Bryan Stevenson

And the man, to her surprise, said, does that memo talk about the lynching? And she said, it does. And then the man said, can I read it? And she gave the man the memo and he started reading while she started digging. And after a few minutes, the man finished reading the memo. He put it down. And then he really surprised her. And he said, excuse me, ma'am, but would it be all right if I helped you?

And she said, yes. And the man got down on his knees next to her. And she offered him the implement to dig the soil. He said, no, no, no, no, no. You keep it. I'll just use my hands. And she said he started throwing his hands into the soil and putting it in the jar and throwing his hands into the soil with his whole body. And she said there was something about the conviction that

And she said, yes. And the man got down on his knees next to her. And she offered him the implement to dig the soil. He said, no, no, no, no, no. You keep it. I'll just use my hands. And she said he started throwing his hands into the soil and putting it in the jar and throwing his hands into the soil with his whole body. And she said there was something about the conviction that

And she said, yes. And the man got down on his knees next to her. And she offered him the implement to dig the soil. He said, no, no, no, no, no. You keep it. I'll just use my hands. And she said he started throwing his hands into the soil and putting it in the jar and throwing his hands into the soil with his whole body. And she said there was something about the conviction that

with which he was putting his whole body into this that just moved her. And the tears started running down her face. And the man looked at her and he said, oh, ma'am, I'm so sorry. I'm upsetting you. She said, no, no, no, no, no. You're blessing me. And she kept digging with the implement. He kept digging with his hands. And they got near the top.

with which he was putting his whole body into this that just moved her. And the tears started running down her face. And the man looked at her and he said, oh, ma'am, I'm so sorry. I'm upsetting you. She said, no, no, no, no, no. You're blessing me. And she kept digging with the implement. He kept digging with his hands. And they got near the top.

with which he was putting his whole body into this that just moved her. And the tears started running down her face. And the man looked at her and he said, oh, ma'am, I'm so sorry. I'm upsetting you. She said, no, no, no, no, no. You're blessing me. And she kept digging with the implement. He kept digging with his hands. And they got near the top.

of the jar and she looked over and she saw that the man had slowed down, that his face had turned red, that his shoulders had dropped. And then she said she saw a tear running down his face. And she put her hand on his shoulder and she said, are you all right? And that's when the man looked at her and he said, no, ma'am, no, ma'am.

of the jar and she looked over and she saw that the man had slowed down, that his face had turned red, that his shoulders had dropped. And then she said she saw a tear running down his face. And she put her hand on his shoulder and she said, are you all right? And that's when the man looked at her and he said, no, ma'am, no, ma'am.

of the jar and she looked over and she saw that the man had slowed down, that his face had turned red, that his shoulders had dropped. And then she said she saw a tear running down his face. And she put her hand on his shoulder and she said, are you all right? And that's when the man looked at her and he said, no, ma'am, no, ma'am.

And then he said, I'm just so worried that it might have been my grandfather who helped lynch this man. And she said, both of them just sat on that roadside and wept. After a few minutes, the man turned to her and he said, ma'am, I really want to take a picture of you holding the jar of soil. She said, okay, but I want to take a picture of you holding the jar of soil.

And then he said, I'm just so worried that it might have been my grandfather who helped lynch this man. And she said, both of them just sat on that roadside and wept. After a few minutes, the man turned to her and he said, ma'am, I really want to take a picture of you holding the jar of soil. She said, okay, but I want to take a picture of you holding the jar of soil.

And then he said, I'm just so worried that it might have been my grandfather who helped lynch this man. And she said, both of them just sat on that roadside and wept. After a few minutes, the man turned to her and he said, ma'am, I really want to take a picture of you holding the jar of soil. She said, okay, but I want to take a picture of you holding the jar of soil.

And so they took pictures of one another. And she said, well, I'm going back to Montgomery to put this in the museum. And the man said, would it be all right if I just followed you back? And she said, sure. And she called me on the way back. She said, Mr. Stevenson, I want you to come to the museum and meet my new friend.

And so they took pictures of one another. And she said, well, I'm going back to Montgomery to put this in the museum. And the man said, would it be all right if I just followed you back? And she said, sure. And she called me on the way back. She said, Mr. Stevenson, I want you to come to the museum and meet my new friend.

And so they took pictures of one another. And she said, well, I'm going back to Montgomery to put this in the museum. And the man said, would it be all right if I just followed you back? And she said, sure. And she called me on the way back. She said, Mr. Stevenson, I want you to come to the museum and meet my new friend.

And I was there when these two people who met on a roadside in a place of bigotry and violence and hate came in together and did something beautiful by putting that jar of soil in that exhibit. I'm not naive. I don't think beautiful things like that always happen when we tell the truth. But I do believe we deny ourselves the beauty of justice when we refuse to tell the truth.

And I was there when these two people who met on a roadside in a place of bigotry and violence and hate came in together and did something beautiful by putting that jar of soil in that exhibit. I'm not naive. I don't think beautiful things like that always happen when we tell the truth. But I do believe we deny ourselves the beauty of justice when we refuse to tell the truth.

And I was there when these two people who met on a roadside in a place of bigotry and violence and hate came in together and did something beautiful by putting that jar of soil in that exhibit. I'm not naive. I don't think beautiful things like that always happen when we tell the truth. But I do believe we deny ourselves the beauty of justice when we refuse to tell the truth.

On the other side of truth is redemption, restoration, reconciliation. I don't talk about slavery and lynching and segregation because I want to punish. I talk about these things because I want us to be liberated from the harm, the burden, the weight that history will continue to carry until we confront it, until we continue to acknowledge it.