Bryan Stevenson, author of The New York Times bestseller Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, and founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., spoke at Milwaukee Area Technical College March 9. The free, public presentation, “American Injustice: Mercy, Humanity and Making a Difference,” was followed by a panel discussion and book signing. The presentation and panel discussion were held in Cooley Auditorium and the book signing in M605, both in the Main Building.
Marcus White, vice president of civic engagement at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, moderated the panel discussion. Other panelists joining Stevenson included Tannette Johnson-Elie, instructor/editor-in-chief at the Marquette University Urban Journalism Workshop and writer for INSIGHT into Diversity and Marketwired; Rev. Bryan Massingale, professor of theology at Marquette University and author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church; and Marty Ordinans, program administrator of MATC’s Right Path program, which helps adult children of incarcerated parents earn high school diplomas or GEDs.
The recipient of numerous awards, including the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant, Stevenson was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for 2015. Just Mercy won the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and was on Time magazine’s “10 Best Books of Non Fiction” in 2014.
The Equal Justice Initiative (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. EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment.
The event was sponsored by MATC and the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin and presented in partnership with Bader Philanthropies, Inc., the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the MATC Foundation, Inc.