Fania Davis and Kimberly J. Cook's Perspective on Restorative Justice

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Restorative Justice
Restorative justice and its benefits are the primary themes in the book “The Little Book of race and Restorative Justice” by Fania Davis and the article “Doing Difference and Accountability in Restorative Justice Conferences” by Kimberly J. Cook. However, the latter focuses more on accountability as applied in restorative justice. Davis explains that the field of restorative justice arose in the mid-1970s due to the disaffection with the justice system (10). Over the course of the first 4 chapters, the author has explored the journey to racial justice and restorative justice and included such elements as the indigenous ethos of restorative justice and its application in schools. Rather than defining the concept, Davies has paid more attention to its practical applications in the racial context. The rationale for using the racial context is that Davies has African descent, and she lived in an era of segregation (12). Therefore, the formal justice system was arguably not something to rely on when one wanted to seek justice. In this case, restorative justice is conceptualized as an alternative to justice where wrongdoers acknowledge their wrongdoing and willingly participate in developing solutions.
Chapters 3 and 4 of the book focus on integrating racial justice with restorative justice and applying these concepts in American schools. Schools are critical institutions in shaping social agendas through discourses. If restorative justice can be implemented in schools, future generations of scholars and practitioners will have a framework to work. However, chapter 3 of the book forms the core of the author’s arguments on race and racism. Race is not real, but racism is. This statement highlights the need for restorative justice since such problems as racism cannot be resolved throug...