Celebrating the Life, Love, and Legacy of Eric Butler

Celebrating the Life, Love, and Legacy of Eric Butler

DONATE To Support Family and Cover End of Life Expenses of

Honored Restorative Justice Practitioner, Eric Butler

August 7, 1974 – August 4, 2024

“If you are in the know, be contagious.” — Eric Butler

On August 4, 2024, we lost a truth teller, a justice-loving soul. Eric’s legacy spans

generations, and we honor every moment he lived out loud. As a community of family,

friends, and collective healers, we will continue to find comfort in Eric’s humor, his

antics, and the work he tirelessly and effortlessly pursued.

To know Eric was to experience revolutionary love. He lived with an unwavering

commitment to justice. Eric often stated, “We must use our values to penetrate our

needs; this requires us to be in deep relationship with each other.” A passionate bridge-

builder and truth-seeker, Eric taught us to connect across our differences and to lean

into the discomfort of conflict. His passion filled rooms and hearts and his love inspired

transformation and healing. Eric always showed up as his authentic self — this meant

he told the truth, he challenged dominant narratives, and asked questions to disrupt the

status quo. He often said, “We’ll never get there in our lifetimes, but we have to try; and

that is what makes it restorative justice, the effort you put in to getting to something you

might not ever know.”

Restorative justice is not simply a practice, it is a way of life, Eric often said. A way of

life that we commit to not just for ourselves, but for the future generations who will

inherit our society. And Eric practiced and lived in this way all while making you laugh

the hardest you’d ever laugh in your life. Eric was hilarious and generous with his joy.

When he wasn’t spitting about justice, he was singing Stevie Wonder or Luther

Vandross. Always dancing or cooking or putting you on game, Eric uplifted everyone he

encountered with his beautiful spirit. He loved you, and there was nothing you could do

about it.

All GoFundMe donations will go to support Eric’s family, celebration of life services,

outstanding end of life expenses, and more. We deeply appreciate your support.

In Memoriam

You used to tell me u feared u wouldn’t have nothing to show

When it was your time to go

U left a hell of a mark

The kind that never fades or heals

You’ve created communities and gardens

That will go on to become rainforests and villages

---Taylor Thomas, Eric’s daughter

This fundraiser is being organized by Eric's Family, Talking Peace, Restorative Justice on the Rise and Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY). Eric was an early RJOY staff member and was instrumental in RJOY's initiative of bringing Restorative Justice to the Oakland Unified School District. Eric went on to co-found Talking Peace and was a regular collaborator with Restorative Justice on the Rise. You can see the breadth of Eric's work at https://www.talking-peace.org/.

Below is a glimpse into Eric's impactful healing work at Ralph Bunche Continuation School in West Oakland...