Guerrier, who works in the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C., and Geddes, a community organizing coordinator with (RJOY) in California, are serving as president and vice president, respectively.

“What comes to mind, first and foremost, about these two leaders is their youth and enthusiasm and commitment to truth, justice, mercy and peace,” said CTTT Executive Director . “Both Jodie and Fabrice bring a wealth of peacebuilding knowledge to this work from their education at CJP, but also life and professional experience.”

Coming To The Table “provides leadership, resources and a supportive environment for all who wish to acknowledge and heal wounds from racism that is rooted in the United States’ history of slavery,” according to their website. In 2016, CTTT held their at 91����Ƶ, bringing together more than 90 people from around the United States.

With growing national attention on the need for racial healing, the organization has 18 groups in seven states and Washington D.C., including a multi-state Mid-Atlantic group. Six new chapters have recently been added.

‘Unpeeling the layers’

Fabrice Guerrier, a native of Haiti and 2015 graduate of CJP, has been involved with CTTT since hearing board president Phoebe Kilby GC ’04, a white woman, share the story of connecting with her cousin, Betty Kilby Baldwin, an African-American woman descended from slaves owned by Phoebe Kilby’s family.

Guerrier felt an instant connection to their story: he had grown up trying to understand the political and social legacies of slavery within his Haitian homeland, where former African slaves and free-colored men and women had risen against the French colonial empire in Saint Domingue to create the first independent black nation where all people, of all colors, were granted freedom and full citizenship.

With the knowledge that “the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade continue to impact billions of people around the world in many nations,” Guerrier helped found a Shenandoah Valley Local chapter of CTTT in 2014.

When I heard of descendants of the enslaved and enslavers connected through slavery coming together to dialogue around the difficult issues of race and healing and address the legacies of slavery in the United States, it struck me as this revolutionary idea that can truly save the soul of America … CTTT shows us that as a nation, our futures and our lives are inextricably bonded together. That history and its inter-generational wounds deeply affect the lives of many, whether we choose to recognize it or deny the moral responsibility we each carry set by those who came before us. I truly believe that when people begin to engage in deep dialogue, we start to unpeel the many layers that divide us from each other. This important process calls for moral imagination and a healthy dose of realism.

Guerrier points to CTTT’s partnership with the Kellogg Foundation’s as one sign that the growing organization and its members, with work rooted in concepts of trauma awareness and resilience and restorative justice, are contributing to a larger national conversation. [CJP is also a partner. .]

CTTT’s shared vision for the future includes engaging youth, creating inter-generational spaces and collaborating across churches, colleges and cities. “We are at a critical point in America where people are hungry for something different,” Guerrier says. “I believe Coming to the Table can be this difference and allow individuals to self-organize, get the leadership and knowledge to engage their communities and begin to heal themselves and their communities.”

Visioning a national transformation process

Geddes says her friendship with Guerrier while both were graduate students had a lot to do with her eventual membership in�� CTTT, but the process wasn’t as smooth. New to CJP and to the Harrisonburg community, with the death of Tamir Rice weighing heavily, she recalls being alternately led by the call to organize in the community and pulled by “my resistance to be in the space with white folks speaking about race.”

Confronting her own resistance is a familiar dynamic for Geddes, who was born in Jamaica and raised in The Bronx, New York, struggling, she says, with “a different kind of double-consciousness.”

As a Caribbean American, many things around sent the message that I was different from ‘African Americans.’ As I grew older and my accent began to change, the world of privilege saw me as ‘another black girl from the hood.’�� My humanity is dependent on serving as a vessel to transform and heal from the wounds of slavery that encourage in some ways a reality of ‘Nobodyness’ as Marc Lamont Hill puts it … The history of slavery in the United States is deeply connected to the Caribbean. On multiple levels the Caribbean set the roadmap for how American slavery would function and the legacy we have today.

Noting that the work of CTTT is “collective” in nature, Geddes also points out that the leadership role is “an opportunity as young people for us to support the expansion of CTTT’s mission through an intergenerational lens to decolonize language and structures that be.”

She hopes for a broader establishment of CTTT chapters among more youth, on college campuses, in the Midwest and “across the world.”

“If I am really dreaming big,” says the 2016 graduate, “I hope to see a national truth and reconciliation process. Many people can do the work of uncovering history, making connections and telling the truth but transformation requires a different kind of action that dismantles and helps to reshape a new nation.”

She’s working to make that dream come true: RJOY is led by executive director Fania Davis, a and activist for a national process for racial healing and transformation. [Read more about Davis’s .]

