The arc of the moral universe bends toward justice

Commentator and author Jeffrey Toobin interviewed Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, for The New York Times--here is the final question and answer: 

Toobin: Final question, Bryan. True or false: The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice?

Stevenson: I think it’s true. Of course, it depends on people’s willingness to prioritize justice and refuse to tolerate injustice. But when I look at human history, it’s hard for me to say that it isn’t true. The fact that you and I are having this conversation in a space occupied by The New York Times is, in itself, evidence of that. I think about this all the time. The people who came before me would put on their Sunday best, go out to protest for the right to vote, get bloodied and beaten, then go home, wipe the blood off, change their clothes and go back out again.

My generation has not had to do that in the same way. Future generations, hopefully, won’t have to either. That just means the struggle for justice will take on a new form. So yes, I am persuaded of the truth of that — despite the moment we’re in. I guess one good thing about getting older is that you gain a broader perspective.

For example, in 1995, if you had told me we’d reach a point where the execution rate would drop dramatically, where very few people would be sentenced to death, where 11 states would abolish the death penalty, and where more and more states would choose not to use it — I couldn’t see that. I had to believe it. Or another example: Fifteen years ago, if you had told me I’d be operating a museum, a memorial and a park dealing with slavery, lynching and segregation — and that hundreds of thousands of people would come, that I’d even have to open restaurants and a hotel to accommodate them — I would’ve said that was crazy. And yet, here I am.

So I think that quote is really about whether we believe that truth has the power to be resurrected, even in the face of lies, and triumph. And I believe that, in every aspect of my being: culturally, socially, politically, spiritually. That’s what I’ve experienced. And the fact that there are difficult days, dark days, doesn’t dissuade me of that.

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