Afrocentric Justice: Unitive Justice by Another Name?

Dr. Morris Jenkins, an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Toledo, uses culture as a frame through which to consider the issue of justice. Through this lens, he distinguishes between Afrocentric justice and Eurocentric justice.

In an article in VOMA Connections titled Afrocentric Restorative Justice, Jenkins compares the cultural aspects of Eurocentric justice to Afrocentric justice. 

Group Dimension	Eurocentric Model of Justice (The current legal system)	Afrocentric Model of Justice (Culturally Specific)
Cosmology (Worldview)	Control of others. Decisions should be made by a third party (i.e. Judges and legal system).	All parties make decisions equally. Community has the  same voice as offender and victim.
Axiology (Values)	Individualistic/Materialistic. What benefits the individual is important.	Communal Orientation. Relationship with the community is primary.
Ontology (Nature of People)	Humans can be good or bad. Humans who are bad need to be punished	Humans are naturally good. Community should support everyone.
Epistemology (Source of Knowing)	Self; validation through the scientific method. Strictly secular.	Spiritual Source is primary.

                                                Reprinted with the author’s permission

I find that these two models align with what I call punitive justice and unitive justice. (For a chart of the differences between these two, see Unitive and Punitive Justice Reflect States of Mind.)

What Jenkins calls Afrocentric justice and what I call unitive justice are found in many traditions. Each of the major religious traditions teach about this model of justice, some calling it the Golden Rule, others calling it lovingkindness, steadfast love, hesed in Judaism or, as in Islam, wishing for others what you wish for yourself.

According to Jenkins, not all restorative justice models qualify as Afrocentric.  He has a category that he calls the Enculturated model of justice. I believe that he uses this term to describe the model of restorative justice that remains linked to the criminal courts.

                                           

Enculturated Model of Justice (Usually culturally sensitive but not culturally specific)

Individual involved in the “process” make decisions. Victim needs and offender responsibility dominate.

Quasi-individualistic. Relationship between victim and offender is primary.

Humans are good, but there are some bad “seeds” that need to be treated or rehabilitated.

Self and spirit is secondary.

Jenkins describes the importance of looking at justice through the lens of culture as follows:

“After exploring a social problem through an Afrocentric lens, the remedy or solution of the problem should be grounded in an "African-centered” approach. The primary focus is not retribution for the criminal act, the rehabilitation of the offender to a perfect Eurocentric citizen, or even the compensation of the victim. The Afrocentric approach does not ignore these concerns; however the liberation of the community is its primary concern. A true understanding of one's culture is needed to achieve emancipatory literacy: the ability to conceptualize the world in ways consistent with one’s history and to apply that knowledge as one’s personality and situation requires.”

If Jenkins is correct, for those who are seeking to introduce a restorative model of justice into an African American community, framing the new model as Afrocentric justice may be helpful. However, it seems that the model needs to meet the criteria for unitive justice in order to qualify as Afrocentric justice.