BOONE, N.C. — The Common Reading Program at Appalachian State University announces its 2019–20 book selection — “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by Bryan Stevenson. “Just Mercy” details the injustices of a broken criminal justice system that punishes impoverished people, and Stevenson’s work to improve that system.

For the past 22 years, the Common Reading Program Committee has selected a book for incoming first-year students to read together in order to jump-start intellectual engagement both inside and outside the classroom.

“The Common Reading Committee selected ‘Just Mercy’ for its relevance to a wide range of academic disciplines and because Stevenson’s work has had a profound impact on our society,” said Dr. Martha McCaughey, director of the Common Reading Program.

Dr. Mark Ginn, vice provost for undergraduate education, said the reading program “supports a culture of intellectual engagement in a variety of contexts, both inside and outside the classroom; encourages students to engage with texts critically with the expectation of building topical and global knowledge; and enables students to practice civil discourse in a dissensual community.”

Stevenson, a graduate of Harvard Law School and founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama, has dedicated his career as a public interest lawyer to helping the poor, the incarcerated and the condemned.

EJI has exonerated innocent death row prisoners, won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, aided children prosecuted as adults, and opposed the abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill. Stevenson successfully argued in the U.S. Supreme Court that mandatory life without parole sentences for all children 17 or younger are unconstitutional.

Most recently, with EJI, Stevenson founded the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, also known as the Lynching Memorial, in Montgomery.

All incoming students will receive a copy of “Just Mercy” when they come to campus for Summer Orientation and will discuss the book during Welcome Weekend in August.

Students will remain engaged with the book and its themes throughout the academic year, in their First Year Seminar courses and at cocurricular events throughout the year, such as faculty panel discussions organized by the Department of Government and Justice Studies and the Department of Sociology.

Stevenson will give a public talk, followed by a book signing, on Appalachian's campus in fall 2019. The event will be free and open to the public.

University faculty members who wish to lead a 75-minute discussion with new students during Appalachian's fall 2019 Welcome Weekend about the book and about what to expect in college classes should contact Clinton Marsh, assistant director of orientation, at marshrc@appstate.edu, or Dr. Martha McCaughey at mccaugheym@appstate.edu by May 1.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

By Bryan Stevenson
2014

A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.

Available from Penguin Random House

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Common Reading Program

Since 1997, incoming first-year students at Appalachian have been asked to read a book as part of their orientation to the University. By participating in the Common Reading Program, students establish a common experience with other new students that helps develop a sense of community and introduce them to a part of the academic life they are beginning at Appalachian. This program is an exciting facet of the first year experience at Appalachian.

Learn more

See previous Common Reading Program selections

Appalachian’s Common Reading Program announces 2018-19 selection

Feb. 16, 2018

“The Laramie Project,” a play about the community of Laramie, Wyoming, following the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, is Appalachian’s 2018-19 Common Reading Program selection for first-year students.

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About the Common Reading Program at Appalachian

Since 1997, incoming first-year students at Appalachian State University have been asked to read a book as part of their orientation to the university. By participating in the Common Reading Program, students establish a common experience with other new students that will help develop a sense of community with their new environment and introduce them to a part of the academic life they are beginning at Appalachian. This program is an exciting facet in Appalachian's orientation of new students to life on campus. Learn more at https://commonreading.appstate.edu/about.

About University College

Formed in 2007, University College consists of the university’s general education program, faculty and student support, and co-curricular programming and support – all designed to support the work of students both inside and outside the classroom. All students at Appalachian begin their education in University College and benefit from its programs until they graduate. Learn more at https://universitycollege.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.