Passing The Talking Stick

Restorative Practices Provide Reparatory Refuge 

“Restorative Practices Provide Reparatory Refuge” is the emergent theoretical premise supported by a composite analysis of responses from two of the informant groups for my study: black male students who attended Restorative Practices school and Restorative Practices professionals who worked with young black male students. In addition, the premise that “Restorative Practices Provide Reparatory Refuge” directly addresses an overarching research question: How can Restorative Practices lower “School to Prison Pipeline" occurrences of Black male students?

In my study (Russell, 2013), four connecting amalgamated insights generated the emergent premise that “Restorative Practices Provide Reparatory Refuge.” These four composite themes were critical contributions resulting from a collective informant voice:
1) Zero tolerance policies have racially biased outcomes against Black male students,
2) Racism kindles unacknowledged and unaddressed trauma for Black male students,
3) Restorative Practices disarm the cycle of trauma for Black male students and 4) Restorative Practices offer Black male students refuge to gain consciousness raising experiences. The following is a special narrative vignette representative of the voices of Black male graduates of Restorative Practices and Restorative Justice School Model experiences. The voices of young Black males who had a Restorative Lived Experience in their middle or high schools offer insights that formed a shared narrative: Restorative Practices Provide Reparatory Refuge.

A Vignette: Passing The Talking Stick

Narrated by Chukwudi Nwangwu

The gentlemen are now arriving and as each one approaches me, I am connecting the faces with his name and the school he attended before revealing his name. The handshakes and hugs of endearment give a sense of expectation and commitment to this cause. I hope my enthusiasm is not too overbearing, as I am anticipating that these young men will pave the way for millions more to follow. I trust that these men will “trail-blaze” a legacy of new paths during this week. I am now holding up the Ibo Talking Stick in my hand and explaining to the circle of trailblazers, its meaning and our use of it as the talking piece for our meeting. While sharing my story of losing two brothers before their time, I can see their compassion swelling for my story in their eyes. I now hand over the Talking Stick to William who is sitting on the left of me. William passed it to the man on his left and our stories began to unfold one to another as we shared why we feel we are here today.

The introductions went very well and I almost got 100% accuracy with putting the right face to
the voices I recall during our telephone discussions. William introduces himself as being
expelled from one of America’s most disruptive middle schools and living in a very chaotic
community but was blessed with an aunt who always stood by him and tried her best to give him
a caring home. He expressed that his dad has been in prison since he was three and his mother
was distracted by her addiction during most of his teen years. Similar stories of an imprisoned
parent either via drugs or institution came forth by the conclusion of our first sharing round.
Only two young men in the circle appeared to be a product of a “traditional family” where both
parents were in the home. Homage was given to two aunts, three grandmothers, and two single
moms. Yet, we had five college students, three working men having good positions and one
young man who stopped college after 2 ½ years due to lack of funds and who is now seeking a
job. What they all had in common is an attribute that was not shared or spoken and it was the fact that none of them faced a judge in a Criminal Courtroom since their experience with their Restorative Practice school or intervention program and that was not or is not a criterion to be part of this forum.

The Talking Stick returns to my hand. So the real work is now to be done, I proceed by stating how proud I am of each one and how I view them as trailblazers opening better passageways for future young Black men to travel. I ask them to share their thoughts on what led to their successful paths in life. Jose from New Orleans Restorative Model beckoned to speak first and the talking stick is passed to him. Jose begins a litany on how his world was filled with chaos at home, chaos in the streets and chaos in school and then he says something powerful: his response to the chaos was to become a person who created more chaos in his own life and in the lives of those closest to him. Jose also shared, with the circle of co-trailblazers, his teen encounters of being adjudicated to juvenile hall and how his route to prison got intersected by a man whom he did not know. Jose says, “The man who turned out to be my mentor and good friend, attended my court sentencing and asked the judge to send me to the summer Rising Up program under his care. He stated that the Rising Up Summer Program is being launched at the high school where I was slated to attend”. Jose concluded somewhat
painfully that the most hurtful part for him was that his mom did not agree. She thought he
would be safer in prison than at home on the streets but the judge placed him in the Rising Up
summer program and in a group home for the summer. Jose concluded, “I guess the judge
thought my mom needed a break from me”. He held up the Talking Stick as if to say, "I am finished,
who wants it next."  K.C. reaches for the Talking Stick.

