The Interfaith Center was delighted to partner with the Harlem Youth Court (a project of the Harlem Community Justice Center) for our first educational program of the brand new school year, on Thursday, August 15th. About twenty students, ages 13-19, removed their shoes and adjusted their head coverings as they streamed into East Harlem’s Sabur Mosque, to be greeted by a surprise feast put together by speaker and host Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil. With home-cooked salmon, rice, green beans, and even a celebratory cake, the students were welcomed into the mosque as honored guests as they prepared to learn about religious approaches to criminal justice.
Imam Umar speaks to a captivated audience.
Sister Anisah Thompson cuts the cake
Moderated by ICNY’s Dr. Henry Goldschmidt, the panel consisted of four guest speakers who each gave a preliminary statement before taking questions from students and engaging in a lively dialogue on the subject of criminal justice.
Dr. Henry Goldschmidt and students
Speakers included Reverend Kenneth Radcliffe, former Administrative Chaplain for the New York City Department of Correction; Aminta Kilawan, a recent graduate of Fordham Law and co-founder of the Hindu social justice organization Sadhana; Iyalorisha Oseye Mchawi, a Yoruba Priestess and Project Coordinator for the Center for Law and Justice at Medgar Evers College; and the Sabur Mosque’s own Imam Umar, the former Assistant Commissioner of Ministerial and Volunteer Services for the NYC Department of Correction. The speakers explored Catholic, Hindu, Yoruba, and Muslim perspectives on justice, punishment, forgiveness, and reconciliation. With a diverse range of traditions represented, this program allowed the students to learn about New York’s religious diversity in a manner intimately connected to their own work as members of the Harlem Youth Court.
Deacon Radcliffe speaks from the podium
To begin her discussion of Hinduism, Aminta told the story of Valmiki, who began his life as a thief and murderer – doing only evil deeds and frightening those around him. Upon meeting a wise man who responded to his threats with the calm statement, “all I have are the rags on my shoulders, but you are welcome to take them,” Valmiki was thrown into a state of shock and became repentant for his past deeds. He asked the wise man how he could transform himself and make up for his past, and was told to sit under a tree and recite the name of the Hindu god Ram. He did this for many years and gained a tremendous amount of wisdom, eventually becoming a sage who people came to for advice and writing the Indian epic known as the Ramayana. Aminta told this story as a way to illustrate a Hindu approach to criminal justice focusing on restoring the individual to his or her place in the community. While recognizing that in some cases harsher forms of punishment may be necessary, she presented a strong picture of restorative justice for which she found inspiration through her religion.
Oseye highlights the importance of religious diversity training by explaining how traditional Yoruba beads have been misinterpreted as gang symbols.
This theme of restorative justice was woven throughout all four presentations and also fit with the mission of the Youth Court itself. The youth court’s mission is “to use positive peer pressure to ensure that young people who have committed minor offenses restore harm done to the community and receive the help they need to avoid further involvement in the justice system.” All four speakers echoed this theme and encouraged a restorative approach to criminal justice, with a common goal of breaking down the mental and social divide between the judge and the judged and imagining themselves in somebody else’s shoes.
Aminta smiles as she answers questions from the group.
As the event drew to a close, the speakers answered a wide range of questions and the students reflected on what they had learned. ICNY was especially pleased when one student explained that as an atheist she been leery of learning from religious leaders, but was pleasantly surprised to find the speakers open-minded, engaging, and even inspiring. The program thus exemplified ICNY’s goal of promoting dialogue among New York’s diverse religious leaders, as well as between religious and secular New Yorkers. We are proud of our work with the Harlem Youth Court, and with these future leaders of our city.