Civil rights hero Bryan Stevenson gets movie star moment with HBO documentary 'True Justice'
In this LA Times piece, GREJ Director Tanya Coke offers commentary on the importance of Ford Foundation trustee and grantee Bryan Stevenson's work over the years to reimagine the criminal justice system in the U.S. The piece looks at how HBO's new documentary “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality” showcases Stevenson's extraordinary work, and his life, as one the best-known unknown people shaping American criminal justice law today.
Published on THE LOS ANGELES TIMES | JUNE 26, 2019
Civil rights hero Bryan Stevenson gets movie star moment with HBO documentary 'True Justice'
BY John Anderson
Whether you’re running a major studio or see a movie once a year, you know who Steven Spielberg is. You might be a classical music impresario or a death-metal junkie, but you still know the name Yo-Yo Ma. And if you’re involved in criminal-justice reform, death-penalty appeals, poverty law and the struggle for racial justice in the U.S. courts, you certainly know Bryan Stevenson. But otherwise, you might say, “Huh?”
From Tanya Coke: “I looked over at him and asked him how long he planned to do this work. I was imagining that he would say five years, tops; capital defense work was so stressful, and he had a degree from Harvard and could have made a career anywhere. But instead he answered, ‘As long as it takes.’ ‘As long as what takes?’ I asked. And he replied, ‘As long as it takes to end the death penalty in America.’
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The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For more than 85 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.