sullivan and Tifft. Marshall (in Utheim, 2014: 359) defines restorative justice as “a process whereby all the parties with a stake in a particular offense come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offense and its implications for the future.” This is the definition adopted by the United Nations. Van Ness et al (2001: 5–6) offer an adaptation of Sharpe’s 1998 description, in which restorative justice:…”

“…This position is disturbed by interviews included in this article and the insightful contributions of Utheim (2014). Utheim examines how narratives of colorblindness within institutions (schools, but this can be extrapolated to libraries) can reinstate oppressions and harms that restorative justice purportedly addresses.…”

“…Utheim examines how narratives of colorblindness within institutions (schools, but this can be extrapolated to libraries) can reinstate oppressions and harms that restorative justice purportedly addresses. Utheim (2014) presents an unequal field that must be framed by the school-to-prison pipeline, increasing militarization and growing carceral philosophies, and neoliberal endeavors to monetize and restrict the lives of youth of color. This is used to unsettle the idea of community that “presumes some shared set of sociocultural referents” (Utheim, 2014: 360).…”