RESTORATIVE JUSTICE CONFERENCE TO BE HELD AT MPBC

As part of the church’s exploration of racial justice issues in 2022, members of the church traveled to Montgomery with Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church, Reeder Memorial Baptist Church, and others to gather, fellowship, and reflect at the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace & Justice. Upon their return, some in the group formed a committee under the church’s Ministry of Outreach and Justice to explore further the criminal and racial justice issues raised by their trip. 

Central to this committee were Cindy Adcock and Kate Green, who attended a retreat program, “Faith Communities Reimagining the Criminal Legal System Through a Restorative Lens'' in New Orleans, which engaged leaders of faith in learning, reflection, and action planning to empower them to create community-based social justice initiatives for the betterment of the criminal legal system (CLS) and those impacted by it. 

Cindy and Kate led our criminal justice committee through a discernment process to decide how we can make a difference in our local CLS. The committee joined the criminal justice committee of the Reimagining America Project. The result was the Charlotte Restorative Justice Initiative, now housed within REDRESSNC, a nonprofit started by Cindy and Henderson Hill, an African American lawyer. 

Now, you can help the Charlotte Restorative Justice Initiative take its next step. On Saturday, June 27, 9:00 am - 2:00 pm, you can join community leaders and those impacted by violence at our church as we explore a better response than our current overreliance on jails and prisons. We will explore an option that seeks to break the cycle of violence by

• centering the needs of those harmed by violence to rebuild their lives, to feel safe and secure and to heal;
• requiring true accountability by those who harm, because we know that punishment for the sake of punishment does nothing to change violent behavior and that it does little to meet the needs of harmed parties for restitution and trauma mitigation;
• prioritizing public safety, acknowledging that our community deserves the most effective interventions and that if relying on imprisonment of responsible parties solved our violence problem, then America would be the safest place in the world, and
• addressing the underlying and historical racial inequities that cause violence, holding those who harm others equally accountable, and distributing resources for healing and recovery equally. 

Speakers include Justice Anita Earls, NC Supreme Court, and Garry McFadden, Mecklenburg County Sheriff. Registration is free but required.

Register Here