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Writer's pictureKenny Akers

Restorative Justice




Restorative justice is an approach to justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by an offense rather than punishment by a third party, basing rehabilitation rather than entrenchment of oppression. Racial reparations using this approach would involve recognition justice, compensation for inequality, and economic investment towards marginalized minority groups, facilitating the creation of socio-economic programs to redistribute available resources in equal and fair opportunities while promoting intersectionality impacting generational constructs.


When it comes to Black people and restorative justice, the application process is seen as a solution to the disproportionate amount of harm the black community has experienced systemically. Restorative justice seeks to address the damage caused by systems put in place historically to marginalize African Americans, erode cultural feelings of inclusion, and encourage diversity. The restorative justice practice operates on the principle that for harm to be repaired, the black community must be at the center and every stage of the process, demanding active and informed participation of excluded groups in the legal system process proffering solutions.


For instance, Black people comprise a considerable percentage of those incarcerated in the United States for relatively minor offenses disproportionate to their representation in general society. They are also more likely to be arrested for soft drug crimes than white people, despite their socio-economic status, leading to increased level disparities and, thus, racial injustice.


Restorative justice aims to investigate and repair these historical roots systematically entrenched and directed by dismantling said constructs, thus involving a realignment of policies towards deterring the impact of these biases and prejudices, affecting better reparations and stronger, fair, equitable social platforms. Promoting community-oriented alternative models like rehabilitation rather than imprisonment results in a societal restructuring aimed at diminishing these daily barriers spurned daily in our societies.


Restorative justice is essential in breaking patterns of systemic racism that characterize many societies, particularly towards Black people, where the tool becomes a vital remedy administered to create new designs of culture celebrating various cultures. It promotes healing, transformation upon reparations of limited available resources towards disadvantaged groups, social cohesion, and progress towards creating robust collaborative intervention programs echoing synthesized voices, creating a conducive world, and promoting profitable growth.

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