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The Reentry Project. To Serve This Present Age: Reentering
Through Faith
Over the past year, Outreach Extensions has developed a collaborative
relationship with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice of the
National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice. In 2005, this organization
will play a significant role in engaging faith-based audiences in the
Reentry National Media Outreach Campaign. This will occur through the
development of a culturally competent reentry orientation/training video
for clergy as well as through the dissemination/utilization of Reentry
Campaign media tools and resources.
The National Association
of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ) is a multiethnic, nonpartisan,
nonprofit association of criminal justice professionals and community
leaders dedicated to improving the administration of justice. NABCJ
was founded as a vehicle by which criminal justice practitioners could
initiate positive change from within, while increasing opportunities
for the average citizen to understand better the nature and operation
of local, state, and federal criminal justice processes. Membership
and participation in the activities of the NABCJ are open to all, irrespective
of race, creed, or country of national origin.
NABCJ seeks to focus attention on relevant legislation, law enforcement,
prosecution, and defense-related needs and practices, with emphasis
on the courts, corrections, and the prevention of crime. Among its chief
concerns are the general welfare and increasing influence of African
Americans and people of color as it relates to the administration of
justice. NABCJ is designed to serve the needs of African Americans and
people of color at all levels, including nonprofessionals, paraprofessionals,
and professionals. Anyone can become a member of the association. NABCJ
encourages individuals who were formerly incarcerated to join and contribute
their perspectives to this unique and dynamic organization.
NABCJ is also the parent body for the National Alliance of Faith and
Justice (NAFJ), which promotes the inclusion of faith in addressing
consequences and resolutions of crime, with an emphasis upon its impact
on African Americans and other people of color. NAFJ's faith-based National
Black Church Taskforce Initiative on Crime and Criminal Justice was
developed for nationwide replication and demonstration. The initiative
offers a comprehensive approach that includes training and capacity
building with specific guidance in organizing and mobilizing efforts
to deal with the consequences of crime. Guidance provided to clergy
and others as a result of this initiative redirect their efforts to
combat systematic over-reliance on incarceration. Where implemented,
the initiative is a community-led justice movement that positions the
black church at the center of justice, the criminal justice system,
the criminal, and the victim. Although empowering to black churches,
the initiative is designed to bridge denominational, racial, and other
divides. Participants advocate for the redirection of criminal justice
resources to enhance community control of, and responsibility for, public
safety and justice.
The black church has always recognized that it is not relevant to talk
about God in mystical and mysterious ways without applying it to everyday
life. Crime and the quest for freedom through equitable justice provides
a compelling reason to resume or increase, as applicable, advocacy and
historic support provided by the church to its immediate and extended
communities.
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