Gullah Restorative Justice

22 Pages·2008·2.19 MB·English

Gullah Island Dispute Resolution: An Example of Afrocentric Restorative Justice
Author(s): Morris Jenkins
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Nov., 2006), pp. 299-319
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40034415 .
Accessed: 28/11/2011 17:07
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Sage Publications, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Black
Studies.
http://www.jstor.org
GULLAH ISLAND DISPUTE
RESOLUTION
An Example of Afrocentric
Restorative Justice
MORRISJ ENKINS
Universityo f Toledo
Restorativej ustice has been suggested as a means to deal with dispropor-
tionate minorityc onfinementa nd other social problemsw ithin communi-
ties of color, specifically the Black community.H owever, scholars and
practitionersh ave pointed out culturalc oncerns that must be addressedi n
the restorativej ustice process. Afrocentrict heory and its principles have
been suggesteda s a way to deal with the culturalc oncernsw ithint he restor-
ativej ustice process.T his articlee xaminest he contemporarya ndh istorical
means of informal dispute resolution in the Gullah Islands of South
Carolina.T hese strategieso f dispute or conflict resolution were used to
deal with crime, delinquency,c ivil matters, community grievances, and
others ocial wrongso utsidet he traditionacl ommon andc ivil legal systems.
Througho n-site in-depthi nterviews,f ocus groups,a nda n analysiso f archi-
val documents, the research determinedt hat the strategies used on the
GullahI slands fell within the Afrocentricr estorativej ustice model.
Keywords: Gullah;A frocentrict heory;r estorativeju stice; conflict reso-
lution;A fricanA merican;i nformals ocial control
The restorative justice approach calls for a balancedr esponset o
criminalitya nd delinquency( Dzur & Wertheimer2, 001; VanN ess
& Strong,1 997). Unlike the traditionacl riminalj ustice mechanism,
restorativej ustice requires the active participationo f everyone
affected by the "criminala ct." The main vehicle used in restor-
ative justice is the techniquec ommonly referredt o as alternative
dispute resolution (ADR). In the criminalj ustice system, the for-
mal mechanismo f thej udiciaryi s utilized, andt he primaryf ocus is
JOURNALO F BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 37 No. 2, November 2006 299-319
DOI: 10.1177/0021934705277497
© 2006 Sage Publications
299
300 JOURNALO F BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER2 006
to determinet he guilt (or nonguilt) of the defendant.T he process
within the frameworko f restorativej ustice is less formal, and the
primary focus is the repairing of the relationship between the
offender,t he victim, and the community.
The debate within the academy and between practitionersi s
whether this process can be effective in communities of color.
Umbreit and Coates (1999) and Arrigo and Schehr (1998) also
arguedt hat there are serious multiculturali mplications and con-
cerns that must be addressedu nder the restorativej ustice model.
Gavazzi (1996), Pattison( 1998), and Jenkins( 2004b) arguedt hat
the use of culturallys pecific principles within the justice frame-
workc ould benefitp eople of color and others.I n addition,b ecause
of the disproportionatne umberso f Blacks who aree ithero ffenders
or victims of crime or delinquency,t he importanceo f a culturally
specifica pproachc annotb e overstatedJ. enkins( 2004a) andJ enkins
and Boss (2003) proposed the use of Afrocentric theory as the
foundationw ithint he restorativeju stice processa s a meanso f deal-
ing with Black offenders,v ictims, and communities.
Culturalp rocesses to resolving disputes have at their core four
fundamentalp rinciples: cosmology (worldview), axiology (val-
ues), ontology (nature of people), and epistemology (source of
knowledge). Afrocentrica nd Eurocentricp rocesses differ in four
fundamentalp rinciples( see appendix).F rom the Eurocentricp er-
spective, the dominantw orldview focuses on control. Key values
of the Eurocentricp erspectivei nclude materialisma nd individual-
ism. Undert he Afrocentricp erspective,c ommunityr athert hant he
individuali s the primaryf ocus. Under the Eurocentrica pproach,
people are fundamentallyc ompetitive, operating in a "dog-eat-
dog"w orld.A frocentrict heorye mphasizesc ooperationr athert han
competition.F inally,i ndividualsu sing the Eurocentricp erspective
derive their knowledge throught he scientific method. The Afro-
centric perspective assumes that spiritualityp rovides a primary
source of knowledge (Warfield-Coppock1, 995). Jenkins (2004a)
arguedt hatt he approachest o justice in the United Statesf all under
either a Eurocentrica pproach or an enculturatedc oncept. The
enculturateda pproach to justice would be culturally sensitive;
Jenkins/ AFROCENTRICR ESTORATIVEJ USTICE 30 1
however, it fails to incorporatea ll of the principleso f a culturally
specific Afrocentrica pproach.
