Roundtable on Justice and Values in Oklahoma: Examining Racial Disparities in the Criminal Legal System and Reimagining Justice in Oklahoma
This February, Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM), in partnership with the Square One Project at Columbia University’s Justice Lab hosted the inaugural Roundtable on Justice and Values in Oklahoma: Examining Racial Disparities in the Criminal Legal System and Reimagining Justice in Oklahoma. The roundtable convened on February 1 and 2, in conjunction with the start of Black History Month, at the historic Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A diverse group of Oklahomans with unique personal and professional backgrounds have been coming together for the past year to discuss the future of justice in the state. The February roundtable brought together many of those Oklahomans alongside advocates, scholars, artists, community members, and justice-impacted people to reimagine the criminal legal system in our state. They invited participants to dream and to collaborate with friends and new colleagues to create thriving communities that do not rely on systems of punishment and incarceration.
Attendees observed the 35-person roundtable in which participants discussed the racial history of Oklahoma’s criminal legal system and considered how historic and current policies have led to mass incarceration. They then examined local support systems and the barriers preventing communities from thriving. Finally, they turned to the future of justice in Oklahoma, brainstorming how narrative change, healing, reconciliation, and policy can inform our foundational reimagining of justice.
Observers were able to ask questions and interact with roundtable participants throughout the surrounding events at the convening as well as network and collaborate with those who are interested in reimagining justice in Oklahoma and nationally.
The Square One Project
What is the Square One Project? The Square One Project aims to incubate new thinking on our response to crime, promote more effective strategies, and contribute to a new narrative of justice in America. Square One believes in order to do so, we need to get to the root of the problem: decades of neglect around communities with chronic poverty and the twin crises of ingrained racism.
To quote from their website, “Square One is all about imagining a future for justice and public safety that starts from scratch—from square one—instead of tinkering at the edges or cherry-picking cordoned-off areas for reform.”
They focus on creating spaces that promote and nurture ideas that can help achieve true justice and public safety. They consider themselves both an incubator for fresh ideas and a venue for learning more about the enormous body of work that is already transforming justice around the country and world. This is what brought them to Oklahoma, and they collaborated with Kris Steele, Yvita Fox Crider, and others to convene leaders who are on-the-ground doing this work in our state.
They look at what’s happening in neighborhoods, in research, in history, and among creative thinkers from every background and field. In this work with agents of change—they plan to share and build on innovative ideas and solutions that are already working, and consider new ways of addressing the violence, poverty, and racial inequity that stand in the way of public safety and justice for all.
The Roundtable Readings
There were upwards of 12 readings that led the conversations for each topic of the roundtable and were provided to the smaller focus groups in months leading up to the convening. The readings ranged from papers written by staff at Colombia’s Justice Center about reimaging the justice system to reports like “Turning the Page: Oklahoma’s Criminal Justice Reform Story,” and thoughtful analysis about our history in Oklahoma.
The readings supported the goal to examine racial disparities in the criminal legal system and reimagine justice in Oklahoma. You can take a look at the readings here and continue to learn more about our legal system, history and assist in continuing to reimagine the future of public safety and justice in our state.
The Roundtable Agenda
In order to begin to reimagine the justice system in Oklahoma, the roundtable participants had to first acknowledge the history of the state of Oklahoma and get real about where we have been. It was a packed schedule spread out over two days.
The first topic, on February 1, was “The Racial History of Oklahoma’s Criminal Legal System” co-facilitated by Tiffany Crutcher and Kym Cravatt.
Historic and current policies and practices have led to incarceration on an scale in Oklahoma. This posed the questions to the roundtable: What is the relationship between our racialized history and our current policies? How can examining our history help us achieve justice in the present? How can we use history to shape current justice system practice, and reform efforts in the state?
The second topic, on February 1, was “The United States’ Violent Exceptionalism and Punitive Excess” co-facilitated by George Young and Francie Ekwerekwu.
