Rooting Forward with Right Use of Power and Amanda Aguilera

CCRJP’s Outreach Committee hosted another RJ2+ Event, a series of events intended to highlight the intersections of restorative justice, racial justice, and justice for oppressed and marginalized collectives more broadly. In this quarter, CCRJP partnered with Dr. Amanda Aguilera of the Right Use of Power Institute (RUPI) to host an RJ2+ event that explored power dynamics on a whole new level. The intention was to cultivate a shared language in talking about power and help root us in a shared practice of personal power with understanding around the power differentials at play in our various roles, statuses, etc.

CCRJP saw a strong attendance at this educational event and many participants appreciated the multi-layered approach to understanding power dynamics. Dr. Aguilera led participants through a guided meditation in which they “took a walk” with various people in their lives whom they understood to be either “up power” or “down power” in relation to them. The reflections from this guided meditation consisted of many situations that didn’t quite fit the box, illustrating one of the core takeaways from RUPI’s teachings: power is fundamentally neutral.

Participant Feedback:

“Really appreciated the combination of somatic awareness/exercises, breakout discussions, information, and opportunities for reflection and application. Well constructed training with concrete takeaways.”

“Appreciated the constructs to frame my thinking around power and how to talk about it”

“I will be more aware of power differentials in both RJ and non-RJ spaces. I will be more comfortable naming power dynamics as a way to foster more power-with.”

A part of the root shared by RUPI . . .

With Restorative Integration, we realize that a greater foundation is necessary for building relationships and community. We understand that we cannot build true community (welcoming diverse social locations and points of view) without an understanding of social power dynamics from an anti-oppression lens. This social justice foundation is critical for the success of restorative practices as, without an understanding of social power dynamics, we will only perpetuate systems of oppression and continue to cause harm while we are trying to mitigate or address harm.
The Center for Restorative Integration’s vision is to offer compassionate and connection-centered learning and coaching for integrating the Right Use of Power framework into restorative and transformative justice practices. They also plan to provide a robust online community platform to support the journey toward greater Power-and-Equity Consciousness for restorative and transformative justice practitioners. To learn more, visit www.rightuseofpower.org.

Stay connected for upcoming RJ2+ offering in October and into 2026. If you have an idea for an upcoming RJ+ event, email us at ccrrpgeneral@gmail.com