Sean Bell Restorative Justice Now



H Sean Bell: Restorative Justice Now!   

Sean Bell: Restorative Justice Now!

NY Faith & Justice, a rising movement of diverse churches, faith organizations and individuals dedicated to addressing poverty-related injustice is calling on Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg to endorse the Conversations for Change project and, in addition, to mount a city-wide truth commission on police-related violence.

NY Faith & Justice, a rising movement of diverse churches, faith organizations and individuals dedicated to addressing poverty-related injustice is calling on Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg to endorse the Conversations for Change project and, in addition, to mount a city-wide truth commission on police-related violence.

"Justice means 'to make things right'," said Lisa Sharon Harper, co-founder and executive director of NY Faith & Justice (NYFJ). "Many believe things were not made right in the Sean Bell case - there was no retribution for an unjust killing," said Harper. "But restorative justice still has a chance. We want the kind of justice that restores human dignity, trust, and broken systems."

NY Faith & Justice, a rising movement of diverse churches, faith organizations and individuals dedicated to addressing poverty-related injustice is calling on Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg to endorse the Conversations for Change project and, in addition, to mount a city-wide truth commission on police-related violence.

Derrick Boykin, NYFJ representative and Associate Minister of Walker Memorial Baptist Church in the Bronx said, "We were galvanized to action by the late 2006 spate of police shootings that killed Sean Bell and Timur Person." In response, NYFJ organized a Prayer Vigil against Violence along with a simultaneous Public Forum on Violence in Black and Brown neighborhoods. One hundred people attended each gathering and the seeds of a movement were planted. "For more than a year now," said Boykin, "we've been working to mount community-based Conversations for Change between the police and the community."

Several Pilot Conversations between officers of the 44th precinct and members of Walker Memorial Church have already taken place, with the partnership of Detective Kimberly Ford of the Bronx Borough Community Affairs office. On April 12, the Pilot Conversation widened to include several South Bronx community leaders and Rev. Earl Kooperkamp, rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in West Harlem, explained: "There are plans to expand the Pilot Conversations to Manhattanville."

The Conversations will culminate in a five-week community-wide series of up to 50 small group conversations between police and members of their communities this fall. The curriculum was developed by Everyday Democracy, formerly known as Study Circles Resource Center, and has been successfully used in several cities across the U.S. including Carbondale, Illinois and Buffalo, New York.

Jesse Jackson issued a statement on the Bell verdict saying: "An ugly pattern is developing in New York that deserves the attention of the Attorney General." Jackson goes on to cite several cases of NYPD police brutality where officers went unpunished.

Harper agreed, "Our city is facing a key moment in its history. Something is broken in the system. The verdict has broken the threads of trust that existed between the police and communities of color. Now, it is time for deep restoration and restoration must begin with dialogue that empowers the community and the police alike to be heard, to share their stories, to work together to identify and fix what has been broken."

NYFJ is calling on Commissioner Kelly to endorse the Conversations for Change project and offer the project the full partnership of the NYPD. Likewise, NYFJ will call on Mayor Bloomberg to mount a city-wide truth commission on police violence, patterned after the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

A February 2008 Pew Research Center Study reveals one in every nine Black men ages 20-34 are in prison while the national ratio is one in every 100.

"The problems are complex, as are the stories that illuminate them," Harper explained. "A truth commission could reveal multi-faceted fissures in the current penal system. Most important, it would give community members and police officers alike the opportunity to reveal the stories behind the statistics."

NYFJ encourages its members and church partners to practice the ministry of presence in these crucial days. "There are many organizations that have been working at this issue for a long time. It is important that faith communities join together in these days to take every opportunity to listen to the stories, hear the frustration, and do what Jesus did - allow our selves to be moved to action by compassion."




Sean Bell Restorative Justice Now



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