U.S. history is characterized by exceptional levels of violence: it was founded by colonial occupation and the genocide of first peoples and sustained by an economy of enslaved people. This posed the questions to the roundtable: Collective violence continued against African Americans following Reconstruction, and, in the late 20th century, high levels of lethal violence emerged in U.S. cities. What explains U.S. violent exceptionalism? How has structural violence become ingrained in U.S. culture and society? How has it been codified by law, or supported politically? In what ways does Oklahoma suffer from the violence that is unique to the U.S.? Can we rectify and heal from our violent past as a country? As a state?
The third topic, on February 2, was “Creating Safety, Social Inclusion, and Thriving Communities” co-facilitated by Tina Brown and Hannah Royce—two of our own AFF team members.
Communities thrive when their residents feel safe, secure, and socially integrated. Such flourishing depends on systems that provide basic welfare such as food and housing, access to public education and healthcare, and the freedom to work and associate with others. However, all too often, the punitive force of the criminal legal system impacts these sectors’ ability to meet such social needs. This posed the questions to the roundtable: How have these sectors addressed the effects of–and separated themselves from—the criminal justice system? Do sectors outside the traditional justice system have promising practices and solutions that ensure safety, harm reduction, and healthy communities? What are their successes and their challenges? How can we learn from and amplify their work? Where can sectors build stronger, more inclusive, and more intersectional collaborations to create community safety, resiliency, and thriving?
The fourth topic, on February 2, was “The Oklahoma Standard and the Values of the Criminal Legal System” co-facilitated by Ayana Lawson and Laynie Gottsch.
In the wake of the Oklahoma City Bombing, Oklahomans demonstrated their deep care for one another and modeled generosity towards strangers in the face of a collective crisis. This harrowing moment gave rise to the Oklahoma Standard: the three values of acts of service, kindness, and honor. These values can guide decision making for both institutions and individuals—about what policies should be set, which practices are acceptable, what budgets should look like, and more. This posed the questions to the roundtable: How are these values reflected in the day-to-day work of achieving safety and justice? Can they answer the call to address Oklahoma’s history of racism, and its impact on the current legal system? Are there additional values that we might consider to reduce, repair, or remove the conflicts and shortcomings—both societal and interpersonal—that lead to state violence?
The fifth and final topic, on February 2, was “Aspirations for Movement Building and Narrative Change” co-facilitated by Cece Jones-Davis and Reggie Hines.
Over the past several months, Oklahomans participating in the Square One Project have been reflecting on how to change the narrative around harm and punishment. They have considered how to reimagine justice in the state. This final session was an opportunity to take stock of contributors’ hard work and the themes that arose from their discussions. The final questions posed to the roundtable were: What is the power of truth telling about difficult topics, including the racial disparities in the justice system? How can sector-specific ways to address harms support coalition-building that strengthen efforts to reimagine justice? How do we build that coalition for change? Who needs to be included in this process and what does it take to include these voices? How do we go past tinkering around the edges and achieve real change? What is holding us back as we aspire to reimagine justice?
The Roundtable Agenda
In order to begin to reimagine the justice system in Oklahoma, the roundtable participants had to first acknowledge the history of the state of Oklahoma and get real about where we have been. It was a packed schedule spread out over two days.
The first topic, on February 1, was “The Racial History of Oklahoma’s Criminal Legal System” co-facilitated by Tiffany Crutcher and Kym Cravatt.
Historic and current policies and practices have led to incarceration on an scale in Oklahoma. This posed the questions to the roundtable: What is the relationship between our racialized history and our current policies? How can examining our history help us achieve justice in the present? How can we use history to shape current justice system practice, and reform efforts in the state?
The second topic, on February 1, was “The United States’ Violent Exceptionalism and Punitive Excess” co-facilitated by George Young and Francie Ekwerekwu.
