HANCOCK COUNTY — When members of the Hancock County League of Women Voters started planning a community reading project based on the book, “Just Mercy,” they had no idea how quickly people would get on board.
Within less than a month of distributing 400 copies around the county — including leaving hundreds out with a bookmark encouraging people to pick it up, read it, then pass it on — all the copies had been claimed.
“They’re out in the ether now. We don’t know where they are, but we hope they’re being read and shared,” said Donna Steele, one of the members spearheading the project.
The book, written by Bryan Stevenson, tells the story of his experiences as a young attorney in Alabama fighting to exonerate people on death row who had been falsely accused. It explores the topic of race as it pertains to the criminal justice system.
The League of Women Voters hopes to use the book to encourage a local discussion on race, especially in light of today’s social climate and ongoing clashes between law enforcement and minorities and social justice protests.
Kyle Turpin, marketing manager at the Hancock County Public Library, said copies of Stevenson’s book were snatched up within less than four weeks at both county library branches, as well as the Fortville-Vernon Township Public Library.
“Between the three libraries in the county…we have handed out 150 copies of the book,” said Turpin, who is hoping a big crowd turns out next month for a public screening of the movie based on the book.
The League of Women Voters will play host to a screening of the movie May 6 at the Ricks Centre for the Arts in downtown Greenfield, as well as a panel discussion after the film.
“I would encourage anyone who has a copy of the book to take the (attached) survey to receive their free entry to the screening, and pass the book on to a friend so that more people can participate,” Turpin said.
Steele said the movie screening and panel discussion has the potential to create a productive community discussion on today’s racial climate and the criminal justice system.
Panelists will include: Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton; Mike Cunigan, a retired police officer and former city councilman from Muncie, who is Black; and the Rev. Patty Franklin of the Evangel Church of Greenfield, a Black minister and peace advocate.
The discussion will be moderated by Erin Kelly, program director of The Polis Center at IUPUI, which hosts the annual Spirit & Place Festival.
Kelly conducted an introductory Zoom session among panelists last week, said Steele, but is saving the discussion for the public event on May 6.
In addition to the panel discussion and movie screening, the League of Women Voters is also planning to have a Teen Town Hall for select area high school students on May 13. Participants will include Michelle Ways, Hancock County deputy prosecutor; and Fran Watson, from the IUPUI Law School Wrongful Conviction Clinic.
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The League of Women Voters of Hancock County is promoting a community discussion on the book, “Just Mercy.” The book was written by Bryan Stevenson, a Black lawyer who founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending the poor and the wrongly convicted.
The League distributed 400 copies through local libraries and hand-deliveries to local community and civic leaders.
Members ask that those who have picked up copies take part in the survey listed in the enclosed bookmark, and pass it along to a new reader.
The public is invited to a public screening of the film based on the book, “Just Mercy,” followed by a discussion will take place May 6 at the Ricks Centre for the Arts in Greenfield. The movie, released in 2019, stars Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.
For more information, follow the League of Women Voters of Hancock County Indiana on Facebook.
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