“To not hate”: reconciliation among victims of violence and participants of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- 29 July 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Contemporary Justice Review
- Vol. 13 (3), 269-285
- https://doi.org/10.1080/10282580.2010.498226
Abstract
The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (GTRC) was an intervention promoting reconciliation among the victims and community affected by the 1979 Greensboro Massacre in North Carolina. An exploratory qualitative research design was used, in which in‐depth, open‐ended interviews were conducted with victims of the Greensboro Massacre who subsequently participated in the GTRC (n = 17). Findings revealed a typology of reconciliation that includes cognitive–affective, behavioral and social reconciliation. Respondents displayed different orientations in how they prioritized reconciliation with the twin goals of seeking truth and justice. The GTRC did contribute to interpersonal reconciliation, and can be a useful model of communities working to recover from violence. The cognitive–affective, behavioral and social typology of reconciliation can be used to assess other interventions aimed at promoting reconciliation. Individuals’ personal orientations towards reconciliation can also be used to explain different reactions among people to restorative justice efforts.Keywords
This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
- The three Rs: retributive justice, restorative justice, and reconciliationContemporary Justice Review, 2008
- Reconciliation in Divided SocietiesPublished by University of Pennsylvania Press ,2007
- Reconciliation after Genocide, Mass Killing, or Intractable Conflict: Understanding the Roots of Violence, Psychological Recovery, and Steps toward a General TheoryPolitical Psychology, 2006
- My Neighbor, My EnemyPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2004
- Empathy and rehumanization after mass violencePublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2004
- Trust and betrayal in warPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2004
- The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South AfricaPublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2001
- Stay the Hand of VengeancePublished by Walter de Gruyter GmbH ,2000
- No Future Without ForgivenessNew Perspectives Quarterly, 1999