Bringing race relations into the restorative justice debate. An alternative and personalized vision of the “other.”

Source: (2014) Journal of Black Studies. 45(3):216-246.

Restorative justice was reborn in the 1970s with a promise to provide a better sense and experience of justice, especially for those who are let down the most by the criminal justice system. And yet, despite well-evidenced disproportionality and race inequality issues within criminal justice institutions, restorative justice research and practice within the context of race are almost nonexistent. This article aims to unravel this paradox while looking at the scant extant literature to explore the alternative and more personalized restorative justice vision of “the other” and cultural differences. An expansive conceptual model that is aligned with the integrative nature of restorative justice is then posited for further pilots and research. The article warns that if restorative justice continues to ignore the challenges raised within a race equality context, the power structures inherent within our current structural framework of criminal justice will lead to its demise. (author’s abstract)