Walk. Listen. Learn: Our Journey to Justice

Walk, Listen, and Learn with Senator Sims and me. In episode 12, we’ll talk about sentencing and understanding the impact it has on our communities of color. Senator Sims is a Democratic member of the Illinois State Senate, representing the 17th Senate District. He is also a member of the Illinois Black Caucus, Chairman of the Illinois Senate Criminal Law Committee, where he’s leading efforts to reform our justice system and serves as Of Counsel at the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP.

Walk, Listen, and Learn with Marlon Chamberlain and me. In episode 11, we’ll talk about community organizing, specifically organizing the community of people who have been impacted by the justice system. Marlon Chamberlain is the Project Manager of the Alliance for the Reentry at the Safer Foundation. Marlon brings over twenty years of lived and professional experience towards his work and focuses on advocating on behalf people with arrest and conviction records.

Walk, Listen, and Learn with Channyn Parker and me. In episode 8, we’ll talk about justice through a lens of intersectionality. Channyn Parker is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Howard Brown Health. She is a human rights advocate, a public speaker, a community-centric leader, and currently serves on the Equality Illinois Board.

Walk, Listen, and Learn with Adam Ballard and me. In episode 9, we’ll talk about housing justice and its importance to helping people live independently. We’ll also explore the supports for accessible and integrated housing. Adam Ballard is the Housing and Transportation Policy Analyst for Access Living. Adam’s work focuses on developing legislative policy priorities and messaging around housing, transportation, and related planning issues.

Walk, Listen and, Learn with Jennifer McGowan-Tomke and me, as we discuss mental health and trauma: the impact of both on overall community wellbeing, inequities related to accessing mental health services, and how we can try to expand those services to communities that need it the most. Jennifer McGowan-Tomke is the Chief Operating Officer of NAMI Chicago, a local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Jennifer’s experience includes mental health policy advocacy for youth that have been justice-involved.

Walk, Listen, and Learn with Sharone Mitchell and me. In episode 7, we’ll talk about bail reform. Sharone is the Director of the Illinois Justice Project, and he was previously a trial attorney with the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. Sharone’s work focuses on adult justice, specializing in pretrial issues, sentencing policy, and violence prevention.

Walk, Listen, and Learn with Elizabeth Todd-Breland and me. In episode 6, we’ll talk about the school to prison pipeline, particularly about the pipeline’s effects on young people and how we’re able to make a change. Elizabeth Todd-Breland is a member of the Chicago Board of Education, an author, historian, and Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Elizabeth’s areas of expertise include urban history, Black history, racial politics, social justice, and education reform.

Walk, Listen, and Learn with Dr. Damon Arnold and me. In episode 5, we’ll talk about the inequities in health and healthcare, particularly as they relate to Black and Brown communities across the state. Dr. Arnold is the Medical Director of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and served 26 years in the Army National Guard, where he served as the Commander of the Joint Medical Command and State Surgeon General for 12 years. 

Description:

Walk, Listen and Learn with Bryan Echols and me, as we discuss Restorative Justice: what is it, what it means, and how it differs from what we consider the “traditional justice system.”

Episode Notes:

Being “Restorative” is not making everything about what we do, it’s about acknowledging, understanding, and appreciating who we are. Restorative Justice is guided by the principle of, “The Wisdom is in the Room," meaning that you don’t have to go outside of the community to find solutions to problems rather the answers (or the wisdom) can be found within the community—it is “in the room.”