Listening to the Movement

Restorative justice is spreading like wildfire across the globe. How can we explain this burst of energy? This anthology makes the bold claim that restorative justice is a vibrant social justice movement. It is more than a great idea gone viral, more than the extension of the legal system, and more than enacting new legislation. Beginning in 2015, the contributors of this volume took part in a series of dialogues sponsored by the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, exploring the contours of the restorative justice movement. Each one writes from the burgeoning edges of their own context, inviting readers to consider the fidelity and integrity of the movement's growth. As a cadre, the authors highlight new locations of restorative justice application: race, pedagogy, ecology, youth organizing, community violence reduction, and more. These diverse voices put forward a fast-paced, hard-hitting glimpse into the pulse of restorative justice today and what it may look like tomorrow.

Co-Editors -- Ted Lewis and Carl Stauffer

Foreword -- Fania Davis

Introduction -- Sonya Shah and Carl Stauffer

We're Just Doing Our Jobs: A Provocation for Restorative Justice Professionals -- Ethan Ucker

Building a Bigger We: A Conversation about Restorative Justice Movement Building -- by Rose Elizondo and Jovida Ross

Bringing a Racial Justice Consciousness to the Restorative Justice Movement: A Call to White Practitioners -- by Mika Dashman, Katherine Culberg, David Dean, Anna Lemler, Mikhail Lyubansky, Julie Shackford-Bradley

Shared Legacies: Narratives of Race and Reconciliation by Descendants of Enslavers and the Enslaved -- Jill Strauss

Pedagogy of Circles: Teaching Restorative Justice to Social Work Students -- Daniel Rhodes

Bigger than an RJ Circle: Youth Organizing for Restorative Justice in Education -- Jonathan Stith

Critical Race Theory and Restorative Justice Education -- Kathy Evans, Brenda Morrison, Dorothy Vandering

Radical Rationalism: Restorative Justice With the Earth -- Valerie Serrels

Do We Dare Love the Shooter? 9 Principles for Firearm Harm Reduction -- Ethan Ucker

Contribution of Peace Committees to Reduction of Election-related Violence in Burundi -- Mulanda Juma

Are We Serving Victims Well? Considerations on Victim Engagement in Current Restorative Justice Movement Trends -- Ted Lewis and Mark Umbreit

Epilogue -- Carl Stauffer