U.S. history is characterized by exceptional levels of violence: it was founded by colonial occupation and the genocide of first peoples and sustained by an economy of enslaved people. This posed the questions to the roundtable: Collective violence continued against African Americans following Reconstruction, and, in the late 20th century, high levels of lethal violence emerged in U.S. cities. What explains U.S. violent exceptionalism? How has structural violence become ingrained in U.S. culture and society? How has it been codified by law, or supported politically? In what ways does Oklahoma suffer from the violence that is unique to the U.S.? Can we rectify and heal from our violent past as a country? As a state?
The third topic, on February 2, was “Creating Safety, Social Inclusion, and Thriving Communities” co-facilitated by Tina Brown and Hannah Royce—two of our own AFF team members.
Communities thrive when their residents feel safe, secure, and socially integrated. Such flourishing depends on systems that provide basic welfare such as food and housing, access to public education and healthcare, and the freedom to work and associate with others. However, all too often, the punitive force of the criminal legal system impacts these sectors’ ability to meet such social needs. This posed the questions to the roundtable: How have these sectors addressed the effects of–and separated themselves from—the criminal justice system? Do sectors outside the traditional justice system have promising practices and solutions that ensure safety, harm reduction, and healthy communities? What are their successes and their challenges? How can we learn from and amplify their work? Where can sectors build stronger, more inclusive, and more intersectional collaborations to create community safety, resiliency, and thriving?
The fourth topic, on February 2, was “The Oklahoma Standard and the Values of the Criminal Legal System” co-facilitated by Ayana Lawson and Laynie Gottsch.
In the wake of the Oklahoma City Bombing, Oklahomans demonstrated their deep care for one another and modeled generosity towards strangers in the face of a collective crisis. This harrowing moment gave rise to the Oklahoma Standard: the three values of acts of service, kindness, and honor. These values can guide decision making for both institutions and individuals—about what policies should be set, which practices are acceptable, what budgets should look like, and more. This posed the questions to the roundtable: How are these values reflected in the day-to-day work of achieving safety and justice? Can they answer the call to address Oklahoma’s history of racism, and its impact on the current legal system? Are there additional values that we might consider to reduce, repair, or remove the conflicts and shortcomings—both societal and interpersonal—that lead to state violence?
The fifth and final topic, on February 2, was “Aspirations for Movement Building and Narrative Change” co-facilitated by Cece Jones-Davis and Reggie Hines.
Over the past several months, Oklahomans participating in the Square One Project have been reflecting on how to change the narrative around harm and punishment. They have considered how to reimagine justice in the state. This final session was an opportunity to take stock of contributors’ hard work and the themes that arose from their discussions. The final questions posed to the roundtable were: What is the power of truth telling about difficult topics, including the racial disparities in the justice system? How can sector-specific ways to address harms support coalition-building that strengthen efforts to reimagine justice? How do we build that coalition for change? Who needs to be included in this process and what does it take to include these voices? How do we go past tinkering around the edges and achieve real change? What is holding us back as we aspire to reimagine justice?
A Summary of the Roundtable
With two days packed with conversation about heavy realities, bold ideas, and hopeful passion for the future—even the most detailed summary would be incomplete. We encourage you to also take time to get the full conversation and watch the roundtable on the Square One Project’s YouTube channel: Day One + Day Two.
When a diverse group of Oklahomans come together to discuss where we’ve been and where we’re going, the conversations are vast. The roundtable highlighted many common themes, such as the ultimate power lying in truth and the ability to organize, build capacity, and work together. From acknowledging the relationship between racial injustices and policy to figuring out how we connect future generations with an accurate representation of our history if it’s being contested via policy violence.
There’s also an underlying mutual desire to convince our fellow Oklahomans they have a worthwhile obligation to improve our state and conditions for those most vulnerable. Many discussions were had about the faith community and “The Oklahoma Standard”—questioning whether the key tenets of our shared values were being applied consistently and equally? How is it being applied to victims of state sanctioned violence?
In closing, the roundtable highlighted the need for radical love and for our actions to prove that what we say, we believe. So, Oklahoma, consistent with Square One ’s charge to “reimagine how we create justice,” what approaches can our community employ to craft, lead, and participate in our own public safety strategies?