Therei s a wide varietyo f researcho n the Gullahc ulture.E xten-
sive researchh as been conducted on the Gullah language and its
relationshipt o West Africanc ulture( Jones-J ackson, 1984; Miller,
1999; Mufwene, 1997; Pargman,2 004; Wade-Lewis,2 001), Gul-
lah cooking (Beoku-Betts, 1995; Sutton,2 003), religious tradition
(Jones-J ackson, 1982), genetic variationsb etween West Africans
and Gullah inhabitants( Parrae t al., 2001; Pollitzer, 1993), and
preservationo f the culture (Brouwer, 1995; Smith, 1991). There
has been very little researcho n dispute resolutiona nd social con-
trol strategiesi n communities of color in the United States. The
currents tudyd eterminesw hetherp ast andp resenti nformald ispute
resolutionp rocesses used in the Gullah Islands of South Carolina
utilize traditionalA frocentricp rinciples. In addition, the current
studye xploresw hethert het echniquesa reo r werec onsidered" restor-
ative"i n nature.
LITERATURE ON TRADITIONAL
AND NONTRADITIONAL JUSTICE
Manya ncientc ulturesi ncludingm anyt raditionaAl frican,J apa-
nese, Polynesian nations, and Native Americansh ave used and/or
presently use a restorativej ustice approach( Benham & Barton,
1996; Childs, 1998; Nielsen, 1998). This approachi s populari n
Native American culture where justice is a way of life and not a
producto f the rule of law (Meyer,2 002; Yazzie, 1997). The ancient
approachest o justice are the roots of the restorativej ustice model
and can be an effective means of achievingj ustice and harmonyi n
disjointeda nd chaotic communities( McElrea,1 997). In these sys-
tems, the state transferss ome or most of its powers to the commu-
nity. In other words, the true concept of restorativej ustice falls
underm anyo f the "buzz"w ordst hato urp oliticiansu se to arguef or
less governmentali ntervention,s uch as communitye mpowerment
and the old African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child"
(McCold & Wachtel, 1997).
302 JOURNALO F BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER2 006
The use of traditionalf orms of disputer esolutioni s still present
in Africanc ountries,e ven thought he dominantl egal system is one
with Europeanr oots (Rathbone,2 000; Sarkin,2 000; Stern, 1999,
2001). The approachesu sed were very similart o the approacho f
the Kpelle tribe in Liberia (Benham & Barton, 1996). These
approachese mphasizedt hate lderso f the tribeo r village mediateo r
arbitrateth e disputeb etween the parties.T he goal of the process in
each countryw as to restoret he relationshipb etweent he partiesa nd
obtains piritualh armonyi n the community.I n Nigeria,i t was found
that the restorativeju stice process retainedm any of the traditional
Afrocentricp rinciplesa ndt he communityw as verya ctivei n thep ro-
cess (Elechi, 19 96). In SouthA frica,t he indigenousp eopleh ada for-
mal legal system based on the philosophy of ubuntu( the human
spirita ndh ow it relatest o the communitya t large).T he ubuntup hi-
losophy of justice demandst hat individualsw ithin the justice sys-
tem, victims and offenders,h ave their humanityr estoredt hrough
the legal process (Ramose, 2001). Skelton (2004) found that
ubuntua nd othera boriginalA fricanp hilosophiesw ere the founda-
tion for the Trutha nd ReconciliationC ommission( TRC) set up in
South Africa in 1993. The TRC, serving as the foundation,l ed to
groundbreakingr estorativej uvenile justice legislation. Skelton
arguedt hatt his approachs houldb e used in Westernn ations.
