Beyond protest: Rethinkers’ music conveys solutions

From the article by Benny Amon in the San Francisco Bay View:

The library turned conference room at the newly rebuilt Langston Hughes Academy fell silent as Rethinkers Earl Poole Jr. and Terriana Julien took the stage. Drummer Tori Washington created a meditative texture with crescendoing cymbal rolls as Poole and Julien began to sing “Reee…storative Juuuu…stice.” Following the mood setting performance, and as the jam-packed audience of media, education activists, school administrators, principals and proud parents clapped, Lucy Tucker, Renee Smith and Kamau Johnson took the stage. Addressing a pensive audience, they discussed the culture of violence and discipline in their schools, and stated they wanted an alternative to suspension and expulsion – practices, they said, that add to school dropout rates and the “school to prison pipeline.” Their alternative: something called restorative justice.

Oct 19, 2010 Media, School, Region: North America and Caribbean, Country:USA

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Huikahi Restorative Circles: Group process for self-directed reentry planning and family healing

from Lorenn Walker's article in European Journal of Probation:

....The Huikahi Circle is a facilitated reentry planning group process for individual incarcerated people, their invited supporters, and at least one prison representative.

The incarcerated person determines what they want and the group helps her determine how best to achieve her goals. It can result in better outcomes for people leaving prison or drug treatment programs than case planning and case management where professionals make decisions for others.

Oct 14, 2010 Offender, Reentry, Community, Region: North America and Caribbean, Report, Evaluation, Country:USA

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