Advancing Justice Through Collaborative Learning
The Community Centered Participatory Justice (CCPJ) initiative is a two semester course at Columbia Law School that equips students with the knowledge and skills to partner with justice-impacted individuals in pursuing sustainable community-led justice solutions to community problems.
This course joins academia with lived experience in the interrogation of legal, political, and economic systems’ relationship to mass incarceration, and social criminalization; We then work to support community leadership in building capacity to reshape these systems—while encouraging civic participation—from the ground up.
In recognizing that individuals’ quality of life and well-being is in relationship with the quality of life and well-being of the community, there is an interplay of four (4) key areas that support our framework.
Key Areas of Focus
Examining the historical, legal, economic, and political dimensions of mass incarceration, how criminalization occurs in other contexts, and its impact on the community.
Addressing the disconnect between law school education and the lived experiences of justice-involved individuals in seeking community solutions.
Exploring law and political economy; and community organizing to promote economic and political empowerment.
Building partnerships and collaborations committed to 1) safety; 2 ) trustworthiness and transparency; 3) peer support; 4) collaboration and mutuality; and 5) empowerment, voice, and choice.
Collaborative & Action-Oriented Learning
CCPJ fosters a dynamic learning exchange where students and justice-impacted leaders:
- Develop and implement transformative research and activism projects.
- Engage in co-facilitated discussions that center personal experiences and systemic analysis.
- Work toward sustainable, community-driven solutions.
Two Projects Currently Under Design
- The Jailhouse Lawyers Manual (JLM) Book Club; building capacity of people in prison in understanding legal process and filings in navigating the full machinery prosecutorial powers; and
- Post Incarcerated Syndrome Care, for community-led mental health response to prison-related PTSD, an alternative to punishment as treatment to social adjustment challenges during reentry.