You may have heard the news last December about a new development at Equal Justice USA: the Restorative Justice Project. Our Restorative Justice Project is a groundbreaking endeavor aimed at fostering healing and accountability within communities across the nation. At EJUSA, we firmly believe that restorative justice offers an impactful approach to building communities and…
Leaders of Color Lean Into Their Healing In December 2023, EJUSA was honored to host a healing retreat for allies and partners in the fight for justice. Members of the Leaders of Color (LOC) within the death penalty movement, came together for support and fellowship in their healing. Cohabitating space in a beautiful home overlooking…
For years there has been a constant debate around the word“gang” and what it means. For some, it means a group of close knit people, like when you say “the whole gang’s here.” For others, it’s a loaded term. It means a group of organized criminals. A quick Google image search will show you exactly…
Have you ever thought about your relationship with your breath? To your body? For Black, brown, indigenous, queer, and trans people working on the frontlines of violence intervention, the relationship to the body and breath can be simultaneously sacred, tenuous, and uncertain. BlPOC communities have experienced generations of surveillance from police, forced labor, and bodily…
In 2016, we launched a groundbreaking program in Newark, NJ, that brought community members and police officers into the same room to explore trauma — especially as it is connected to encounters with policing. And we wanted to explore the trauma of both groups. Since then hundreds of community members and police officers have gone…
Thirty years ago, my father was the victim of a brutal assault that had a lasting impact that no one in my family could appreciate in that moment. We all struggled in different ways. A big part of that struggle stemmed from not seeing ourselves as survivors of violence, and not having access to the…
About six weeks ago, Najee Seabrooks sent out a call for help. He texted his co-workers at the Paterson Healing Collective — an EJUSA partner and ally in the movement to build community safety — that he was in crisis and he needed them. Najee was trained as a healer and a violence interventionist, so…
The idea began with a question: What would it look like to accompany a church willing to match faith with deeds so they can meet the justice needs in their community? The question that led to an idea led to a journey to Richmond, VA. I teamed up with Will Simpson, EJUSA’s director of violence…
Meet our friend and activist Ms. Sharon Redding. I’m not alone in seeing her as a pillar of her city. She’s worked for the Newark Community Street Team since 2016 as a community advocate. Ms. Sharon is a vital voice connecting her community and its concerns with city and state leaders to build community safety…
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…