Guthrie (1996), John (1991), Twining and Baird (1980), and
Moore( 1980) foundt hatm anyo f the Gullahf olk on the Sea Islands
of South Carolinar etainedm uch of their traditionalA frican cul-
ture. Thomas-W atkins( 1993) found that social control strategies
and dispute resolution techniques incorporatedm any aspects of
traditionalA frican culture.D uring and immediatelya fter slavery,
Blacks in the Gullahc ommunitiesw ere subjectedt o social control
undert he auspices of the Protestantc hurch( Washington,1 994).
The currents tudy expands on this to determinet o what extent
the process is restorativei n naturea nd whetherA frocentricp rinci-
ples are followed.
These strategies are viewed as alternativea pproachesi n the
United States. Americanst end to believe that the use of the law is
the best way to deal with all social problems,e specially crime and
delinquency (Elikann, 1996). The belief is that without law, the
Jenkins/ AFROCENTRICR ESTORATIVEJ USTICE 303
people would not controlt hemselves, and a stateo f anarchyw ould
exist (Hasnas,1 995). Restorativeju stice moves awayf romt he state
as the primarya ctori n dealing with crime. This is a movementt hat
many other countriesh ave initiatedt o deal with crime and delin-
quency issues (Baird & Samuels, 1996; Benham & Barton, 1996;
McElrea, 1997; Rathbone, 2000; Sarkin, 2000; Skelton, 2004;
Stern, 1999). However,t he United Statesh as been slow in adopting
this approacha nd has continuedt o be more punitivet owardj uve-
nile offenders (Baird & Samuels, 1996). The state's objective
seems to be the emphasis on the maintainingo f "law and order"
rathert hant he seekingo f justice for the offender,t he victim,a ndt he
community.
The reason why the myth of the rule of law has survivedf or 100
years despite the knowledge of its falsity is that it is too valuablea
tool to relinquish.T he mytho f impersonalg overnmenti s simplyt he
most effectivem eanso f social controla vailablet o the state.( Hasnas,
1995, p. 219)
The Eurocentricp aradigma ssumest hatt he state (undert he rule
of law) rathert hant he communityc arriest he responsibilityo f deal-
ing with crime and other social problems.T his approach,w hich is
derived from English common law, uses the state as the primary
agent in dealing with the behavior of individuals, treatmento f
offenders,a ndc ompensation( if any) of victims. The communityi s
subordinatet o the needs of the victim and the rightso f the defend-
ant undert his concept.
This Eurocentrica pproacht o dealing with crime in society has
its rootsi n the value of individualism( Nunn, 1997). This ultimately
means the individuali s responsiblef or his or her actions, the sys-
tem mustr eformt he individual,o r the individualm ust compensate
anotheri ndividual.A lso importanti s the assumptiont hatt he voice
of the community( in this case, the Black community)i s the same
as the voice and values of the state. In addition,u nderm ost Euro-
centricl egal paradigms,t he rule of law trumpst he concept of jus-
tice. The primaryg oal remainss ocial controla ndp unishmento f the
individualw ho violates the statute( Nunn, 1997).
304 JOURNALO F BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER2 006
This approachh as causedm istrusto f the criminalj ustice system
by many Blacks. The recente vents coveredb y the mainstreama nd
popularm edia, including the O. J. Simpson trial, the Susan Smith
situationi n SouthC arolina,t he CharlesS tuartf iasco in Boston, and
the Rodney King trials,h ave highlightedt he mistrusto f the crimi-
nalj ustice system by Blacks. As a result,t his approachh as led to a
call by some legal scholarsf or Blacks to reject the legal system in
certains ituationsa nd nullify the law (Butler, 1995). The use of a
restorativej ustice process, grounded in Afrocentric principles,
could reduce not only crime and delinquencyb ut also the appre-
hension many Blacks have aboutt he political and legal systems.
