True Justice & Bryan Stevenson's Work - Georgia B Page - Week Two

     True Justice is a 2019 documentary that follows the life and work of Bryan Stevenson, a Black social justice activist and civil rights attorney, specifically focusing on his founding of the Equal Justice Initiative (founded in 1989) and the Legacy Musuem (founded 2018). 

    Focusing on his upbringing, Stevenson, who was born in 1959, went to an all colored school for his early education, and talks about his struggles for equity within education, and the struggles for the same opportunities that other student got once he attended integrated schools. After completing his bachelor's degree, Stevenson decided to attend law school, and went to Harvard University. However, prior to enrolling in law school, Stevenson had never met a lawyer, and did not see himself or his goals reflecting in what he was learning in the classrooms. It was not until he was able to do an internship working with death row prisoners that he began to understand what he wanted to do with his life, and who most needed help. 

    Following this, Stevenson went on to defend hundreds of death row inmates without proper legal counsel, and has successfully argued five cases in front of the Supreme Court. His small organization that started in a small home that he and his business partner has purchased for an office turned into a non-profit organization that now employs over 150 people, including over two dozen lawyers. They continue to do social justice work and work regarding the death penalty throughout Alabama and the United States. 

    The Legacy Musuem - From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice which were opened in 2018 work to both educate people about the issues and relevancy of slavery, lynching, segregation and mass incarceration and how they are all related to each other, as well as force people to reconcile with the racist past (and present) of the United States. By doing so, Stevenson believes, the United States can begin to heal and grow as opposed to ignoring the wounds that have lasted so long. From this healing, sustainable change can actually be made that can close the racial wealth and justice gap throughout the country. 

    Stevenson should be taught in an activism or community organization class, or a racial healing class, as his work is in the present and thus should not be taught in a history class. This would only minimized the importance and relvacny of the work that he is doing. By teaching him in either a social justice or racial healing class, students can feel reflected in leadership positions, organizational work, and see progress that is being made. 

Comments

  1. Ms. DunleyFebruary 18, 2021 at 11:50 AM

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  2. Ms. DunleyFebruary 18, 2021 at 11:51 AM

    I am so glad that you shared the information about the The Legacy Museum and the Equal Justice Initiative in our Share and Connect meeting. I am excited to get to know more about these. Where do you think his work could be/should be embedded in the curriculum?

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    1. georgia b pageMarch 29, 2021 at 5:56 PM

      I would like to see this added into some type of critical thinking or modern leadership and activism curriculum, so that it is looked through in a modern lens, and I do not think that any "core" classes that are currently offered at every school would be able to teach it in this manner. I do not want it taught as a history course or in that context. I am beginning a bigger and bigger advocate for some kind of critical thinking and modern day activism class because so much of my research seems to line up with that kind of topic.

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