David Anderson Hooker Archives - EMU News

Zehr Institute restorative justice experts tapped by media in the aftermath of Charleston church shooting

Lauren Jefferson — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 14:51:12 +0000

With the complex concepts of forgiveness and healing at the forefront in recent media coverage of the Charleston church shooting, ��ݮ�� professors , PhD, and , PhD, co-directors of the, have appeared in national media outlets.

Zehr was interviewed for a ThinkProgress article [published June 23, 2015] by senior religion reporter Jack Jenkins, “.”

Stauffer joined a [aired June 24, 2015] hosted by to talk about the social impacts of high-profile acts of forgiveness. David Anderson Hooker, PhD, a instructor, was also on the panel in his role as consultant to the

“It is encouraging to see the national media recognizing the Zehr Institute as a source for restorative justice commentary in response to tragic events like the shooting in Charleston,” said , executive director of EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, which houses the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice. “Howard Zehr, Carl Stauffer and David Anderson Hooker bring on-the-ground experience that inform how communities can begin the process toward healing.”

Zehr: Forgiveness is ‘hard work’

The examines both the media response to the shooting and the later televised, tearful moments when family members offered forgiveness, via satellite, to alleged gunman Dylann Roof.

A media focus on faith-based healing can be problematic, Zehr said. “It’s a mixed blessing. On the one hand, [forgiveness] does call out the best in us. But it also can obscure the justice component, and it can feel like an easy fix for people.”

Zehr also pointed out that media “can sometimes magnify this pressure [to forgive] by focusing intensely on acts of forgiveness instead of the hard work of reconciliation that follows that forgiveness.”

Panel touches on restorative practices

Stauffer and Hooker joined The Rev. Alyn E. Waller, senior pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and The Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlewaite, professor of theology at Chicago Theological Seminary.

Stauffer was asked to address the question of what it means to engage in practices of forgiveness that are restorative.

“We can uphold the humanity of all people involved, but we can also hold each other accountable,” said Stauffer, referencing transitional justice processes he’s been involved with in South Africa and Sierra Leone. Stauffer also pointed out the “social significance of these expressions of forgiveness” towards breaking cycles of violence “for the sake of the community moving forward.”

Acknowledgment of structural violence is a necessary precursor to meaningful conversation, he said.

Discussing the personal and political reasons behind forgiveness, Hooker reiterated that truthtelling must take place about the educational, social, and religious systems that produce and implicitly condone such acts. “What it is that we forgive?” he asked. “If we forgive the individual, that’s fine. We should not forgive the act nor the systems that make that act possible, reasonable and even, not surprising.”

Restorative justice pioneer Howard Zehr ‘roasted’ during the celebration of anniversary edition of ‘Changing Lenses’

Randi B. Hagi and Lauren Jefferson — Fri, 29 May 2015 18:50:54 +0000

The Renaissance Mennonite. A friendly service dog. A teddy bear. A creative prankster. Hot Rod Howie.

Many names were tossed at the night of May 23, as his writing career and restorative justice work were humorously honored with a “roast” at ��ݮ��. While most retiring professors of �ܱ��’s stature and worldwide celebrity are feted with a more standard banquet, a roast more suited both the man and his varied work.

Howard Zehr signs copies of the newest edition of his groundbreaking book, “Changing Lenses,” before the dinner and roast begin.

More than 300 attendees agreed, traveling from around the world to honor �ܱ��’s influence as a reformer, teacher, a mentor, and visionary; to mark his retirement as a full-time faculty member; and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the publication of �ܱ��’s groundbreaking work, .

The evening also provided an opportunity to support the ongoing work of the , of which Zehr will remain a co-director with friend and colleague . A silent auction of global artifacts, artwork, locally crafted food and libations, and books, along with other donations, also raised about $15,000, not including pledges, for the continued work of the Zehr Institute.

After dinner…

Among comedians, a “roast” is a gathering at which a guest of honor is subjected to both praise and good-natured jokes at their expense. Stauffer, dressed in a suit and tie, emceed the evening’s festivities with , a longtime colleague since �ܱ��’s arrival at the in 1996. Jantzi came more appropriately appareled to the podium in the requested “Howard Zehr-styled formal wear:” boots, tan khakis, a tan shirt, a camera slung about his neck and a Indiana Jones-looking hat.

Colleagues Vernon Jantzi, left with a tie not quite “as ugly as Howard would wear,” and Carl Stauffer, co-director of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, emceed the evening.

When queried by Stauffer about his neckwear, Jantzi looked at his floral tie and retorted: “This is a tie that’s as ugly as sin. I tried to get one as ugly as Howard would wear, but this is the best I could do.”

First on the program was a panel of alumni roasters, all of whom remarked in some capacity on their strong and shared personal friendship with Zehr, his sense of humor, and quiet way of inspiring confidence and empowerment. Among them was , MA ‘08, now restorative justice coordinator at the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General in Vancouver, Canada, who spoke of becoming �ܱ��’s student one day and shortly after, accepting an invitation to co-present with Zehr at a conference.

