Analyzing Bryan Stevenson's Speech

Bryan Stevenson Review

Wednesday evening, the Oberlin community was fortunate enough to attend Bryan Stevenson’s speech. Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, based in Montgomery, Alabama. The Equal Justice Initiative strives to provide legal representation for death row prisoners. He founded this nonprofit after interning for a criminal justice office one summer as a law student. He was so inspired by the lawyers passion and the incredible difference they were making in the lives of those condemned to death. Stevenson's speech was incredibly moving. He spoke about his personal experiences as well as offered advice to the audience on how to “change the world”, as he put it. He divided his advice into four simple steps for making a difference; proximating oneself, changing the narrative, preserving hopefulness and stepping outside one’s comfort zone.
His first step, proximation, struck me more profoundly than the rest. Stevenson made the point that, while many want to make a difference though few make the effort to sufficiently immerse themselves. Physically going to the location or meeting the person/people in danger provides a much better

A culture’s narrative is so ingrained in its citizen’s lives, that the inlaid issues are often overlooked or forgotten about. Children grow up reciting pledges, singing songs and reading books that, over time, condition them to think a certain way. The American narrative, as Stevenson spoke about, has fostered a nation of white supremacy and negative stereotypes towards people of color. Because of this, millions of innocent people are automatically assumed to be dangerous are subject to a significantly higher percentage of incarceration. Stevenson’s idea is to change the narrative to eliminate these stereotypes and ultimately change the way authority views its non-white