We are who we gather.
Our Coalition grew from the seed of one faithful question:
"What does it look like to take responsibility for the harm we do to one another?
The question took deep root among thousands of neighbors, who've embodied answers together
month in and year out: over lunch, in vigil, in circle, through grief, beyond incarceration.
Together, we are. Interfaith and no-particular-faith. Interracial and cross-cultural.
Across every 'side' of our inequitable violence and legal system. One Coalition of shared values.
Far more than the worst we've done, and left undone.
"What does it look like to take responsibility for the harm we do to one another?
The question took deep root among thousands of neighbors, who've embodied answers together
month in and year out: over lunch, in vigil, in circle, through grief, beyond incarceration.
Together, we are. Interfaith and no-particular-faith. Interracial and cross-cultural.
Across every 'side' of our inequitable violence and legal system. One Coalition of shared values.
Far more than the worst we've done, and left undone.
We are generous partners.
Our Coalition grew and thrives in permeable relationship with diverse partner institutions, including (among many others): dozens of Durham congregations, Durham Congregations In Action, Peace Hill at Avila, Jubilee Home, Restorative Transitions, Durham County's Justice Services Department and Local Reentry Council, the City of Durham's Welcome Home program and Office of Survivor Care, Dispute Settlement Center, NC Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and Common Justice.
We are grounded in community.
RCND evolved from communal trust, time, and money—in that order.
Our 2025 budget of $244,000 is majority-funded by Durham people. And we spend over 75% on Durham people: in material support for neighbors we come alongside, and staff whose unique gifts empower over 200 volunteers each year.
This purposeful alignment of money, people, and values keeps our 501(c)3 non-profit organization grounded in the Durham we're of and for. It ensures each space we create is open to all and free of charge.
Our 2025 budget of $244,000 is majority-funded by Durham people. And we spend over 75% on Durham people: in material support for neighbors we come alongside, and staff whose unique gifts empower over 200 volunteers each year.
This purposeful alignment of money, people, and values keeps our 501(c)3 non-profit organization grounded in the Durham we're of and for. It ensures each space we create is open to all and free of charge.
We are an ever-evolving story.
1992
- RCND founded by Mr. Leslie Dunbar and Rev. Mel Williams
- 1st Annual Vigil Against Violence held
- Community Luncheon Roundtables begin
1997
- RCND holds first community vigils (of hundreds to date) alongside families at the site of homicides
2003
- Reentry and Reconciliation Ministry begins (now Returning Friends Durham)
- First community reentry support teams formed (of over 400 to-date)
2011
- Living Without Enemies book captures our journey toward the wisdom of "being with"
2017
- Restorative Justice Durham begins
- First monthly Community Circles held
- Trained volunteer co-facilitators accept first RJ referrals from legal system (of over 160 to-date)
2022
- RCND's two programs and many practices emerge from pandemic even stronger
- Years of collaborative vigil, reentry, and RJ work produce a landmark restorative resolution to NC homicide case
- Community Luncheon Roundtables resume in a new home
2025
- We're "Gathering In" toward one sustaining story and structure for everything that's grown.
We are here, in this place.
We respectfully acknowledge that our Coalition gathers on the unceded land
of the Eno, Tutelo, Saponi, Occaneechi, and Shakori native people.
Durham was traditionally part of the territory of the Saponi people, in the Piedmont of what is now the State of North Carolina. This area is not far from the Great Trading Path used by native people (and non-native people during the early years of contact). The Saponi people, whose descendants include the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, still thrive and live in this region. They are officially recognized by the state government of North Carolina.
The Occaneechi People (The Ye’sah) ask that we keep these thoughts in mind while on their ancestral lands. They invite us to respect their elders and treat this land with the respect, love, and care that their Ancestors did, and as the Occaneechi Saponi people do today.
of the Eno, Tutelo, Saponi, Occaneechi, and Shakori native people.
Durham was traditionally part of the territory of the Saponi people, in the Piedmont of what is now the State of North Carolina. This area is not far from the Great Trading Path used by native people (and non-native people during the early years of contact). The Saponi people, whose descendants include the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, still thrive and live in this region. They are officially recognized by the state government of North Carolina.
The Occaneechi People (The Ye’sah) ask that we keep these thoughts in mind while on their ancestral lands. They invite us to respect their elders and treat this land with the respect, love, and care that their Ancestors did, and as the Occaneechi Saponi people do today.