About the speaker
Bryan Stevenson (1959) is an American lawyer, social justice activist, law professor at New York University School of Law, and the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, he has challenged bias against the poor and minorities in the criminal justice system, especially children. He has helped achieve United States Supreme Court decisions that prohibit sentencing children under 18 to death or to life imprisonment without parole. He has assisted in cases that have saved dozens of prisoners from the death penalty, advocated for the poor, and developed community-based reform litigation aimed at improving the administration of criminal justice.
About the Martin Luther King Lecture
Martin Luther King's non-violent struggle for equal rights is still an inspiration today. With his speeches, he enthused many and managed to build bridges and remove resistance. This annual lecture is in memory of his work and to inspire.
The Martin Luther King Lecture is made possible by Stichting Martin Luther King Lezing, VUvereniging and the Diversity Office of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.