Admiration List: Bryan Stevenson

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Bryan Stevenson is known for defending people on death row. He specializes in helping people who have nowhere else to go. He built the Equal Justice Initiative and has earned international respect for the work he does. All of this more than earns my admiration.

However, the reason I would like to either meet him or attend one of his speeches is because of the following quote:

My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice.

I heard him say this during his TED talk and found it in his book. The first time I heard it, my reaction was this: “FINALLY! Someone came right out and SAID that!”

This is definitely someone I would like to meet.

Vacation Film Viewing

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While on vacation, I attended a workshop presented by Mick Caouette of South Hill Films. The workshop consisted of viewing and discussing twp South Hills Films documentaries:

Both films were extremely well-done and a pleasure to watch.

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Mr. Civil Rights provided some fascinating insight into the strategies utilized by the legal team that established the NAACP and achieved both the integration of the school system and the elimination of Jim Crow.

Hubert H Humphrey went into the behind-the-scenes dramas that occurred while Humphrey was vice president. During his time as Vice President, this Vietnam War era politician was vilified for being pro-war. According to the details presented by this film, he was not pro-war, and the undisclosed political maneuverings were significantly more complicated and (frankly) vicious than most people realize.