Something about this year’s Go Big Read is a little different. What was once an attempt to engage and unite the campus around a common theme has become a powerful conversation among students, faculty and the surrounding Madison community. Dealing with the issue of racial inequity in the criminal justice system, this year’s Go Big Read hits home for those on and off campus.
Go Big Read, UW-Madison’s common reading program, started seven years ago under the direction of Chancellor Biddy Martin. The idea was to create a shared reading experience, aiming to build connections among those in the UW community and promote dynamic discussions on areas of importance. With topics ranging over the years from food-policy issues to stem cell research, the program reached fruition this year, finding record-breaking engagement with more than 170 courses including the book in their syllabi.
Alabama criminal defense attorney Bryan Stevenson’s book, “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” is this year’s common reading for students at UW-Madison. While the goal is to engage everyone in a shared discussion of a national issue, “Just Mercy” exceeded expectations, rallying students, professors, police officers and Madison residents around the problem of racial inequalities in our criminal justice system.
UW-Madison freshman Adeena Guyton read the book for her social justice first-year interest group class. She attended a talk with the author over brunch, in which she said her respect and admiration of Stevenson developed.
“It changed my opinions and it really opened my eyes to a lot of issues that I normally didn’t really have to think about,” Guyton said. “I mean, my stance on the death penalty completely flipped from, like, ‘Oh, I guess it’s okay,’ to thinking it’s the worst possible thing we have in our criminal justice system.” She later added, “He’s honestly an amazing man, and I just aspire to be someone like him.”
Met with a standing ovation, Stevenson addressed an audience of more than 2,000 people Oct. 26 at Union South, calling for reforms to the system, including the mass incarceration of African-Americans—he noted that one in three black males will go to prison at some point in their lives.
“We have to change and disrupt the politics of fear and anger,” Stevenson said in his talk. “We’ve been infected by a disease created by our history of racial inequality.”
The university hands out more than 5,000 copies of the Go Big Read book selections every year at convocation, but this year “Just Mercy” reached the hands of more than just the freshman class. Thanks to the efforts of Susan Riseling, the UW-Madison Police Department took part as well. Every member of the department—receptionists, officers and the chief herself—read the book, later talking about it in discussion groups organized by Riseling.
But it wasn’t Go Big Read that triggered Riseling’s interest. Having read the book months earlier than its selection, she recognized its value and wanted to spread the word. Immediately following the fatal shooting of black 19-year-old Tony Robinson on the east side of Madison last year, she brought the book to the attention of the Dane County Chiefs of Police Association.
“This book is really powerful. And in light of what’s going on in our community, I think it’s timely,” Riseling said. “So a lot of the departments ordered at least one book. Several ordered enough for their full staff.”
More than a defense attorney’s memoir, “Just Mercy” is a call for social justice. Chancellor Rebecca Blank expressed her hopes for the book selection at this year’s convocation.
“Bryan’s stories will make you angry,” Blank said in a statement. “And I hope the book will prod you to think about what matters to you, what you’re curious about, what you’re passionate about, what you want to do after you leave here … where you can be the change that matters.”
