A community panel “Just Mercy: Injustice and Us” will be held at Hull Prairie Intermediate, 25480 Hull Prairie Road, Perrysburg, Wednesday, Jan. 15 from 7-9 p.m. The event, hosted by The Perrysburg Coalition of Inclusion and Social Justice, will respond to the film “Just Mercy,” now playing at Levis Commons 12 Cinema.
The film is based on Bryan Stevenson’s book “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. According to the organizers: “Bryan Stevenson’s mission has been to help end mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting asic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. His story, ‘Just Mercy,’ exemplifies these missions.”
The panel will discuss: “What can our community in Perrysburg take away from this experience? This panel will discuss the historical backgrounds of law enforcement and the justice system, the impacts of this history on our current system and where we can go from here as we become more aware and build our cultural competence together as a community.”
Panel members will be: Dr. Stephen Demuth, sociologist with expertise in criminology; Dr. Starr Keyes, professor of education with expertise urban education; Toni Shoola, community manager with the Pretrial Justice Institute; Dr. Marvin Whitfield, criminal justice scholar with expertise in implicit bias; Dr. Jolie Sheffer, scholar in critical studies in race, gender, and ethnicity; Dr. Nicole Jackson, historian on African American community movements and activism; and Andrew Mayle, defense lawyer.
