A birthday celebration took place on July 17 at the Spokane Branch of the NAACP General Meeting, which we’d like to share with you, even though the cupcakes are already gone. Building Restorative Communities began with the vision of Kurtis Robinson and Rick Matters through the Criminal Justice Committee, and specifically through their simmering frustration at the countless ways the legal system dehumanizes and harms – rather than rehabilitates or transforms – people, specifically poor people and especially Black and Brown people. It’s been said that our society responds to wrongdoing by harming people in order to teach them that harming is wrong.
Rick and Kurtis set out to pursue the alternative approach of restorative practices by expanding the conversation. Rick Matters gathered committed people like Kurtis, President Lisa Gardner, Inga Laurent, Jonathan Teeters and Julie Schaffer. After nearly a year of listening and envisioning, Building Restorative Communities was born. This initiative is not simply a strategy for incorporating restorative alternatives into a punitive legal system, but offers a “new” way derived from ancient roots to interact with ourselves and one another. It represents a profoundly different way for organizations and systems to communicate and function.
Restorative Justice is not only a different approach to relationships and an alternative for organization and systems, but is a different lifestyle. Restorative Practices originated in Indigenous societies around the world, including those in Africa. Even though specific practices vary in today’s Indigenous cultures, the core principles are remarkably consistent. They honor the dignity of each person, maintain everyone’s agency, and share power equally. They seek to bring individuals back into the community by restoring harms and healing hurts. They emphasize the accountability of each individual, and in some cases familial and community accountability as well, and they hold sacred the wellbeing of the community. Their three Rs are Relationships, Responsibility and Respect.
The vision of Spokane’s NAACP Building Restorative Communities is, “to build more restorative communities by educating ourselves about the roots, principles, and values of Restorative Justice, and by creating spaces to put these into practice.” Over the past year we held over 30 free events where we provided both teaching and experience in restorative circle practices. We built relationships with individual leaders and with organizations, such as Everyday Mentors, Locked In Fathers’ Alliance, YWCA, and Spokane Community College. We gave away over 200 copies of two books, as well as offered seven online book study groups. Importantly, we raised nine wonderful ambassadors to support and further equip them to join us in spreading this work more broadly.
We invite you to become restorative in words and actions to teach others and to build authentic communities, however small. Our long-term goal includes offering restorative alternatives to the legal system, but more importantly we seek to enrich lives and to prevent harm by incorporating restorative practices into our lives, neighborhoods and schools. Follow the Spokane NAACP, and join Building Restorative Communities Facebook and Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter at brcspokane@gmail.com.