The concept of chaos is resurfacing by K.C. who states, "schools are like a jungle" and he further explains, "It is impossible for the average black male to survive a typical school where violence, random acts of harm, every man and every teacher is for himself. When I think of the High School in my zip code where I had to attend, I think of a place where total chaos prevails." His story of dropping out of high school after three months of trying to stay in the ninth grade quiets the room. He gave thanks to Chai Beit who heard of his demise and brought him back to what they called transitional ninth grade. It was a special program that offered that he attended until they found a school for him. Chai Beit helped his cousin who by then was his guardian to place him in a boarding high school where he said he received great care but according to him, he missed out on his cultural training that Chai Beit provided. I smiled wide within because I remembered his story.

Chailon who was seated next to K.C. now has the Talking Stick and he is giving an account of how Chicago Restorative Model was once a real jungle during his ninth grade year. Chailon shared,  "It took a fellow schoolmate to be murdered during a mob fight in front of our school before true changes took place." He gives his thanks to Mr. Campbell who brought big changes to the school by opening the Peace Room. Chailon further expressed, "The Peace Room took time for us to understand but once you go there, you have to talk about what went wrong with the person you argued with or fought and you learn to see things different than you thought it was. Things got better and we started feeling more like family."  Jose signals for The Talking Stick and asserts, "The chaos is not by accident but it is the way society designed it to be." I noticed a concern on the face of Blake and I ask him his thoughts on this topic. Blake states, "I believe the big challenge is that too many black men have no hopes and no dreams. It is the feeling of nothingness that let you not care about hurting another person."  Izayah raises his hand towards the Talking Stick and the Talking Stick was passed on to him. Izayah asks “Why is there no hope? Why are there no dreams?” Jose responds to the question, “Hope is lost due to no jobs, poorly ran schools and violence everywhere we turn. I believe dreams were stolen because our history is hidden from us”. Some in the circle are nodding in agreement. Others just stare. Izayah reminds the circle of voices, "We are here to find ways to help brothers in the schools today to deal with the chaos because we already know that racism is a big part of it."  He states, "What we need to do is to help schools in the hood to learn how to end the insanity in their schools and how they can help their students deal with the problems in their lives."

William receives the Talking Stick. He states how his old school saved his life. He shared, " I got kicked out of my middle school and Chai Beit welcomed me in. I have been an ongoing problem at nearly every school where I attended and each one got rid of me but CB never even suspended me like the other schools but I had to go to what they called the Lighthouse Program at the elementary school site.  At the Lighthouse, I either stayed and worked in the Principal's office or he had a one– on-one teacher that worked with me all day long." William also shares that he should have been arrested for hitting one of the older male teachers and whose son who was also a teacher there retaliated by wrestling him to the ground in a choke hold. William shared, “In traditional schools, he (the retaliating teacher) and I both would have been arrested and our lives could have been very different but instead two days later, everyone gathered in a circle for nearly an entire day to find a way to deal with the tragedy that I was caught up in.". William concluded his story with information that he had to return to the brotherhood which this time included fathers of the students and the male staff and of course the teacher I hit and his son who choked me. Everyone who wanted to say something did.  One after the other, they told stories of how I caused problems for others and how so no matter how much they try to help me, I cause more problems. My aunt who was my guardian began to cry as they talked.  I saw the tears go down her cheeks and I felt empty inside. I could only tell them that I get angry a lot and I do not know why but I was very sorry for hitting my teacher. I  offer Mr. T my real deep apology and asking for their approval. They agreed that I could stay in the program but I had to do other programs before I could return to my regular brotherhood class. I spent time in the Lighthouse with a special mentor and the teacher who put a choke hold on me met with me on one on one twice a week. We actually gained a bond and even today we still stay in touch with one another."

William reflected, "I can only say that Chai Beit saved my life. I believe that week changed my entire life. I finished the last two months of school in the Lighthouse Program at the school’s other site but two days a week I spent with my regular class and the teacher who put me in the choke hold became my personal mentor and he really made a difference in my life. He taught me sports and martial arts. I discovered the athlete I am today that I learned about because of this experience." William held the Talking Stick high up in the air as to say, “Whose next”?

Then one after the other the other men in the circle told their stories of redemption where they either avoided an arrest, escaped an expulsion and/or were even derailed from a prison sentence because of the use of Restorative Justice. As quiet approached our circle, I am thinking about those voices we have not heard from yet: Mustafa, David, and Avon. Yet, their countenances are so intensely part of the discussion. William passes the Talking Stick to me. This may be a good time to take our first break. So I announce the break and our return quest to come up with a composite recommendation on how Restorative Practices can lower incidents of the “School to Prison Pipeline” and that we need to hear from everyone present, if possible.

To Be Continued in the next issue