Bryan Stevenson : We need to talk about an injustice
Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice
One day, when I discussed about racism with my group members, I wondered how much the racism has still existed in our society. Actually, I didn’t have much ideas and experiences of racism, so I searched more cases about racial discrimination. This TED talk is about distinguished activist “Bryan Stevenson”. In his inspiring talk, he said,
“My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. Finally, I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.”
I was deeply impressed by his speech. And I realized how many the black are still suffered from poverty, incarceration, unfair sentencing, and injustice.
I also looked up the organization “EJI ( Equal Justice Initiative)” which Bryan Stevenson works in as an executive director. EJI is a private, nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment in the legal system. According to EJI website :
“EJI litigates on behalf of condemned prisoners, juvenile offenders, people wrongly convicted or charged with violent crimes, poor people denied effective representation, and others whose trials are marked by racial bias or prosecutorial misconduct. EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment. EJI also prepares reports, newsletters and manuals to assist advocates and policymakers in the critically important work of reforming the administration of criminal justice (EJI website)”.
There are many cases of sentencing bias, racial segregation and mass incarceration which are unbelievable. I was shocked by some unreasonable cases particularly of young black children. And I think, as many people as possible should know about these unfair cases to reform the laws and criminal injustice system.
About BRYAN STEVENSON :
Bryan Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. Mr. Stevenson is a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer who has dedicated his career to helping the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned. Under his leadership, EJI has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill and aiding children prosecuted as adults. Mr. Stevenson has successfully argued several cases in the United States Supreme Court and recently won an historic ruling that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger are unconstitutional. Mr. Stevenson and his staff have won reversals, relief or release for over 115 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row. Mr. Stevenson has initiated major new anti-poverty and anti-discrimination efforts that challenge the legacy of racial inequality in America, including major projects to educate communities about slavery, lynching and racial segregation. Mr. Stevenson is also a Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law (Equal Justice Initiatives).