Stevenson Profile

A Profile of Bryan
Stevenson
The Amazing Man Behind The Equal Justice Initiative and Reframing the
Way We Talk About Race In Our Society
A Boy From Delaware
- Born November 15, 1959
- At 16, his grandfather was murdered for his
television by adolencents.
- Raised by his grandmother, who's parents
were born into slavery. She was said to be the
matriarch of the family and heavily influenced
his views towards race.
- Witnessed the integration of schools in
Southern Delaware, his mother wrote a letter
to the school board and played an active role
in integrating their community.
Stevenson's Education
- Attended Eastern University
- Attended Harvard Law School and John
F. Kennedy School of Governement
- Worked for the Southern Prisoner's Defense
Committee (now the Southern Center for
Human Rights), this gave him the opportunity
to work with Death Row inmmates and shaped
his future fighting for social justice
- 29 honorary doctoral degrees from
universities such as Yale, Princeton, and
Oxford
The Equal Justice Initiative
 Founded by Stevenson in 1989 in Montgomery, Alabama

 Mission : "EJI is a private, nonprofit organization that challenges poverty and
racial injustice, advocates for equal treatment in the criminal justice
system, and creates hope for marginalized communities."
 The EIJ works with marjinalized communities in order to change the narrative
about race in our community. They specifically provide legal represenation to
those who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentanced, or abused within
the criminal justice system.
National Memorial for
Peace and Justice
- Opened April 26, 2018 in Montgomery,

Alabama
- Our nation's first memorial dedicated to
enslaved and terrorized black people,
specifically victims of lynching
- "The memorial structure on the center of the
site is constructed of over 800 corten steel
monuments, one for each county in the United
States where a racial terror lynching took
place. The names of the lynching victims are
engraved on the columns." (EIJ Website)
- "The only reason lynchings stopped in the
American South was that the spectacle of the
crowds cheering these murders was becoming
problematic." (Stevenson)
The Legacy Museum: From
Enslavement to Mass
Incarceration
- Opened April 26, 2018 in Montgomery,

Alabama
- Located a block from the most prominent
slave auction sites in America
- "Visitors encounter a powerful sense of
place when they enter the museum and
confront slave pen replicas, where you can
see, hear, and get close to what it was like to
be imprisoned awaiting sale at the nearby
auction block."
- This museum is a place to recognize the
untold history of slavery, while
acknowledging the marginalization of black
people today, including in our criminal justice
system.
Why Build a Lynching Memorial?
"In one sense, the death penalty is clearly a substitute for lynching.
One of the main justifications for the use of the death penalty,
especially in the South, was that it served to avoid lynching." -
Jordan Steiker
Spending years in the courthouse fighting wrongful convictions, Stevenson came to

the realization that his work would have to go beyond that of a lawyer. He turned to
the history of Alabama, and found that he was working in what was once the heart
of the slave trade. He began by attempting to place simple historical markers, but
was denied to the "controversy" that would follow.
EIJ, after eventually winning the blessing of the state's historical society, was
allowed to put up three markers in regards to the slave trade. From there, their
work only became more important. The EIJ set off to identify every lynching that
took place in twelve states in the South. They found records of over four thousand
lynchings, none of which had been memorialized.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and
Redemption
- Stevenson's memoir published in
2014
- New York Times Best Seller
Details cases he has worked on

from Walter McMillian, a
wrongfully convicted inmate on
death row, to his work with those
sentenced to life in prison without
parole for crimes they committed
as juvenials.
Throughout the novel, Stevenson

highlights not only his success but
his tragic defeats within the
courtroom.
Public Speaking
TEDTalk: We need to talk about an
injustice
- Over 5 million views
- Said to have received the longest
standing ovation in TED history
- Discussed how his upbringing shaped
his views on identity, which lead him to
the work he is doing today
- Stevenson also lectures at universities
around the world
Works Cited
 Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy. Penguin Random House, 2014.
 Stevenson, Bryan. "We Need to Talk About an Injustice" TED, March 2012. Lecture.
 Alana Cassanova-Burgess. "The Worst Thing We've Ever Done." Audio blog post. On The
Media. WNYC Studios, June 1 2018. https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/on-the-media-
2018-06-01?tab=summary
 McWilliams, James. “Bryan Stevenson on What Well-Meaning White People Need to
Know About Race.” Pacific Standard, Pacific Standard, 6 Feb. 2018,
psmag.com/magazine/bryan-stevenson-ps-interview.
 Toobin, Jeffrey. “The Legacy of Lynching, on Death Row.” The New Yorker, The New
Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/08/22/bryan-stevenson-
and-the-legacy-of-lynching.
 “On Behalf of Wronged Defendants.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 23 Oct. 2014,
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-just-mercy-a-story-of-justice-and-
redemption-by-bryan-stevenson/2014/10/23/5d590580-3f67-11e4-9587-
5dafd96295f0_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ef5e3f782ec1.
 “Equal Justice Initiative.” Equal Justice Initiative, 21 Sept. 2018, eji.org/.

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A Profile of Bryan

 Founded by Stevenson in 1989 in Montgomery, Alabama

- Opened April 26, 2018 in Montgomery,

- Opened April 26, 2018 in Montgomery,

Spending years in the courthouse fighting wrongful convictions, Stevenson came to

Details cases he has worked on

Throughout the novel, Stevenson

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