Professor Colleen Murphy has co-authored an op-ed titled "Not a Moment but a Movement: The Case for Transitional Justice in the U.S." The piece was published on December 16 in Ms. Magazine. An excerpt follows:
"The historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended Jim Crow, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin. However, the Act did not deal with the economic or social consequences of Jim-Crow-era racial segregation and discrimination. Nor did it address the legacy of racial terror lynchings.
"From an international perspective, the U.S. needs to pursue TJ (transitional justice). In addition to addressing victims and perpetrators, TJ is undertaken to fundamentally change how citizens interact—with each other and with the government. By altering interaction and providing some measure of justice to victims and perpetrators, the hope is to prevent repetition. This is critical in the U.S. today."
Read the full op-ed at msmagazine.com.
Note: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Illinois College of Law.