Responsibility and Repair: The Promises of Restorative Justice Artwork

Justice Above All

The Thurgood Marshall Institute at the Legal Defense Fund brings you Justice Above All, a quarterly series about the evolution of, and continued need for, racial justice advocacy. We’ve entered a time where many of the building blocks underpinning our work for racial justice are being questioned or actively undermined. Justice Above All provides an accessible way to help inform the national debate, revive our history, and remember how far we still must go in our quest to realize the ideals for which Thurgood Marshall and the advocates he led fought.

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Justice Above All

Responsibility and Repair: The Promises of Restorative Justice

December 15, 2025 • The Legal Defense Fund

Too often, the criminal legal system fails people who experience harm or violence. At the same time, it also often fails the communities that harmed people are members of. In many cases, survivors and the accused belong to the same community. Restorative justice centers the specific needs of people who have experienced harm or violence with an eye towards healing both the harmed individuals along with the community that was impacted by the harm or violence. Compared to punitive criminal legal system policies, restorative justice approaches better address the root causes of threats to public safety by remedying harm and repairing relationships at the individual and community levels.

In this episode of Justice Above All, guests discuss the diverse practices connected with restorative justice as well as the positive outcomes that are associated with it. Guests will also discuss how we can incorporate such approaches to build greater safety in our communities.

For more information on this episode, please visit: tminstituteldf.org/justice-above-all.

This episode was produced by Lauren O'Neil. It is hosted by Kesha Moore, PhD. Resonate Recordings edited the episode.

If you enjoyed this episode please consider leaving a review and helping others find it! To keep up with the work of LDF please visit our website at www.naacpldf.org and follow us on social media at @naacp_ldf. To keep up with the work of the Thurgood Marshall Institute, please visit our website at www.tminstituteldf.org and follow us on Twitter at @tmi_ldf.