With RJOY and CJP graduate students, Geddes is also involved in the first phase of a project to research and map various truth-telling, racial healing, reparations and/or memorialization initiatives around the country. The goal is to encourage synergy and cross-pollination of these initiatives, as well as publicize their ongoing work.

The following students received their master’s degree in conflict transformation on Sunday, April 1. Read more about CJP’s graduation ceremony .

Charlotte Bellm (Cuxhaven, Germany) interned at the Fund for Peace in Washington D.C., where she worked on their Nigeria Peacebuilding Map, the 2015 Fragile State Index and a Special Report on the increase of female suicide bombers used by Boko Haram.

Jeff Combe (Salt Lake City, Utah) completed his practicum in Cape Town, South Africa, with Sonke Gender Justice, and the Children’s Rights and Positive Parenting (CRPP) Team.�� The CRPP team has been implementing the MenCare campaign which engages men, women, and families through advocacy, media campaigns and workshops. While Jeff was originally hoping to help facilitate the workshops, his practicum was spent interviewing past participants of the program gathering stories of significant change. He also helped coordinate a campaign for a father running 1800km to raise awareness about engaged fatherhood.

Julio Reyes Flores (Callao, Lima, Peru; Catholic University, Peru) was a staff member of the Teen Center, a department of the Latin American Youth Center, an NGO in Washington D.C. Among other responsibilities, he developed curriculum and co-facilitated a conflict resolution program in a multicultural environment, with youth from Central America, Africa and the U.S.

Daniel Foxvog (Elkhart, Indiana; Goshen College) served with Virginia Mennonite Conference and a non-denominational congregation. He addressed questions such as: How can historic peace churches address divisions and destructive conflicts within their own communities? What challenges do peacebuilders face when working in conflict avoidant cultures? How can faith communities move toward reconciliation when they are struggling with the traumatic legacy of church divisions? Title: Unity in diversity: Navigating conflict and theological differences in congregations through dialogue and capacity building.

Jodie Geddes (Brooklyn, New York; Guilford College) worked with Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, led by Fania Davis, in California. RJOY works in Oakland schools and with the juvenile justice system. Jodie participated in several activities, including facilitating circle processes for youth and for re-entry men. She also represented the organization at local community governance meetings and was with Davis on a trip to Virginia to discuss RJOY’s participation in a national truth and reconciliation process.

Mikhala Lantz-Simmons (Kansas City, Missouri; McGill University) worked on the creation of a trauma-informed pilot program for the Summer Peacebuilding Institute to offer more focused resources for students experiencing trauma. She also worked with Professor Jayne Docherty to create “A Genealogy of Ideas,” a forthcoming series of multimedia e-journals, which highlight the intellectual forbearers that have influenced CJP and the broader field of justice and peacebuilding.

Bob May (Bergton, Va., Eastern Mennonite Seminary, M.Div. ‘15) studied refugee resettlement and integration in Harrisonburg. This work included (1) a summary of the core resettlement service work provided by Church World Service Refugee Resettlement Office, (2) research findings in sectors indicative of refugee integration, and (3) identification of opportunities to improve local refugee integration.

Jacques Mushagasha (Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo; Bukavu College of Education) introduced restorative justice concepts to the Congolese community of Harrisonburg through a workshop. He also wrote and published a booklet about RJ in French. Approximately 140 Congolese refugees live in Harrisonburg. His project was based on the theory of change that if community members discover another paradigm of justice that focuses on healing and the repair of broken relationships, they would be more likely to use the talking-piece and other concepts of restorative justice to resolve their conflicts.

Andrew Nussbaum (Harrisonburg, Va., XX) is site coordinator of after-school programs at Thomas Harrison Middle School in the Harrisonburg City Schools. Andrew explored the concept that after-school programs can more explicitly function as both positive education and sites of peacebuilding. Title: There IS no Peacebuilding HERE?!

Aaron Oda (Auburn, Indiana; Greenville College) explored how creative��arts-based approaches to conflict can foster self-expression, healing and positive engagement between communities of diverse ethnic and religious identities while working with People in Need – an INGO based in Yangon, Myanmar. He investigated questions such as, “What are the opportunities and challenges when using arts-based approaches in Myanmar and in the peacebuilding field?” and “Can the arts serve as a nexus between the generate qualities of power and love?” He used the medium of documentary film, both as a tool of research, and as audio-visual praxis.

