MORGANTOWN – Bryan Stevenson, a nationally-recognized activist and author, will speak at West Virginia University as part of the school’s David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas and the 2016-17 Campus Read.
The free lecture is open to the public and will held in the Mountainlair Ballrooms on Monday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be obtained at the box office in the Mountainlair and at the Creative Arts Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4 and on Nov. 7. Tickets are limited to one per person and the event will be streamed at tlcommons.wvu.edu/webcasts.
Stevenson will discuss his best selling book, “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.” The school’s Campus Read committee adopted the book for the academic year, and it’s been discussed in hundreds of classes all over campus.
“We choose that book because we thought it best fit the needs of our campus,” Campus Read Committee Chair Susan Lantz told the West Virginia Record. “It gave us controversial ideas and a lot of different things we thought our students could latch onto.”
The book tells Stevenson’s story of when he was a law student and unsure of what he’s learning is what he wanted to do with his life. Then one day while working at an internship, he has to deliver a message to someone on death row. It’s at that moment he discovers his life’s calling — to represent the underrepresented and help them get justice. After this discovery, Stevenson becomes more engaged, has a better understanding of what he’s doing in law school and what it has do to with the real world.
“We thought, ‘That’s the way to go!’ "Lantz said. “That is something that college students would really engage with.”
Since “Just Mercy” has circulated though the West Virginia University campus, students, faculty and staff have had a chance to explore issues of race, poverty, mental illness and capital punishment through a number of platforms including art exhibits, theatrical performances and faculty panel discussions. A film festival is also upcoming.
“It’s very beautiful, very well written,” Lantz said. “It tells the story of people of color, women who are in bad shape and children who have been put in prison before they’re tried. It’s a horrible place for them."
Stevenson, who has spent his career helping the poor, incarcerated and condemned, has won major legal challenges to exonerate death row inmates and confronted the abuse of the incarcerated and mentally ill. He’s even argued several cases before the United States Supreme Court, including a historic ruling in 2012 that declared mandatory life without parole sentences for minors are unconstitutional.
His work, and book, have had an impact on the West Virginia University student body that doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon, Lantz said.
“I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to watch young students looking at the world from a different perspective,” she said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean you should change your perspective, but the more you know about a lot of different people, the better your decisions are. It’s been a wonderful journey for all of us, The students have really embraced the book, they find it fascinating, and they are thinking and questioning. They’re excited about Bryan Stevenson coming.”