Advancing Restorative Justice in the Context of Racial Neoliberalism: Engaging Contradictions to Build Humanizing Spaces

Abstract

Restorative justice (RJ) has gained attention as an alternative to exclusionary discipline practices and as a solution to the racial discipline gap. While recognizing the possibilities of RJ, this article argues that it is crucial to pause and consider inherent contradictions and risks of RJ in schools. We argue that schools are governed by a logic of punitive commonsense, evident not only in discipline practices but also in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. This logic, which is based in racial neoliberalism and the school-prison nexus, runs counter to the values and aims of RJ. When implemented without awareness of these contradictions, RJ can be co-opted in ways that reinforce rather than challenge punitive discipline practices and outcomes. We to expose these contradictions, critically examine processes of co-optation, and propose guiding questions to help educators, activists, and scholars avoid the pitfalls of RJ as we work to build more just and humane schools.