METHOD
The currents tudy investigatesG ullahA DR using folknography
(Jarrett& Lucas, 2002). Folknographyi s similar to ethnography
because of the philosophical commitmentt o investigate cultural
norms,v alues,b eliefs, practices,a nda rtifactsa ndt he connectiono f
these aspects of culturet o the wider social "way of life." However,
"Folknographyp romotesa conscious decision to investigates ocial
realityf rom the subjectivep erspectiveo f particularf olk (Jarrett&
Lucas,2 002, p. 13). Therew ere interviewsw ith key informantsa nd
focus groups (set up with and through South Carolina Coastal
CommunityD evelopmentC orporation)D. uringa 1- monthp eriod,
33 past and currentr esidents of the Gullah Islands were inter-
viewed. The ages of the respondentsr anged from 15 years to 89
years. There were 20 female and 13 male respondents.
As with all ethnographiest, herea re obstacles and methodologi-
cal issues thatm ustb e addressed( Beoku-Betts,1 994). Manyt imes,
being an outsiderc an be a hindrancei n ethnographicr esearch.T he
outsiderh as no sharedc ulturaln orms and may be unfamiliarw ith
culturali nterpretation(B eoku-Betts,1 994). As a researcherf rom a
northernu niversity,I do have an outsiders tatus.I was awareo f that
statusa nd knew that the Gullahi nhabitantsw ould perceive me as
an outsider.H owever,m y inside statuso f being Black anda descen-
dant of the Gullahs allowed me access to the community.I was
Jenkins/ AFROCENTRICR ESTORATIVEJ USTICE 305
awarea ndu nderstoodm uch of the languagea ndt he culture.E ating
seafood, grits, okra,a nd goat was a normi n my family.I n addition,
I spent many weeks each year of my life visiting relatives and
friendsa ll throughoutS outh Carolina.M uch of the time duringt he
currents tudyw as simply used to socialize andt alk aboutt he past in
South Carolina.T his socialization led to my obtaining valuable
insight into the Gullah residents'p erceptiono f social control and
conflict resolutiono n the Sea Islands.
Schreiber( 2000) arguedt hat an Afrocentricm ethod should be
used for interculturalr esearch. Although this research could be
considered intraculturalt, he use of strategiesa nd methodologies
rooted in Afrocentrismw ere employed. The primaryf oci of the
researchw ere the views of the Gullahi nhabitantsa, ndt herew as an
attemptt o view the world throught he lens of the Gullah. In other
words,r ealityw as viewedt hrougha "non-Europeanle"n s (Schreiber,
2000, p. 656). This active researchs trategyr educed the distance
between the researchera nd participant.
Archivalr esearchw as conducteda t the Penn Center,S t. Helena
Island, and the Avery ResearchC enterf or AfricanA mericanH is-
tory and Culture,t he College of Charleston.T hese methods gave
me a cleara ndi n-depthu nderstandingo f the ADR techniquesu sed
in the past and the presentb y Gullahf olk.
The Born in Slavery: Slave NarrativesF rom the Federal Writ-
ers 'Project,1 936-1938 were examined.T hese narrativesw ere col-
lected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers'P roject of the
WorksP rogressA dministration( WPA)a nd assembleda nd micro-
filmed in 1941 as the 17-v olume Slave Narratives:A FolkH istory
of Slavery in the United States From Interviews With Former
Slaves. The narrativeso f former slaves from the Gullah vicinity
were analyzeda nd examinedf or informationa boutt he seculara nd
religious responses to conflict.
THE GULLAH COMMUNITY AND CULTURE
The geographic area of the Gullah Islands stretches from the
southernp arto f North Carolinad own throughS outh Carolinaa nd
306 JOURNALO F BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER2 006
Georgia to northernF lorida and extends 30 miles inland. This
researchw as conductedo n the islandsn earB eaufort,S outhC arolina,
in the extreme southeastc ornero f the state.
During the beginning of the U.S. Civil War,p lantationo wners
abandonedt he land along with their slaves. After the "Big Shoot"
in November of 1861, northernm ilitary occupation of the South
Carolina Sea Islands and the area of Beaufort, South Carolina,
began. The northernersw ere confronted by "a peculiar people"
who were pureb lack and had a strangew ay of speakinga nd a for-
eign culture( Washington,1 994). The Blacks on these islandsw ere
used as labor,s upervisedb y the U. S. TreasuryD epartmenta, ndt he
fruitso f the laborw ere used for the Union ware fforts.E ven though
therew as apprehensiona mongn orthernp olicy makerst hatt he ex-
slaves would not succeed as free laborers,t he Gullah inhabitants
were given wages and a possibility of purchasingt he land on the
islands aftert he war.
