Recently Watched: Just Mercy (2019)

So let me start with Just Mercy does end on a happy, feel good note. That’s important, especially in today’s climate, because more often than not stories related to this topic leave you frustrated and feeling hopeless….. and we all know “hopelessness is the enemy of justice” 😉

Which brings me to my first thematic #takeaway #1 #HOPE
It’s evident that the individuals in power will not always seek to render justice and while that’s a disheartening realization, this movie reminds us that change is feasible. Not everyone will agree (and I’m okay with that) but if you don’t believe change is possible then you are an accessory to our society’s very demise. When Bryan Stevenson’s character, portrayed as Michael B. Jordan, first meets Walter McMillan’s wife she poignantly explains “What I’m suppose to tell them [referring to her children] about staying out of trouble when you can be in your own house, minding your own business, surrounded by your entire family, and they still go and put some murder on you”.

By the end of the movie, Stevenson acknowledges: “I came out of law school with grand ideas in my mind about how to change the world. But Mr. McMillian made me realize we can’t change the world with only ideas in our minds. We need conviction in our hearts… Hope allows us to push forword, even when the truth is distorted by the people in power. It allows us to stand when they tell us to sit down, and to speak when they say be quiet.”

#thematic #takeaway #2 #HUMANITY
We – every living, breathing human – have way more in common than some of us care to acknowledge. Sometimes we spend way more time trying to identify differences than we do just acknowledging our humble existence.
When Bryan Stevenson visits Ralph Myers, the man whose knowingly false testimony sent a man to death row, they get to talking about the injustices that Myers endured early in his life. In that same conversation Stevenson reminds Myers, “They’re using you to condemn a man who you have much more in common with than you think”.
This grim statement is a reminder to us all that while our intentions may not be to directly hurt someone else, the impact of privilege & thoughtlessness can be devastating.

When faced with tough decisions will you allow your fear to silence you? And your comfort to blind you? Will you allow your race to shield you behind a veil of ignorance? Or will you recognize & render dignity to others no matter their zip code, bank account status, skin color, profession, and hair texture?

✨ Don’t ever underestimate the impact you have to spread hope and humanity 🕊️

✨ Fellow Parents, Guardians, and Educators: you must be prepared to lead a meaningful and transparent discussion about certain topics (such as abuse of power, racism, lynching, and capital punishment) otherwise I wouldn’t watch this movie with or let children watch it 💬