Yoonseo Park (Seoul, Korea; Hallym University) worked with the Korean Peacebuilding Institute and affiliated groups to develop a restorative justice-focused conflict transformation curriculum for local schools, deepened connections with international partners in China and Japan, and laid the foundation for use of this curriculum and connections in a North East Asia Youth Peace Camp, scheduled for fall 2016. Title: A New History for North East Asia through Youth Education (Restorative Justice and Historical Harms Curriculum Development and Implementation in South Korea and Northeast Asia)

Bex Simmerman (Hixson, Tennessee; Asbury University) explored interfaith dynamics in Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah Valley, working in conjunction with 91����Ƶ’s Center for Interfaith Engagement. Her research project began to understand the local origins of Islamophobia, but then the focus and needs shifted towards a general analysis of interfaith dynamics in Harrisonburg, including outlining the concerns and perspectives of different faith communities, initial identification of connectors and the strategic networks that work towards interfaith peace in Harrisonburg.

Ahmed Tarik (Baghdad, Iraq; Goucher College) was a research intern with Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division. This provided a “front seat” view of the most pressing issues involving abuse of the most fundamental human rights in the MENA region. about how peacebuilding theory, conflict resolution, and human rights can all intersect in mitigating conflict and transforming violent systems.

Elizabeth Valverde-Bartlett (Quito, Ecuador; University of Nebraska, Omaha) works at the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflicts (CEMPROC) in Quito, Ecuador with children in a public school and with Colombian refugees through the Mennonite Central Committee.

“We sought to bring together a cross-section of restorative justice practitioners, theorists and innovators,” said , co-director of the Zehr Institute and the project’s leader. “Some of the invitees were world-recognized in the restorative justice field, but others were invited to ensure that diverse and often-unheard voices would be represented.”

One-third of the 36 participants were from populations that are under threat socially and economically in their regions of the world. The genders were equally represented. One person was under age 21, though two other young adults had been expected to attend.

Conversing about RJ’s ‘revolutionary intent’

The idea behind the unusual mixture of invitees was to foster provocative conversation about the possibilities for restorative justice (RJ), particularly for addressing structural injustices, said Stauffer.

In the prospectus for the three-year project submitted to the funder, , the organizers wrote: “On the social margins, there is growing research and experimentation with RJ as a tool for addressing structural harms and injustices. This project will explore and document these emerging practices in order to recapture the revolutionary intent of RJ.”

The organizers called attention in their prospectus to what they viewed as the danger of RJ settling into a “social service practice” centering on “repair at the micro-interpersonal level.” Instead, they wished to highlight the ways that RJ can “provide a coherent framework for transforming macro-social structures that cause harm.”

Aware that many of the 36 attendees at the first consultation would not have prior relationships with each other, the organizers devoted about half of the five days to exercises and facilitated conversations designed to establish trust and a common basis for exploring future possibilities. Senior graduate students at 91����Ƶ’s served as facilitators for the process.

Tough questions

First, the attendees prepared a history line of RJ, then they explored identity, power and privilege in the field. On the third day, they embarked on a discussion of best practices.

“We accepted the challenge of bringing together a highly diverse group, especially given that many of the participants are international leaders in the field, [being] accomplished researchers, authors, practitioners and facilitators in their own right,” Stauffer said.

“The challenge was heightened because the group grew beyond the original envisioned size of 20 to 25,” he added. “We needed to go well beyond 25 to have a true cross-section of voices, but it was difficult to develop coherence among three dozen people with strong opinions, especially in only five days.”

Yet the participants were largely positive in their final evaluations, he said, indicating that they had not regretted investing a workweek in wrestling with each other over tough questions, such as the extent to which RJ should be viewed as a social movement, as opposed to simply a set of restorative practices.

Stauffer did not pretend to be neutral on this last point. In his opening remarks to the group, he referred to the U.S. penal reform movement having been “co-opted.” In contrast, he said he hopes RJ continues to grow into a social movement in North America, with the aim of “transforming deep structural conflicts and injustices.” Toward this end, North Americans have much to learn from their international brothers and sisters about “large-scale applications” of RJ, he said.

Agreement on RJ’s core values

For a social movement to be successful, Stauffer told the group, it requires political opportunity, resource mobilization, a framing message, and critical mass (or a “tipping point”).

On the last day, in a final small-group presentation, a participant observed that the 36 attendees had largely agreed during the week on RJ’s core values, but not necessarily on how to practice restorative justice.

This first consultation will be followed next year by a public conference attended by up to 120 people. Next time, Stauffer said, his organizing team will work to create a conference format that moves participants more quickly into discussions on the future of the field, with a view of moving into a research and writing phase in the final year of the project.