W'en Yankeeb eenc ome de Bluntsl eabB eauforta, ndI walko ut
house and go backt o ParriI slandt.D e yankeet ell we to go en
Buckrac ornh ousea ndg etw 'atw e wantf ore at.D enI comeb ackt o
Beauforat ndg ot to wuki n cottonh ouse( gin).D e Yankeep ay we
for wuka ndI tekm y moneya ndb uyt wentya creo b lando n Parri
Islandt( Martin1, 941,P rojec#t 1655,p . 280).
In addition, the Union used many of the male inhabitantso f the
island in the first Black Union regiment,t he First South Carolina
Volunteers( Washington,1 994).
Duringt he early 19th century,s ome of the slaves in the Gullah
vicinity were introducedt o ChristianityT. here was majorc onflict
betweent he Methodista ndB aptists laveholderso n which denomi-
nations houldb e introducedt o the slaves. The Methodistsw ere pri-
marilyb lamedf or the slave revoltst hato ccurredo n the mainlanda s
well as the 1822 DenmarkV esey conspiracyt hat occurredc lose to
the Sea Islands.T he Baptist, the dominantr eligious culturei n the
Gullahv icinity,r efusedt o "Christianize"th e Gullahp eople. How-
ever,a fter1 8 45, the Baptists lave ownersa llowedb aptisma ndw or-
ship on a large scale. The Baptist slaveowners,u sing Presbyterian
and Episcopalianl iteraturet hatp ortraysJ esus as a docile, humble,
Jenkins/ AFROCENTRICR ESTORATIVEJ USTICE 307
ando bedients ervanto f God, used religion as a meanst o controlt he
slaves. The slaves were attractedt o the Baptist denomination
because the slavemastersw ould allow the Gullahst o worshipw ith
little or no White supervision.T his allowed the Gullahst o incorpo-
ratem any traditionalA fricanc ustoms andr itualsi n theirC hristian
worship.I n addition,r eligion served as a foundationf or the social
structurei n the Gullahc ommunity.
Ont hep lantatioans a meetinh' ousei n whichw en'u sedt o meetin's
everyC husedayn ight,W ednesdany ight,a n' Thursdayn ight.. . .
Colludp eopleh adn op reachebr utd eyh adl eaderE. verys laveg o to
churcho n Sunday'c aused eyd idn'th avea nyw orkt o do forM assa.
My grandmua se to teachc atekisma n'h owt o sing( Mobley1, 941,
Projec#t 935, pp. 88-89).
The leadersi n the Black churchw ould also be in chargeo f planta-
tion disciplinea nd social control.E ven thought his structures erved
the masterw ell, the use of religion and the structureo f the worship
served the slave community as well. The slaves accepted certain
aspectso f Christianityt hatw ere relevanta ndr ejectedo thers.S ome
of the traditionalA frican spiritualb eliefs were similart o those of
Christianity.T he structurea llowed for the Gullah communityt o
incorporatef olkways and mores, some based in Christianity,t o
have a cohesive and productivec ommunity.T he religious leaders,
or elders, were viewed as the leaders of the slave communitieso n
the islands, taking away some of the power from the "drivers"
(Black overseers)o n the plantation( Washington,1 994).
At the end of the Civil War,t he praiseh ouses became the center
of the Gullahc ommunity.U sing the scripturesa ndo thert raditional
African folkways as the law and the Praise House as the location,
elders came up with creativew ays to deal with social wrongs. For
example, durings lavery,s tealing from a fellow Black was consid-
ered a breacho f the sacredt rust.T his law was groundedi n Chris-
tianity (thou shalt not steal) and traditionalA frican customs. To
gain reentryi nto the community,t he sinner,t hrougha ritual that
combines the sacred and secular,m ust pick up a benne (sesame)
seed with his nose (Washington,1 994). When slaverye nded, most
social wrongs within the community were dealt with by these