Coop’s Movie Scoop Just Mercy

Occasionally, I’ll watch a movie that has a great impact on me. One of those movies happened to be, Just Mercy.

Just Mercy stars the incredible, handsome actor, Michael B. Jordan and the amazing Academy Award actor, Jamie Fox. I knew this movie would be intense, but it really showed the ugliness that can sometimes happen in this world. The movie is based on a true story. It is about a black man that lived in Alabama named Walter McMillian who was wrongly accused of killing a young woman that was white.  He was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Fortunately, for Walter, as my pastor says, “there was a ram in the bush” wanting to help him named, Bryan Stevenson. I’ve learned no matter how bad something seems, if it’s in the heavens for you to prevail, you will.  Stevenson, a recent young black lawyer who graduated from Harvard, took on McMillian’s case.

Although all the evidence Stevenson found proved Walter’s innocence, the corrupt justice system still wanted to kill him.

It hurts to know that there is hate just because of your skin color. I often think about the ones who came before me and the prejudice they had to endure so I would have a future. As a black woman with a disability, do I feel as if I face more obstacles than my counter parts? Yes. Life is based on certain characteristics of who you are and if you don’t meet the mold, you must work twice as hard to prove yourself.

Thankfully, through Stevenson’s tireless work, he was able to prove Walter’s innocence. It wasn’t easy because some were trying to make it hard by creating obstacles that seemed too big to climb but as my pastor says again, “if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can tell the mountain to move and it must obey”. Not only did Stevenson have faith but he also had knowledge and truth on his side, which lead to a winning combination; Stevenson is still proving the innocence of other incarcerated inmates through a program he created.

We’re taught not to discuss such things as, prejudices out of respect to others. Although we often don’t, we all know it’s apparent that it continues to be the thousand-pound gorilla in the room. Are we any better in the world than we used to be? I’m going to say yes, but I also think we can do better.    Respectful forums should occur often, so we won’t slip back into an era of pure hatred toward our fellow man or woman. I highly recommend all take time and go see, Just Mercy. It’s an impactful movie that will go down in history as a classic.

 

8 comments on “Coop’s Movie Scoop Just Mercy

  1. Jerome Haney on

    I have not seen the movie, just because of its aura. However, I think I will do better to view it, being that I’m actively involved with Social Justice in our church denomination. Always a good job Shari.

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