Introduction Welcome, dear readers, to a journey through the intertwined threads of history, injustice, and the pursuit of a more equitable future. At Equal Justice USA (EJUSA), we set our focus with precision on dismantling the pervasive structures of anti-Blackness ingrained within the American criminal legal system. Historical Roots and the Legacy of Virginia Slave… Continue reading Unveiling the Roots
Tag: criminal justice system
Expanding Our Vision to Include Restorative Justice
I’ve been waiting to tell you this news for some time. Today, Equal Justice USA officially welcomed the Restorative Justice Project onto our team. Impact Justice, an ally organization in the justice movement, has been operating the Project, launched by the visionary sujatha baliga, since 2015. Impact Justice felt like now was the right time… Continue reading Expanding Our Vision to Include Restorative Justice
Equal Justice USA Welcomes the Restorative Justice Project
Spinoff from Impact Justice Completes EJUSA’s Practice Model with a Response to Harm that Aligns with Mission and Values Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) announced today that it was growing to absorb the Restorative Justice Project, which is being spun off by Impact Justice. The Project will join EJUSA’s existing slate of programs that are transforming… Continue reading Equal Justice USA Welcomes the Restorative Justice Project
An Eye-Opening & Cathartic Trip to Alabama
EJUSA staff members and partners traveled to Montgomery, Alabama to visit Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The tour group included partners from our Evangelical Network and Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. Here are reflections from our staff. Demetrius Minor, Manager, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty We… Continue reading An Eye-Opening & Cathartic Trip to Alabama
Newark’s Community-Centered Public Safety Ecosystem
In 2018, I left the Department of Justice after a dozen years as a prosecutor. I had seen our criminal legal system up close and came away certain that it was too big, too rigid, and too steeped in its racist origins to ever deliver true justice. I wanted to find the solutions to violence,… Continue reading Newark’s Community-Centered Public Safety Ecosystem
How Do I Talk to My Kids About Gun Violence?
Early last week I got an automated message on my phone from my kids’ school that there was an active shooter within two miles and that the school was under a shelter-in-place order from the Charlottesville Police Department. I went through the arc of emotions: fear to worry to curiosity to a trust in my… Continue reading How Do I Talk to My Kids About Gun Violence?
Dr. King wanted us to act
When I was in college, I served on a committee planning the University of Michigan’s renowned Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium. That year, Michigan brought Dr. Cornel West, the philosopher, activist, and professor, to campus as the symposium’s keynote speaker. He was a hero of mine (and still is). As a planning committee… Continue reading Dr. King wanted us to act
The EJUSA Difference
Happy new year! I hope you had a peaceful and joyous holiday season. Personally, I appreciated the break after a thrilling but fast-paced year. We accomplished so much together thanks to your support, but I want to share one specific highlight of 2022. When I started at EJUSA, I knew that one of my highest… Continue reading The EJUSA Difference
Imagining the Possibility of Safety
At the beginning of the summer, our executive director, Jamila Hodge, sat on a panel in a crowded gymnasium in Newark talking about transforming the justice system. “The system is going to do what it’s going to do,” she said. “It is a machine, and it was built for a purpose, and that was to… Continue reading Imagining the Possibility of Safety
Punitive Systems Only Create More Cycles of Trauma
Reimagining Justice This Month: September Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence — responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. Alternatives to Police and Prisons: Activists Share How to Better Address Violence, Teen Vogue Justice reimagined is not only possible, it’s already here. Youth leaders in communities… Continue reading Punitive Systems Only Create More Cycles of Trauma