Ubuntu is a South African term meaning I am because we are. Ubuntu Village, a New Orleans-based nonprofit, is building a coalition of families whose lives have been impacted by a myriad of factors, including a lack of community investment compounded by confrontations with the juvenile justice system.
Ernest Johnson, the director and co-founder of Ubuntu, has a deep desire to help families, as he was incarcerated at a young age. He feared that he would succumb to a trajectory commonly associated with Black men in America, so he decided to do something about it.
Seeking to remove himself from that narrative, Johnson became self-employed. He didn't want to fall under the constraint of minimum wage work, so he started a lawn care business, as well as other small entrepreneurial ventures. He made peace with his life, started a family and began organizing around social justice issues.
According to the , in Louisiana, Black people constituted 33% of state residents, but 52% of people in jail and 67% of people in prison. In New Orleans, Black people are more likely to have received fewer years of traditional schooling, .
Ernest Johnson, founder of the Ubuntu Village, poses at the Broadmoor Community Church in New Orleans, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. The organization helps families navigate the juvenile justice system. (Photo by Sophia Germer, , The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Sophia Germer
When his 14-year-old son was accused of a crime, Johnson sought to advocate for his son at all costs, even taking some of the blame. But disbelief weighed heavy.
“Is this karma or a generational curse?” he said.
In a city where juvenile gun violence seems to be normalized and a juvenile justice center nears a tipping point in capacity, organizations like Ubuntu are working to meet families where they are.
Change how we care
Johnson said that from its inception, Ubuntu Village has been intentional about empowering vulnerable communities through a holistic perspective. As such, they've rallied behind a series of initiatives that address underlying life circumstances: housing instability, mental health issues and poverty.
“Until we change the philosophy on how we care, or the type of lens through which we look at individuals, we're going to continue with this cycle we see,” Johnson said.
To break that cycle, Ubuntu has established a mentor program at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center and the Bridge City Center for Youth where they also help cultivate social/emotional skills through theatre and dance. Additionally, Ubuntu hosts a series of programs, including parent leadership classes where groups meet regularly as a means of support.
In 2021, Ubuntu helped to pass a bill into law that called for the elimination of administrative fees such as drug testing or electronic monitoring costs in the juvenile court system, an issue that was particularly stressful on vulnerable communities.
In cases where someone can't afford bail, recognizing a need for alternatives other than jail time, the nonprofit created a program to help people resume their lives after an arrest. The program helps people avoid some of life's pitfalls — job loss because of missing work, home loss because of missing income or missing school — all problems that may arise while someone is waiting to be formally charged.
When Tiffany Hicks' son was incarcerated for six months in 2017 during his senior year of high school, she became affiliated with Ubuntu and started attending parent meetings. Eventually she became a parent navigator, a role she still carries out today, despite her son's current enrollment in his third year of college.
“I love it,” she said. “I get to meet different parents. We bond over things that are meant to take us down.”
Navigating the courts
The Parent Navigator Program at Orleans Parish Juvenile Court enlists two peers who help educate and empower other parents so that they are able to fully participate in their child’s court proceedings. Parents or guardians who have completed parent leadership classes and undergo training can volunteer to assist other parents to navigate and help make sense of the legal process.
To get involved with the program, interested parties can stop by the Ubuntu Village office located at 2021 South Dupre St. in New Orleans — or visit their for more information.
Johnson said he was able to work his way through the court system on his son’s behalf with a sense of boldness and familiarity not embraced by everyone, especially Black mothers and grandmothers who make up the majority of court attendants. Johnson said the women often seemed “beat down” by the complicated, cumbersome and overwhelming process.
Some families reported having to wait four or more hours in the courtroom, only for their case to be delayed another day — delays which cause individuals to take more time off work and put their jobs at risk.
Having been through the court system himself, Johnson understood the landscape and felt more informed. He said he went in with little trust for the judges, lawyers and the overall process.
Ubuntu Village's Delinquency Case Flow Chart breaks down what happens when a child is arrested at the Broadmoor Community Church in New Orleans, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. The organization helps families navigate the juvenile justice system. (Photo by Sophia Germer, , The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Sophia Germer
“[These women] are dealing with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Now they have to entrust a lawyer, a judge and an institution,” Johnson said.
Johnson and his team at Ubuntu compiled research that details some of the core issues that plague families of system-involved youth — including the difficult task of deciphering legal jargon, which is important to understand to advocate for their children.
An ill-equipped system
The report also notes a lack of long-term support for families and formerly incarcerated youth, who often leave the judicial system ill-equipped to manage existing trauma worsened by their detention stay.
“Our juvenile system perpetuates a numbness,” Johnson said. “If behavior isn’t curtailed, they end up in the adult system.”
The organization hopes to continue its advocacy efforts by building relationships and changing the storyline, including the false narrative that parents don't care.
"Even in the worst circumstances, I’ve seen that parents care about their children," Johnson said. "Have they done everything they were supposed to do? Maybe not. But from the heart, the care and the love is always there."
Johnson and other leaders in the justice reform arena recently developed an art exhibit at the Tulane Newcomb Art Museum, "Unthinkable Imagination: A Creative Response to the Juvenile Justice Crisis."
The exhibit showcases the experiences of more than 20 judicial system-impacted youth through painting, sculpture, performance and other mediums.
Community members can view the exhibit until June 10, 2023, on Tulane's campus, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, 70118.