Blog – Detroit Justice Center

•September 25, 2023

Seeding Abolition from within Our Relationships: On Building an Abolitionist Detroit Workshop Series

What does abolition look like as a creative practice? Ruth Wilson Gilmore reminds us that “abolition is about presence… it is building life-affirming institutions.” In this light, frameworks of defunding the police and getting rid of prisons can explain only a part of the abolitionist process. Abolition sees prisons in hierarchies, punitiveness, and opportunism that brew distrust, disconnection, and injustice. Its creative practice cannot be encapsulated by making demands on government bodies that uphold whiteness, capitalism, and their carceral cultures - hence destruction of life.

•September 21, 2023

Celebrating Five Years of DJC’s Fight for Freedom

At our celebration in August, we brought together over 160 partners, neighbors, supporters, and friends. We marked five years of DJC’s fight for freedom and raised nearly $20,000 to fuel our work. The room was filled with inspiration and an abundance of hope that we, together, can transform Detroit into a Just City!

•August 28, 2023

Statement on Porcha Woodruff

By now, word has spread about the false arrest of Porcha Woodruff, a Black woman who was accused of carjacking at eight months pregnant in Detroit. Woodruff was the victim of faulty facial recognition technology that misidentified her and a Detroit Police Department that refused to back down when it had so obviously mistaken her identity.

•August 9, 2023

In Memoriam

The Detroit Justice Center mourns the loss of Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a beloved law professor and civil rights attorney.

•July 18, 2023

Piloting Our First Restorative Justice Training for Detroiters

DJC’s Metro Detroit Restorative Justice Network (MDRJN) held its first restorative justice community circle keeping training this spring, reaching 14 participants, ages 18-70, who represent neighborhoods all over Detroit.

•July 13, 2023

In Memoriam

The Detroit Justice Center mourns the loss of Rev. Joann Watson, who was a civil rights icon and former city council member in Detroit. Watson was the first woman to serve as executive director of the Detroit branch of the NAACP. In recent years, we had the pleasure to connect with her through the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability. Watson was a warrior for racial justice, and we hope that our work builds upon her legacy. Our deepest condolences go out to her family and loved ones.

•July 12, 2023

Statement on the Detroit City Budget 2023

The Detroit Justice Center opposes how the Detroit city budget is being used. We’ve seen community members call for community-based violence intervention and sustainable funding for initiatives that benefit them, and time after time we’ve seen money funneled into the law enforcement surveillance apparatus. As long as we keep reinforcing the apparatus of incarceration, we will remain stuck in a system that punishes poverty and keeps people trapped in cycles of violence.

•July 10, 2023

DJC Bids Farewell to Amanda Alexander

The Detroit Justice Center (DJC) team celebrates the courageous vision, work, and legacy of our Founding Executive Director, Amanda Alexander, as she steps down on July 1. Amanda has helped us all dream bigger.

•May 25, 2023

Introducing DJC’s Co-EDs

Our Founding Executive Director, Amanda Alexander, will be stepping down from her role on July 1st. After an 18 month transition process, we are thrilled to introduce you to Nancy A. Parker and Felicia Thomas, DJC’s new Co-Executive Directors!