“Howard sees something in you before you see it in yourself and he nurtures it until it comes to fruition,” said , MA ‘99, a 14-year veteran of working federal capital cases who is herself a pioneer of an approach called defense-oriented victim outreach.

The youngest member of the panel, MA ‘13, spoke of the in her native Mexico, between Zehr – in Tamaulipas to present the keynote address at the First National Conference of Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms – and poet and victims advocate Javier Sicilia, “two men who share similar bodies and souls.”

MA ‘04, contextualized Zehr with a reference to Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point,” which describes three types of “change makers.” “Howard for me is the consummate connector,” said Malec, citing Zehr’s skills in networking between practitioners and connecting his colleagues and students with exciting opportunities.

MA ‘09, took the microphone in “protest” to argue that the breadth and sheer vivacity of Zehr’s creative contributions in a variety of fields do not render him “the grandfather of restorative justice,” as he’s sometimes referred to, but rather “the Lady Gaga of restorative justice!”

, MA ‘06, a founding member of the nonprofit Latino Initiative on Restorative Justice, spoke movingly of �ܱ��’s influence on her personal journey from her native Ecuador and her current work as an educator and training of restorative justice in many Latin American countries.

, which focused on the aging body, took the brunt of several spirited jokes from , MA ‘00. Toews is a former student who has written and co-edited .

Guest Roasters

Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, who has worked with Howard Zehr for more than 30 years, presents him with artwork drawn by her son: a tree with the word “humility” within its branches.

A panel of guest roasters included nine distinguished colleagues, some of whom wrote or provided video greetings: RJ practitioner honored �ܱ��’s influence in New Zealand, criminologist John Braithwaite sent congratulations from Australia, and �ܱ��’s longtime friend, Bruce Bainbridge, did the same from the State Correction Institution Graterford, where he is serving a life sentence.

, currently co-director of Mennonite Central Committee‘s Office on Justice and Peacebuilding, proclaimed that she had “30 years of stories” to fit into the next three minutes, speeding through Zehr’s powers of suggestion, his fast pace of speech, and his commitment to well-made coffee.

Actor, director, and playwright Ingrid DeSanctis remembered ,” based on Zehr’s book which received a standing ovation from 500 inmates at Graterford Prison in Pennsylvania.

David Anderson Hooker claimed the honor of being, with Zehr, “Morehouse men.” Both are alumni of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

, a mediator and consultant with a history of teaching in Center for Justice and Peacebuilding programs, proclaimed that he and Zehr shared something that nobody else in the room did: both are alumni of Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, which boasts graduates such as Martin Luther King Jr.

“You carry the mystique of a Morehouse man well,” said Hooker, adding that the “Morehouse man” is “well-read, well-traveled, well-spoken, well-balanced and…” He stopped. “You’ve got to work on well-dressed,” he concluded, to laughter from the crowd.

Kim Workman, director of the New Zealand-based organization Rethinking Crime and Punishment, not only told humorous stories, but played the keyboard and sang an original ditty he called “Ode to Howard.”

The Zehr bobble-head

The bobble-head was Howard Zehr’s last gift of the evening. (Photo by Soula Pefkaros)

As the evening drew to a close, �ܱ��’s family joined in the fun. His wife, Ruby, recalled one of their first dates in college, when Howard invited her to the snack shop to share a Coke because he did not have enough money for two. She was followed by Howard’s brother, Ed Zehr, who reminisced about Howard’s boyhood skills tinkering with electronics and gadgets.

When Zehr assumed the stage after 9 p.m., he was met with a standing ovation. Cracking jokes, he recounted the early days of restorative justice work with Canadian colleague David Worth, announcing their next 50-year plan for the field – expansion to a social movement.

At the end of the night, , director of the and mastermind behind the festivities, presented the honoree with a custom Howard Zehr bobble-head doll.

“Ruby says my memorial service is taken care of, so she won’t need to have one when I die,” Zehr reflected afterwards. “I got off pretty easy overall!”

Center for Justice and Peacebuilding announces new restorative justice certificate

Aaron Kishbaugh — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 19:34:46 +0000

This summer, will introduce a new certificate program for practitioners. The program is open to all interested in furthering their postgraduate educations and aimed particularly at mid-career professionals.

Courses will combine online learning with in-class time, said , a CJP professor and co-director of the .

Instructors will include CJP professors Stauffer, and , and visiting scholars like David Anderson Hooker and Lorraine Amstutz-Stutzman. Online portions of some courses will include guest lectures from other experts around the world.

The 18-credit certification is designed to be finished within a year, or during successive sessions of CJP’s annual . Requirements are broken down into 12 hours of core courses on restorative justice and conflict analysis, plus six hours of elective courses.

