Restoring Racial Justice
Title
Restoring Racial Justice
Author
Davis, Fania E.
Lyubansky, Mikhail
Schiff, Mara
Research Area
Social Institutions
Topic
Legal Institutions
Abstract
Despite important overlapping interests, until recently, few racial justice advocates have embraced restorative justice (RJ), and the RJ community has largely failed to explicitly address race. Suggesting a convergence of the two movements, this essay presents an overview of RJ principles, history, and methods. We review the evidence for racial bias in criminal justice and school discipline and then note emerging restorative initiatives to ameliorate historical and contemporary racial inequities. We conclude by touching on gaps and challenges characterizing research and applied work in the field while suggesting strategies to move toward a racially‐conscious restorative movement as both an effective alternative to state‐imposed punishment and a powerful force for racial justice.