"Our humanity is worth a little discomfort, it's actually worth a lot of discomfort."

Ijeoma Oluo, the author of the new book, "So you want to talk about race" recently said, "Our humanity is worth a little discomfort, it's actually worth a lot of discomfort."  She was talking specifically about the issue of racial justice and the current state of our society.  Oluo means that you are either fighting racism or you are complicit.  It's not easy to talk about issues such as racial equality, but if we are to move forward as a society, we absolutely have to do so.  And it will be uncomfortable.


My wife and I recently had the opportunity to hear Bryan Stevenson speak at an event sponsored by the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.  Stevenson is the founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, and the author of the critically acclaimed book "Just Mercy" (the book was recently made into a movie, starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson, which opens on Christmas Day, December 25, 2019).  I have to be honest, the book has been sitting on my night stand for the past couple of weeks.  My wife recently read it in her book club, and the book is actually our youngest daughter's (it was her freshman college class book).  After hearing Mr. Stevenson speak, the book has moved to the top of my list of "books to read" and is now being carried back and forth to work (recall, "Today's word is...Tsundoku").  I started reading it yesterday.


Since graduating from the Harvard School of Law, Mr. Stevenson has spent his career (really, his life) helping the poor, the incarcerated, and the condemned.  His legal team has won reversals of cases or releases of prison for over 135 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row, as well as countless others who were wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced.  During his speech, he told the story of a young child (12 years of age) who was tried as an adult and sent to jail for murder (he also tells the same story in his book, as well as the HBO documentary based on his life, "True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality").  The psychological and physical trauma inflicted on this child during his first night in jail was more than just "cruel and unusual punishment."  It was immoral and wrong, even if he did commit an unspeakable crime.


I would encourage you to watch Mr. Stevenson's documentary, or at least his TED Talk "We need to talk about an injustice".  He is an amazingly gifted speaker.  He is awe-inspiring.  And he speaks truth.  Rather than talking about these issues in depth ("I could talk all night on the problems we are facing as a society"), Mr. Stevenson chose to talk about solutions.  His solution, in essence, boiled down to four key points:


1. Proximity: We need to get closer to the people in our community who have been marginalized and excluded.  Proximity will allow us to share in their experiences and learn from them.  Knowledge is powerful.  It's like the old adage says, "Before you judge someone, walk a mile in his or her shoes."  We can learn so much from just experiencing the typical day in someone else's life.  By doing so, we often gain a greater appreciation and a deeper understanding about why they do the things they do, why they make the decisions they make, and how they live the lives that they live.  Proximity matters.  Personal closeness matters.


2. Change the narrative: We hear so much today about the false narrative, regardless of whether the issues deal with race, poverty, immigration, etc.  We can only change the narrative if we acknowledge our past injustices and learn from them.  Mr. Stevenson shared one anecdote that I found particularly powerful, dealing with the issue of statues of Confederate leaders from the Civil War.  He stated that the two largest high schools in Montgomery, Alabama were named after Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.  Every year, on January 19th, while the rest of our country celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr Day, Robert E. Lee Day is celebrated throughout the South (in Florida it is actually a legal holiday).  There are statues of Confederate war "heroes" or streets named after Confederate Generals and politicians all around the South even still today.  In contrast, other countries have acknowledged their past.  Stevenson states, "You can't walk 100 yards in Germany without seeing a reminder of the Holocaust.  But you will never, ever find a statue of Adolph Hitler there."  In order to move forward as a nation, we have got to change the narrative.


3. Stay hopeful: Mr. Stevenson tells how he has found hope even in some of the darkest days of his career.  He tells about one particular instance, when he went to go see a client in jail and was subjected to overt racism (he was forced to prove that he really was a lawyer to one particular security officer and had to undergo a strip search to even enter the jail - in this case, the security officer had bragged about the fact that he was a White Supremacist).  His client was mentally disabled and had been through a long series of foster homes.  During the trial, Mr. Stevenson noticed the same racist security officer in the courtroom.  However, the next time he went to see his client in jail, the same security officer let him in - he even pulled Mr. Stevenson aside to apologize for his previous behavior.  "Sir, I too came from a long series of bad foster homes.  I was lucky enough to have escaped.  You are doing good work.  Please keep it up."  In other words, people can change.  We need to remain hopeful that people can and will change.  Society too will change. 


4. Do things that are uncomfortable and inconvenient: "Justice requires that good people position themselves in difficult places and bear witness."  We have to get uncomfortable and confront all of these issues head on, just as Ijeoma Oluo suggests.  We need to take a stand and speak out against discrimination in all its many forms.  Justice requires it.  At times, standing on our moral principles may force us to confront friends and even family members - but we have to do so.  Racial justice requires it.


The event this past week was awe-inspiring.  It was powerful.  I encourage you all to check out Bryan Stevenson's website, his TED talk, his documentary, and, like I am now doing, his book.