The electives offer students a chance to dig deeper into topics such as transitional justice, trauma, critical race theory, community development, and healthy organizations.

By taking advantage of local opportunities for practice, the program will emphasize real-life experience in order to reinforce learning in the classroom. “The program is very practice-oriented,” said Stauffer. “We try to focus it around students’ interests.”

Recent examples of practice opportunities have seen students engaging in restorative justice research with the James Madison University Office of Judicial Affairs, organizing public screenings of restorative justice films with facilitated dialogue afterward, and working with the , a re-entry program for men coming out of prison.

Stauffer described the certificate program as “a great professional development opportunity and a step on the way to a master’s degree in restorative justice.” The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding is generally considered one of the top five graduate programs in the field, he said. Citing the program’s unique dual focus on theory and reflective practice, Stauffer referred to graduates as “prac-ademics.”

More information on the new certificate program is available on the CJP .

“Where There Was Despair, They Saw Hope” – Summer Peacebuilding Institute 2013 Wraps Up

Chris Edwards — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 18:44:36 +0000

Many of the 196 attendees at this year’s had survived devastating loss and trauma. Yet the final week of that gathering at ��ݮ�� began with an evening of infectious joy.

SPI learners – representing 43 nations over six weeks of sessions, May 6-June 14 – did line and contra dancing, joined an exuberant Syrian circle dance, clapped hands to a spirited maranga, watched a graceful performance by colorfully garbed South Pacific colleagues, and eased into a Virginia Reel.

“It’s a nourishment for my soul,” Lilian Burlando said of her near-annual trip to SPI, on the Harrisonburg, Va. campus, from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Burlando, who operates a counseling and interfaith dialogue center, said she felt uplifted by the course “Narrative, Theory and Practice,” which highlighted “the importance of stories in everyday life.”

By listening attentively to each other’s narratives, students “learn to be the experts” and not leave understanding to professionals, explained therapist Vanessa Jackson of Atlanta, who taught the narrative course with David Anderson Hooker.

Burlando smiled as she watched granddaughter Mercedes Echazu dance. Echazu – a recent social-work graduate and one of five grandchildren, plus a daughter, who have accompanied Burlando to various SPI sessions – completed “Monitoring and Evaluation,” a course relevant to her profession.

In Nigeria, after 15 years’ employment at a bank, Helen Kwuelum decided to work in peacebuilding and women’s empowerment. She attended SPI’s four sessions, joining husband Charles, who has completed a year’s study in the master’s program.

Near their home in northern Nigeria, the couple had fled bombings by the militant Islamist Boko Haram movement. “So many people were killed, displaced, traumatized,” said Charles. Recent news, in turn, reports thousands of families fleeing the region following a government crackdown on Boko Haram, which recruits unemployed youth to fight.

Charles and a colleague hope to befriend young Nigerian Muslims through their organization, Transforming Systems Initiatives. Helen regrets that during the bombings, “I thought all Muslims taught violence.” Discovering “faith in peacebuilding” at SPI, she no longer attributes violence to any faith. Conflict, she said she now understands, “is all about ourselves, not about the religions.”

Clarinda Molia of the Solomon Islands sang “From a Distance” at the dance. When that ballad of peace became popular during the first Persian Gulf War, Molia was just a baby.

Ana-Latu Dickson of Papua New Guinea studied restorative justice at SPI. Although her nation’s courts employ the concept, Dickson – who helps rehabilitate perpetrators of violence against women – said, “I’m learning more about it here.” She and Molia were among 16 South Pacific and five East African participants in the Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership Program.

This year’s overseas SPI applicants encountered “visa problems – as usual,” co-director reported. Approval of applications from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran “took so long for ‘administrative processing’ that almost no one got a visa in time to come.”

In addition to the narratives course, new offerings were “Designing Peacebuilding Programs,” taught by Lisa Schirch, and “Nurturing Resilience,” by Bill Lowrey and Ali Petersen.

Bruce Stambaugh, a retired educator and weekly columnist for The Holmes Bargain Hunter in a heavily Amish region of Ohio, was one of only three North Americans of 16 participants in his class. On his blog, he wrote: “The others came from places like Azerbaijan, Thailand, Iraq, Kurdistan, Belgium, Ghana, Nigeria, Syria and Haiti….

“The students ranged from young adults to grandparents like me. … They were pastors, government leaders, workers for non-governmental aid agencies, interpreters and teachers.”

The worries of a Haitian classmate for his family’s safety at home helped Stambaugh appreciate both his own rural Ohio community and SPI classmates’ resilience.

”Instead of focusing on how bad it was in their country or blaming other governments, these men and women were glad for the opportunity to learn how to dissect and resolve conflict,” he wrote on his blog. “They would take what they had learned and apply it as best they could.

“Their goal was to improve the world around them, even if it was one person at a time. Where there was despair, they saw hope.”