“We cannot be full, evolved human beings until we care about human rights and basic dignity.” According to the powerful TED talk from an American lawyer, activist, and author of “Just Mercy,” speaker Bryan Stevenson projected his message of the great inequality in the country to the audience by clearly mentioning the responsibility for improving the society is on “US.” On top of that, he thoroughly presented the hopelessness in the poor communities and communities of color, and he stated the injustice as well as the unbalanced right that these communities have endured. Mr. Stevenson called the audience to action in changing society to become a welcoming home through the method of “Pathos and Logos,” delivering his tone in a calm but demanding voice.
Mr. Stevenson started to open the door to “Injustice” earlier in the talk that“Our system isn’t just being shaped in these ways that seem to be distorting around race, they’re also distorted by poverty. We have a system of justice in this country that treats you much better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent,” this is painting an upsetting image of the communities of color and the poor. Furthermore, his bold tone on the last phrase “treats you much better if you’re rich and guilty,” helps the audience to feel more empathetic towards the poor. Thus, he urged the audiences/leaders to stand up and advocate for them or those who don’t have the privilege/voice to withstand themselves in the court/society among others. Moreover, this fact helps the audiences to feel the burden of injustice while experiencing the feeling of anxiousness/sorrow of the unfairness in the society that these communities have to deal with.
In addition to utilizing the “Pathos,” he also managed to use an impactful usage of “Logos”’ to evoke his audiences to feel the “Pain.” The somber emotions from the use of “Pathos” helps to strengthen the factual evidence that he is conveying, while striking to the core of the audiences’ hearts to form sympathetic emotion toward the communities of color and the poor.
This fearless speaker continued to clear the dust off the forgotten/judgemental mirror and stated that “My state of Alabama, like a number of states, actually permanently disenfranchises you if you have a criminal conviction. Right now in Alabama, 34 percent of the Black male population has permanently lost the right to vote,” this astonishing fact is transparently communicated to the audiences that people are being disconnected and treated unfairly due to various crimes they committed. This proves that if anyone committed a certain crime, it will result in closure to other opening doors. That being the case, Stevenson challenged the audiences to be aware of this issue, but essentially urged them to act for equality and create hope for the condemned and the poor.
Mr. Stevenson strongly emphasized that “In urban communities across this country — Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington — 50 to 60 percent of all young men of color are in jail or prison or on probation or parole,” this profound statistic clearly shows a lack of empathy, knowledge of understanding, investigation, and consideration, which results in unfairness. Furthermore, his disappointing tone started to wake his audiences up to reality and encourage them to use their voice against this never-ending shade.
To cluster what has been stated above, we can’t construct a welcoming society where there is a bright color of “Justice, Equality, and Hope” without everyone’s voice and help. “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice; that we cannot be full, evolved human beings until we care about human rights and basic dignity,” as he has demonstrated, “Our humanity depends on everyone’s humanity,” therefore, we need to be conscious, to recognize, and be aware of this issue, and use our voice to help the poor, the communities of color, and “OUR SOCIETY.” We need to commence to comprehend and hear the pain of injustice, unbalanced rights, and racial issues by today. Mr. Stevenson ended his TEd talk by quoting a considered phrase“keep your eyes on the prize, hold on,” demanding and moving his audience from thoughts to action, and positively pushes them to fight against this barrier together.