Oklahoma Roundtable on Values and Justice

Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM), in partnership with The Square One Project at Columbia University’s Justice Lab is pleased to host the inaugural Roundtable on Justice and Values in Oklahoma: Examining Racial Disparities in the Criminal Legal System and Reimagining Justice in Oklahoma! This two-and-a-half day, multi-location, convening will bring together advocates, scholars, artists, community members, and justice-impacted people across the state to reimagine the criminal legal system in Oklahoma. We are inviting participants to dream and to collaborate with friends and new colleagues to create thriving communities that do not rely on systems of punishment and incarceration.

The Roundtable convening will continue on February 1st and February 2nd, in conjunction with the start of Black history month, at the historic Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We invite you to come observe the 35 person Roundtable in which participants will first discuss the racial history of Oklahoma’s criminal legal system, and consider how historic and current policies have led to incarceration on an unprecedented scale. They will then examine local support systems and the barriers preventing community thriving. Finally, they will turn to the future of justice in Oklahoma, brainstorming how narrative change, healing, reconciliation, and policy can inform our foundational reimagining of justice. Observers will be able to ask questions and interact with Roundtable participants throughout the surrounding events at the convening as well as network and collaborate with those who are interested in reimagining justice in Oklahoma and nationally.