HUMBLED BY ACCOLADE, PRAISE
BRYAN Stevenson wears many hats. He is a lawyer, a social justice activist and founder of Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). He wrote a New York Times bestselling book called Just Mercy, based on his experience as a young lawyer dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system.
Numerous critics have called his book as one of the best books of the year, for a good reason. Stevenson’s dedication to fighting for justice and equality has inspired people and created an impact so strong that Hollywood took notice.
Nowadays, there are some churches that give copies of Stevenson’s books to high schoolers and middle schoolers to empower them to join in the conversation about social justice.
For that alone, Stevenson is both excited and honored.
“All over the world there is this emergence of fear and anger and if we allow ourselves to be governed by fear and anger…we have that in America because we gave in. We started putting people in jail who are not a threat to public safety. We became indifferent and that’s how so many innocent people ended up in jails and prisons, with some of them ending on death row,” he told the Asian Journal.
He is thrilled to hear that more young people are now being exposed to these issues through his book and hopefully through the upcoming movie.
Based on this bestselling book, Just Mercy the movie presents the unforgettable story of Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and the case of Walter McMillian (Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx), who was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.
Stevenson, a New York University Law School professor, said it was pretty surreal seeing his life unfold on the big screen.
He describes Michael B. Jordan as an amazing ally. Jordan tackled his role as Stevenson with such intensity that many critics believe he will be in the running for acting awards next year.
“I am so proud of Michael because he did an extraordinary job for the role and he worked really hard for it. He was very dedicated to this project,” he shared.
They both spent time preparing for the movie and it amazed Stevenson that Jordan didn’t just play his role with great skill and care but his dedication to the issue came through his delicate performance.
“With the kind of work that I do, you have to be strategic and tactical and he embraced that through his performance and I couldn’t be prouder. It is exciting because he is incredibly popular and talented and yet he took on this role so I can’t wait to share this with the world,” Stevenson added.
He also believes that regular people, ordinary members of the community, have a role to play to support justice and mercy.
“We all have to learn about what’s happening in our community, we have to get involved. Whether it is about providing help to people coming out of jails or in helping to get innocent people out, there are many ways,” he said.
For him, there is a need to create a consciousness where we become more determined to eliminate bigotry and discrimination in the society.
“The opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice.” is a quote delivered by Stevenson and he stands by that. But the question is, how should we change that mindset?
“We’ve created structures and systems that sustain poverty and we only talk about money, we don’t get to that kind of resolution that we need,” he said, defending his argument. “I believe we have to understand these structures and systems. Here in America, we have private prisons that make money. That has to end. We dehumanize people because they are immigrants, because they are different, because of their ethnicity or religion. If we talk more about justice and we commit more to fairness and equality, we can do a lot more to eliminate poverty around the world.”
Stevenson has been to multiple screenings of the film across the country and among his biggest takeaway from the experience so far is the fact that people who have seen it, regardless of their color and gender, are blown away by the film’s message.
“It has been so humbling to see people react with such enthusiasm. People seemed to be really moved by the film and what it tells me is that if people saw the paintings that I see, they would want the same response, they would want more hope, more mercy, more justice and this film provides an opportunity for them to see what I have been seeing through the course of my career,” he said.
The cast led by Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson and the ensemble all delivered wonderful acting and magnificent performances, giving justice to the compelling and powerful story.
Jordan reflected Stevenson’s steel determination and grit, and highlighted his intelligence and moral conviction, providing a brilliant and moving story that is one for the ages.
The film showed how important faith is, since it fuels the fire in Stevenson’s bones to end death penalty and heal the wounds of oppressive racism.
Foxx recently told Good Morning America that Just Mercy is the “most important film I’ve ever done” while Jordan has called Stevenson as “the superhero of our times”.
Such accolades are humbling, Stevenson told the Asian Journal.
“I am just so honored to be in the company of such extraordinary people. Jamie is one of the great actors of our time and he is unbelievable talented and skilled and Michael is just an extraordinary human being who is obviously at the top of his game. To spend time with these remarkable people and have them say such generous and gracious things about me is incredibly energizing and also humbling,” he said.
