Students Come Together to Study Transitional Justice

For many years, Facing History and Ourselves' scholarship has included researching the history and effects of transitional justice, or the way groups and individuals address past injustices and begin to heal in the aftermath of mass violence. In the summer of 2005, Facing History began piloting an interactive website for educators and students interested in exploring transitional justice. This module has been the focus of a group of 17 students from Hawken, Hathaway Brown, Hudson, Lakewood, and Shaw high schools who have been meeting regularly since the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year.

Using a "toolbox" metaphor-considering what tools were utilized in South Africa's transition into a democracy-the group has been studying the case study of South Africa. The students were specifically drawn to the "tool" of truth-telling and forgiveness as highlighted in Bill Moyers' Facing the Truth documentary about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. They also examined the new South African Constitution, world-renowned for its dedication to human rights, as an example of a "tool" of institutional reform. "Students can really conceptualize the tool-box metaphor and use it as a springboard for complex conversations," said Mark Swaim-Fox, director of the Cleveland region.

This winter, the students had a chance to bring some of the questions that have come up in their studies to South African Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs and urban architect Vanessa September. Jonathan Lykes from Shaw High School in East Cleveland asked Sachs, whose injuries from a car bombing included losing an arm, about the role forgiveness plays in his life. In response, Sachs said that he was able to forgive the man who planned the bombing after he testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.