"Our...opportunities are trying to extend spaces for those good kids in sometimes mad cities." -Dr. Shawn Ginwright
The MNJRC's annual Re-Imagining Justice Conference is an inspirational convening of a broad diversity of criminal legal system practitioners, scholars, advocates, impacted persons, and community members. Through keynotes, plenaries, and breakout sessions, we create the space to share and learn from efforts to bring the criminal legal system closer to a true justice system.
The theme of the 2024 conference is "Pivoting from Problem to Possibility", in which we seek to re-imagine a criminal legal system that doesn't just respond to problems that we see currently happening, but looks for approaches that are based on dreams of what can be. This year's keynote speaker will be Dr. Shawn Ginwright, whose work in trauma, healing, and the empowerment of African American youth has established him as a thought leader in the field of education.
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2024 Conference Program
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8:00 AM Registration Opens & Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM Welcome & Opening Artist
9:15 AM Keynote Address by Dr. Shawn Ginwright
9:45 AM Fireside Chat - Dr. Ginwright interviewed
10:30 AM Break
10:45 AM Breakout Session A
12:00 PM Lunch & Lunch Program
1:30 PM Break
1:45 PM Breakout Session B
2:45 PM Afternoon Break
3:00 PM Breakout Session C
4:00 PM Break
4:15 PM Closing Plenary - Legislative Preview // Closing Artist
5:30 PM Conference Ends
6:00 PM Post-Conference Networking Reception
Stay tuned for program announcements by signing up for the MNJRC email HERE.
Dr. Shawn Ginwright
2024 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Ginwright is the Jerome T. Murphy Professor of Practice at Harvard Graduate School of Education. His groundbreaking work on trauma, healing, and the empowerment of African American youth has earned him a reputation as an innovator, provocateur, and thought leader in the field of education. His introduction of the concept of "healing-centered engagement" in 2018 has revolutionized the field, providing an asset-based approach to addressing youth trauma and fostering resilience. Dr. Ginwright has written numerous highly acclaimed books, including most recently "The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves", from which the MNJRC gets the 2024 conference theme.
Breakout Session Topics
At this year's conference, you can expect presentations from scholars and practitioners highlighting their research and promising policies, practices, and programs. Here are the three topics you can expect to hear about:
Building Safe and Just Communities: This includes topics related to crime prevention, violence interruption, restorative justice, and community safety models.
Creating a Just System: This includes topics related to policing, bail/pretrial detention, institutional care & standards, prosecutorial discretion, defense issues, sentencing, fines and fees, victim services, and institutional programming & conditions.
Transforming Re-Entry: This includes topics related to post-sentencing, supervision, community services and supports, both during and after incarceration.
Stay tuned for the full conference program coming soon.
Thank you to our 2023 sponsors!
Founding sponsor -----
Justice Champions -----
Justice Advocates -----
Justice Allies -----
Dorsey & Whitney * Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge
Justice Supporters -----
Previous Conference Highlights
2023
"Leadership on Public Safety in Challenging Times' featuring Lt Gov. Peggy Flanagan and MPR Host Angela Davis, with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, State Rep. Cedrick Frazier, and Ramsey County Attorney John Choi
2022
MDHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and MBCRE Director Tiffani Daniels discuss the state of policing in Minnesota 2 1/2 years after the police murder of George Floyd
2020
MNJRC Board Member Sharon Sayles Belton talks with john a. powell about the importance of re-imagining justice.
2021
A discussion with best-selling author Resmaa Menakem
2023
Featuring Briana Payton from the Chicago Appleseed Center on Pretrial Justice
2022
A session on the work to transform the legal system by bringing in those most impacted by the law
2021
What exactly is “participatory research”? Find our more in this session
2023
Kyle Tran Myhre opened the MNJRC's Re-Imagining Justice conference virtual programming with his poem, "Why Do You Write Poems When Death is All Around Us."
2022
An inspirational conference-opening keynote by Florida Rights Restoration Coalition President Desmond Meade
2021
A conversation with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
2021
Danielle Sered shares her thoughts on the need to re-imagine justice
