Dear Ann,
Here’s a chance to watch a 2019 documentary that just won an Emmy, True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality. Right now it’s streaming for free, right here.
The subject is racial injustice in America. Bryan Stevenson’s voice is deeply compelling. He states facts that are undeniable and in context. He holds them up to us, with calm resolve. He does not let us look away. He calls foremost to our morality, but also to our common well of emotional intelligence—our empathy.
This documentary, in showing plain facts, is better than any dramatic rendering of Bryan Stevenson’s life and work could be.
I related strongly to a vignette of how he felt at Harvard Law School, the first of his family to be educated among the sons and daughters of generations of lawyers. I know how that felt, and I also know that it was very different for me because of my white skin. That tiny intersection of experience makes me reflect on what each of us did with that opportunity. What he said no to, and what he said yes to. His vision was beyond my imagination.
Highly recommended. Grateful to HBO for the free streaming so that many can see this.
Love,
Kay
Thank you for bringing this documentary to my attention. I hadn’t heard of it. I’ve read “Just Mercy” and seen that movie. I’m sure viewing “True Justice” will be equally difficult. High schools should teach about Bryan Stevenson’s work. Maybe there would be a little more understanding and compassion if they did.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I also just finished reading Just Mercy, a book I could not put down and was deeply disturbed by. I am looking forward to watching this.
I read his book and must watch this! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! It is so good for us to have these opportunities to see through another set of eyes.
Bryan Stevenson is amazing. I hope to see him on the Supreme Court one day. I’ve read Just Mercy and just watched this documentary. His work is changing minds and opening eyes. I also recommend reading Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King, a past nonfiction Pulitzer Prize winner. It served as my first eye opener into the Jim Crow justice system in the south. After reading that book, as white girl who grew up in the rural PNW, I was horrified that it was in my 50’s before I really understood about Jim Crow and continued the plight of African Americans. It made me revisit many of my former beliefs about the criminal justice system.
I have since committed to donating to not only Bryan’s organization, but also the Southern Poverty Law Center. Both are working tirelessly to ensure justice for all.
Thank you MDK for standing up, speaking out and sharing these stories within the needlework community. Upon common ground may we find better understanding of our differences as human beings.
I learned about EJI through this blog earlier this summer, and after looking into it I set up a monthly contribution. It’s a worthwhile and much needed organization, and most amazingly, according to Charity Navigator the director draws no salary! Rare to find these days. Looking forward to watching this.
Kay I have a nephew who is in prison for a murder h he didn’t commit in California and the only reason he’s there is because he was set up by the Black Widow and her accomplish and the cops bought the story. I am hoping that with the new evidence I have provided that the district attorney’s office will reopen the case and he will be set free. 15 years of his life just GONE because of someone else being vindictive and hateful and because a family with money wanted a conviction and pressured the policed into making an arrest and the rest is history. Someone who had a hard on for my nephew fabricated a story that the cops bought and the rest is history.
Sadly I am prevented from watching this documentary (in Iceland) due to copyright law issues.
Can you explain how the copy right law applies in Iceland?
The IP address is being blocked because of distribution rights. HBO would have to “approve” the viewing through a partner company in Iceland.
Hi there, if you have YouTube, here’s the link for the documentary. Hopefully you are not blocked there.
https://youtu.be/JfZPl4CFEUc
On Kate Bowler’s podcast, “Everything Happens,” she has a long interview with Ray Hinton. I recommend it highly.
Mr. HInton’s memoir, The Sun Does Shine, is worth reading – an inspiring account of courage and resilience in the face of injustice. But honest about the wrongness, the cost of that injustice.
Powerful, relevant documentary. I cried at the end and won’t say at which section, but if you watch this documentary I’m sure you will have the same reaction at the same time. Truth. Reconciliation. We as a country must come together and end racial inequality. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to watch this.