In our book, Social Justice: Theories, Issues and Movements - the authors state that transformative justice theorists seek not only to respond to the immediacy of the conflict, or harm but also try to place it in a broader framework that addresses structural issues (Capeheart, Milovanovic, 2007, p. 61).
From the beginning of the chapter, the authors begin defining transformative justice by first defining restorative justice. Restorative justice basically restores relations to the previous state. The authors use the reaction to Hurricane Katrina which devastated the southern states and in particular New Orleans in 2005, as an example. In the aftermath of a hurricane, restoration usually occurs at the personal or individual level: lost goods, housing by insurance, governmental and charity organizational assistance is replaced and/or restored. For those who have documented their goods, had the financial wherewithal to home insurance - basically the upper to middle classes - fared moderately well. However, as most of us know, the poor and underrepresented (among them African Americans and other non-whites) were not as fortunate. Furthermore, the failed levy system compounded restoration to these individuals. To restore the levy system back to the way it was would be criminal. It didn't work in the first place, therefore it would be a far cry from justice. To ensure trust, health and safety to its citizens, the levy system needs not only to be restored, but transformed. In fact, the whole recovery effort requires the transformation of a system that neglected its infrastructure at the great expense of citizens, especially the poor, to a system that places human need and safety at the center of its decisions. This transformation would require the rejection of all racist notions that may be or are infused in the structure that allowed such harm to occur (Capeheart, Milovanovic, 2007).
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