A Message from the Equal Justice Initiative Founder and Just Mercy Author Bryan Stevenson

Supporting racial equity in education is essential to racial justice. We’re thrilled to share our new partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that works to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality.

Starting on August 6, projects that request Just Mercy alongside other books from a special list focused on racial justice will receive doubled donations, thanks to EJI. EJI founder Bryan Stevenson shared this note with our community.

“At the Equal Justice Initiative, we believe that our nation has failed to honestly teach and engage with our history of racial injustice, and that this failure has left us vulnerable to a legacy of racism, unjust treatment of the poor and people of color, and unreliable and abusive practices in our justice system. 

Today, America has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, repeated acts of police violence have caused deep pain and stress in communities, and racial bias remains deeply entrenched in American life. We work to address these issues each day, but we understand that we need allies and that teachers in America are on the frontlines of an important struggle to make education more complete, more honest, and more effective at reckoning with American histories of unjust treatment. 

We want to support teachers, students, parents, communities, and educators who believe that a more focused effort must be made to prepare a new generation so they are equipped to understand and eliminate racism, bigotry, and inequality. We are proud to partner with DonorsChoose in supporting teachers who want to use Just Mercy and other materials produced by EJI to engage students in understanding our criminal justice system and the legacy of racial injustice. 

We at EJI are grateful for this community of teachers and in particular, for your leadership and willingness to address these important topics. I would not be able to do what I do today had I not been educated by teachers who, when I was a student, inspired me to believe that there is more that can and should be done to create the kind of just society we seek. Thank you for continuing this important tradition, we are grateful for all you do.”

If you’re a teacher and want to request a copy of Just Mercy for your class, check out our help center article to learn how to qualify for the match.