American Friends Service Committee

Working to disrupt the cradle-to-prison pipeline through anti-racist youth organizing and restorative practices.

Mission

The AFSC Healing Justice Program of the Twin Cities works to disprupt the cradle-to-prison pipeline by advocating for non-punitive practices and policies such as restorative practices.  We achieve this goal by holding popular education workshops with youth ages 15-24  through our youth programming through Youth Undoing Institutional Racism-YUIR which focuses on subjects such as the history of race and racism, systemic poverty, and community organizing.  With these offerings, youth are given the opportunity to engage with one another across school districts and county lines about the issues affecting them directly.  Once youth are provided space to develop an analysis of systemic racism and are given language that speaks to their lived experience they are more likely to engage in direct action or take on anti-racist community organizing campaigns within their community.

Why Restorative Practices?

The history of harm from colonization to racism and militarism, has robbed many communities of their cultural heritage.  This can include anything from someone's connection to the land, to their own systems of mediation and decision-making. By reclaiming the humanity of restorative practices, we can begin to recover the agency and resilience within our own communities that have slowly dwindled through years of oppression.

The Twin Cities Healing Justice Program is in a formal partnership with the St. Paul Federation of Teachers to implement a Restorative Practices program within St. Paul Public Schools.  We provide guidance to the district-wide coordinator, trainings for students and faculty, as well as being involved in community engagement and strategic planning as needed.  We are a trusted RP community partner and currently hold community building and implicit bias circles  for Battle Creek Middle School techers and in contract to provide infinity space for OWL School students. 

Read more about the Restorative Practice program and its aims here: https://www.spps.org/domain/12961 

 Community Organizing and Coalition Building?

As recent events have made painfully clear, the legacy of racism that was a part of the foundation of this nation continue to this day, albeit in myriad different ways.  We have all been effected by the franchise of racism.  Black and POC cannot end racism alone. We believe that, by centering the experiences of those directly affected, we will gain greater clarity toward strategies that will bring about collective liberation.

In our work with youth, educators, and community members, the impact of trauma, poverty, and racism consistently surface as fundamental barriers to youth development and civic participation.  The drive to become involved in social justice efforts arises organically from their lived experiences, and so a part of our organizing must take into account the toll that this involvement can have on an individual's mental and physical health.  So we continue to learn and investigate ways to organize, resist, and heal with balance and dedication.

About AFSC

Healing Justice Program Twin-Cities is a program of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC.) AFSC is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. Drawing on continuing spiritual insights and working with people of many backgrounds, we nurture the seeds of change and respect for human life that transform social relations and systems.

For over 100 years, AFSC has done amazing work here in the United States and internationally. You can learn more about our organization : https://www.afsc.org/