Participants in the consultation

The 36 participants were:

1. Aaron Lyons, Fraser Region Community, Justice Initiatives, Canada
2. Ali Gohar, Just Peace Initiatives, Pakistan
3. Barb Toews, University of Washington Tacoma / Designing Justice+Designing Spaces, USA
4. , Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, 91����Ƶ
5. Brenda E. Morrison, Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University, USA
6. Carl Stauffer, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, 91����Ƶ
7. Carolyn Boyes-Watson, Center for Restorative Justice, Suffolk University, USA
8. Catherine Bargen, Restorative Justice Coordinator Crime Prevention and Victim Services Division, Government of British Columbia, Canada
9. Dan Van Ness, Center for Justice and Reconciliation, Prison Fellowship International, USA

10. , Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, 91����Ƶ and Atlanta (Ga.) consultant, USA
11. Fania Davis, executive director of Restorative Justice for Oakland (Calif.) Youth, USA
12. Cameron Simmons, youth worker with Restorative Justice for Oakland (Calif.) Youth, USA
13. Gerry Johnstone, University of Hull, UK
14. , Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, 91����Ƶ
15. Jeanette Martinez, Circle of Justice LLC, New Mexico, USA
16. Jennifer Graville , Community Conferencing Program, KBF Center for Conflict Resolution (Md.), USA
17. Jodie-Ann (Jodie) Geddes, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, 91����Ƶ
18. Josh Bacon, James Madison University (Va.), USA
19. , 91����Ƶ
20. Katia Ornelas, Independent Consultant, Mexico
21. , (STAR), 91����Ƶ
22. Kay Pranis, Circle Trainer, USA
23. Kim Workman, Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies, Victoria, University of Wellington, New Zealand
24. Linda Kligman, Vice President for Advancement, International Institute for Restorative Practices, USA
25. Lorenn Walker, Hawai’i Friends of Restorative Justice, USA
26. Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, Mennonite Central Committee, USA
27. Mark Umbreit, Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking, University of Minnesota, School of Social Work, USA
28. Matthew Hartman, Clackamas County Juvenile Department, Restorative Justice Coalition of Oregon, NW Justice Forum, USA
29. Mulanda Jimmy Juma, Africa Peacebuilding Institute, St. Augustine College of South Africa
30. Najla El Mangoush, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, 91����Ƶ
31. Robert Yazzie, Chief Justice Emeritus of the Navajo Nation, USA
32. Seth Lennon Weiner, Porticus, New York, USA
33. sujatha baliga, Impact Justice, USA
34. Susan Sharpe, Advisor on Restorative Justice, Center for Social Concerns, University of Notre Dame, USA
35. Theo Gavrielides, The IARS International Institute and the Restorative Justice for All Institute, UK
36. , Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR), 91����Ƶ

The facilitators were led by project manager , and included CJP graduate students Janine Aberg, South Africa; Michael McAndrew, USA; Jordan Michelson, USA; Mikhala Lantz-Simmons, USA; and Ahmed Tarik, Iraq.

Jodie Geddes, a graduate student at 91����Ƶ who is attending the [SPI], helped organize the event with help from the and . She said Americans shouldn’t��turn a blind eye to events.

“If something happens in my hometown in New York, I carry it with me,” she said. “When something happens in Burundi or any other country, we can feel that.”

Stan Maclin, leader of the of Virginia Organizing, called the number of high-profile confrontations between black men and police “alarming.”

“It will continue to get out of hand like it did in the ’60s,” he said. “A lot of people say, ‘Don’t talk about the past’… we need to talk about it.”

Maclin said the only way to bring about change is for everyone to stand together��regardless of skin color.

“That won’t happen if we don’t come together like we are today,” he said.

Oscar Apesough, a Harrisonburg resident from Nigeria [who also attended SPI], said he attended the��vigil��because he wants to find “ways we can support the idea of working through this.”

Apesough said civic organizations should work together with law enforcement to restore community relations and maintain peace.

“It should be peaceful,” he said. “It shouldn’t be violent.”

Courtesy of the Daily��News-Record��

Senior Aliese Gingerich, founder of the group, says that even talking about sexual health “can be very hush-hush,” especially on a Christian college campus.

But that “hush-hush” has been less so lately. In recent controversy, a Rolling Stone article about the alleged gang rape of a female student at a University of Virginia fraternity party was . Also in the press has been the recent government scrutiny, related to Title IX gender equity laws, of how colleges and universities handle sexual violence and harassment complaints.

Add the new Coalition’s efforts to the discussion. The group also goes by the acronym of “SPEAK,” which means Support survivors, Prevent assault, Empower bystanders, Advocate for change, and Know yourself and your rights.

“We want to cultivate a more honest and supportive campus climate for survivors of sexual assault,” says Gingerich, “and a climate that is more proactive in preventing sexual violence.”

