I thought I would be able to start writing about going back out, exploring and shopping. Things didn’t quite go that way last week.
We saw all 50 states and over 13 countries banding together to march in protest regarding racial inequality and police brutality. The awareness that came at us across our screens was in reaction to George Floyd and watching appalling actions up close.
It opened up a protest about what’s been happening since the abolition of slavery and 400 years before that. It all came to a head, and the cries of “enough is enough” were heard across the planet.
Think how ordained this awareness came to us — fresh off of quarantine where there were no concerts, or sports or vacations … the whole world had no choice but to watch what has been happening to black people in America with zero distractions. If that isn’t divine intervention, I don’t know what is.
As we saw, many of the protests turned into riots. Even more blatant police abuse of power and force against American citizens was endured and captured on film as militarized police were dispatched to enforce curfews and disperse the crowds with force, tear gas and rubber bullets.
However, the results of these protests toward effective change have already been astounding. Changes have occurred that we could have only imagined just a few weeks ago. We are moving toward enlightenment at warp speed.
So now what? That’s what I want to talk about in today’s column. Restorative Justice Practices.
For years now, quietly and steadily, there has been a strong movement of its own in developing new ways to address harm and conflict.
Meetings have been organized between victims and the offenders and sometimes with representatives from the wider community.
There have been relationships restored and harm repaired through these quiet efforts within our criminal justice system.
When we saw protests within certain individual states and cities, where police took a knee and marched alongside the protesters — this is a direct result of the restorative justice practice training. A stark difference to what we saw in D.C.
The message is this: We CAN change the way our world is and how we react to it, through education. The work is coming together in compassionate action.
I spoke to one such educator, Deborah Sadler, a longtime resident of Cardiff, who taught at San Diego High School, one of the most diverse high schools west of the Mississippi.
Her efforts have sent out hundreds of students who have become leaders in community-building circles. A small career-themed magnet school, the Academy of Law and Justice out of Crawford High School in City Heights, has taken this indigenous wisdom and has shown us that there is hope — and strides being achieved between educators and law enforcement.
“We are raising consciousness, and the students are leading the way,” she said.
Sadler was awarded the Teacher of the Year for her work around this program, and with her guidance, the San Diego County Office of Education has trained thousands of teachers, counselors and support staff.
She is currently developing further training materials in the Art of Restorative Practices to be distributed to other educators, leaders, and police departments countrywide, which also includes crisis intervention training, de-escalating techniques and implicit bias training methods geared to create a culture that promotes respect and engages everyone to be a part of the solution.
“People need to know that there’s hope. There is work being done between educators and law enforcement to create a world that works for everyone,” said Sadler. That’s the God part. A world that works for everyone. Imagine that.
The next steps were outlined in Marianne Williamson’s bid for the presidency.
She suggested a Department of Peace that would provide a global acknowledgment of the harm done to human beings compromised and work to repair, restore and renew our current social-economic conditions through reparation.
Sounds like a pretty good idea now.
