The Common Justice Podcast

On this very special episode of the Common Justice podcast, our VP of Policy and Organizing, Kira Shepherd interviews Jason Davis of Reimagining Justice in a series called Solutions to Violence, based off of our report, "Solutions to Violence: Creating Safety without Prisons or Police." Born and raised in Harlem, Jason Davis is an African American Author, Poet, Inspirational Speaker, and Parent Consultant on youth self-inflicted injuries. Jason is the co-founder of Reimagining Justice. Located in Paterson, New Jersey, Reimagining Justice engages in transformative mentoring throughout the country by speaking with youth and other community stakeholders to help them learn the empathy and understanding needed to navigate conflict in healthy ways, as well as to help youth heal from the mental and physical impacts of gun violence.

Oneika Mays is a mindfulness coach at Riker's Island Correctional Facility and a joy revolutionist. Shu'aib Abdur Raheem is a survivor of over 37 years of incarceration and is now a trauma support manager at Common Justice. On this episode of the Common Justice podcast, they discuss the trouble and the chaos happening at Riker's Island and the value of spiritual practice for those behind bars.

In this episode, we speak to Kheperah Kearse, Therapeutic Wellness Director at LIFE Camp Inc., and Donna Hylton, activist, and author of "A Little Piece of Light" on the importance of healing one's own trauma in order to address and heal violence in our communities. We also discuss the importance of nutrition and forgiving one's self in order to truly heal and recognize that violence is a symptom and a response to other violence. Music in this episode:I Used to Love Hip Hop by Audiobinger https://audiobingermusic.com/

In this episode, we discuss "crimmigration" -the intersection of criminal justice reform/abolition work, immigration, and other issues facing Black and Brown communities including systemic racism, violence, and policing.