Dean's Book Club: Just Mercy & Diversity Conversations

Join Dean Marion E. Broome and Dr. Brigit Carter for the Dean's Book Club being held several times this fall semester. This semester's book choice is titled "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" by Bryan Stevenson.

A memoir centered on social justice, equality and the quest for innocence has been selected as the Duke University Class of 2020 Common Experience summer reading book. Attorney Bryan Stevenson's "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" relates his fight against racial and economic biases in the U.S. legal system. The story focuses on one of Stevenson's most famous cases, in which he helped exonerate Water McMillian, a black man convicted of killing a white woman in 1986. McMillian was held for six years on death row before the conviction was overturned.

The crime took place in Monroeville, Alabama, the same town where Harper Lee grew up and set the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," in which a black man is wrongly convicted of raping a white girl. Paperback editions are available at the Gothic Bookshop in the Bryan Center, West Campus.

The book club discussions will overlap with the Dean's Diversity Conversation gatherings as well. See schedule below:

Dates Times Locations Readings Wednesday, September 21 1 - 2 p.m. Pearson 3023 Chapters 1 - 4 Wednesday, October 12 3 - 4 p.m. Pearson 3088 Chapters 5 - 8 Wednesday, November 16 1 - 2 p.m. Pearson 3023 Chapters 9 - 12 Wednesday, December 14 3 - 4 p.m. Pearson 3088 Chapters 13 - 16

For more information or questions, contact Dr. Brigit Carter at brigit.carter@duke.edu.