HYDE PARK — Criminal justice reform advocate Bryan Stevenson will be this year’s keynote speaker for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration Monday at the University of Chicago.
Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that provides legal representation to people who have been convicted illegally, unfairly sentenced or abused while in a jail or prison.
His nonprofit has helped save 125 men from death penalty sentences and he personally lead a successful campaigns to get the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that mandatory sentences of life without parole for children 17 and younger are unconstitutional.
He will speak at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9 at Rockefeller Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the event will be also webcast on the university’s web site.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bryan Stevenson to our campus to celebrate the history and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Regina Dixon-Reeves, assistant vice provost for diversity and inclusion, in an announcement of the event. “Our excitement stems from his ability to speak for some of our society’s most disenfranchised — those involved in the criminal justice system who are overwhelmingly poor, minority, young and underrepresented.”
The event is free and open to the public.
After Stevenson’s remarks, U. of C. law professor Craig Futterman will lead a question-and-answer session.
Also as part of the event, the university will present its 2016 Diversity Leadership Awards to university faculty or staff that promote diversity, social justice and equity on campus and beyond.
This year’s recipients are former university police chief Rudy Nimocks, professor Margaret Beale Spencer and Silk Road Rising founder Jamil Khoury.
The event is the kick off for the university’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations, which culminate with a day of service in the community by university faculty, students and staff on Jan. 14.
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