Most incidents go unreported

Overcoming barriers to communication is the cornerstone of this student-initiated and administration-supported initiative, according to faculty sponsor and .

“The more we are aware, talk openly, and face this as a campus,” says Comer, “the healthier we become.”

The group has raised awareness this month through a day of activism and a discussion on healthy sexuality in Common Grounds with the Campus Health Educators organization. They hosted a final discussion and meeting in University Commons to make plans for next year.

Two incidents of sexual assault have been reported from 2011-2013 in 91����Ƶ’s most recent Campus Safety and Security Report. However, according to a 2003 study published by the international journal Criminal Justice and Behavior, “completed and/or attempted rapes [among college students] were reported to law enforcement officials in less than 5 percent of cases.”

Many people believe that sexual assault does not happen on a Christian campus, or are just unaware of the definition or consequences of sexual violence, says Gingerich.

“I think it’s an organization long overdue on campus,” says junior Hannah Mack-Boll. Her involvement in the coalition was prompted by survivors of sexual violence in her own life, who need support. “Part of that is prevention,” she said.

Graduate student Jodie Geddes, who is studying , says the coalition’s goals span from specific discussions of consent and assault to addressing “the way we uphold human dignity in our society.”

First-year Isaiah Williams was another member volunteering alongside Mack-Boll and Geddes at the coalition’s first event this month, a photo booth where students posed next to their own hand-written statements about what “consent is” and why they “stand with survivors.”

Engaging voices

Gingerich’s motivation to start the group comes from learning about this type of trauma through her mother’s work with the in Iowa City, Iowa. Housed at the University of Iowa, the organization offers a variety of healing, support, advocacy and prevention services, including 24-hour crisis lines, support groups, and awareness campaigns.

“I just grew up hearing lots of stories” about both healthy and violent forms of sexuality, says Gingerich.

When her mother asked what training and resources 91����Ƶ provides, Gingerich says, “then it dawned on me, we really have nothing. And that’s kind of ridiculous … it lit up a fire in me.”

Gingerich worked with Comer to propose a task force to and the President’s Cabinet. From this proposal, the Coalition was born as an offshoot of the Crisis Management Preparedness Team.

Goals of the coalition include engaging “a variety of voices,” says Geddes.

The group also wants to educate the campus community about how to respond to traumatized survivors – to encourage the campus community to become more “trauma-informed,” Comer says. “We often do not take into account the trauma the experience carries. Most people do not want to talk about this, know this, or face this. We are human beings, and this is one of our challenges, even at 91����Ƶ.”

Every week, interns – or “mentors” – from 91����Ƶ and James Madison University meet with kids at the Boys & Girls’ Teen Center at the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center. The program uses group discussions and the occasional field trip to encourage peaceful communication.

Fifteen to 20 teens are participating in the program this year and most mentors do the program for a single semester. One exception is Jodie Geddes, an 91����Ƶ graduate student, who is returning this spring.

“I love hearing their stories and how they begin to open up to you after just a few days,” Geddes said. “Also hearing them talk about the things that they love.”

Geddes thinks the youth she works with are “really incredible.” They range from 13 to 17 years old and have come to communicate more during group discussions.

Agape-satyagraha was developed by One Earth Peace, a Maryland-based leadership training organization that partners with the Church of the Brethren, and came to the Boys & Girls Club two years ago. 91����Ƶ began its partnership last year.

Agape translates from classical Greek as “love,” and is referred to in the Bible as selfless devotion or charity. Satyagraha is the philosophy of passive resistance, popularized by Mohandas Gandhi.

The program has religious and secular curricula that interns can use, although Geddes said she works with the latter version.

“The good thing about this program is it’s very malleable,” said Geddes, who is pursuing a master’s in conflict transformation and wants to work with restorative��justice in schools.

“We’ve been talking about how we can be nice to each other,” said Harrisonburg High School student Carlos Moyet, 14, who joined the program last year with his 12-year-old brother.

Most participants are enrolled in public schools and do not need to formally register for the program.

“What I learned in agape was don’t hate, and appreciate and love,” said Elijah Pinedo, 12, a Thomas Harrison Middle School student. “Don’t try to use violence … try to use words.”

Geddes admitted that asking teenagers to talk about concepts like “anger queues” and respectful disagreement does not always come naturally.
She also acknowledged that not all cultures view nonviolence as acceptable in every situation.

“How do I allow the youth to tell their own stories and also feel comfortable saying, `Miss Jodie, I don’t agree with you,'” is something she said she asks herself.

Originally from Jamaica, Geddes has worked previously with refugees, experience she said that helps her connect with students who either are immigrants or whose parents are.

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, Jan. 19, 2015