Repairing Harm, Rebuilding Family

At its root, RJ is about returning folks in conflict to right relationship with one another. It is a healthy, nonpunitive, nonretributive means of settling disputes, repairing harm, and fostering atonement and reconciliation between individuals and communities when harm occurs.

It has been said that family is the bedrock of society. If that is true, then where is RJ more essential than in the parent-child relationship? If we can instill RJ principles and practices into the hearts and minds of parents and children, we can create a new paradigm for resolving conflict in our homes — one that will ripple into our schools, workplaces, and all spheres of interpersonal relations.

As incarcerated humans who are also fathers, mothers, grandmothers, and grandfathers, we have a pivotal role to play in spreading RJ to our families. Our communities are hotbeds of violence where harm is constant and cyclical. Crime, poverty, drugs, and miseducation undergird the Prison Industrial Complex, and RJ is a liberating tool we can use to prevent, address, and resolve harm outside the criminal legal system.

Lastly — and most importantly — the carceral system is designed to alienate us from our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, ensuring we don’t build deep bonds of love and guidance with future generations. We must resist the incarceration of our minds, spirits, and voices. We must demolish and render inoperable the Prison Industrial Complex, which disproportionately draws its human material from Black, Brown, and poor white communities. Teaching, practicing, and modeling RJ to our children is an act of prison abolition.