LibGuides: Augie Reads 2023: Just Mercy: Resources for Augustana Faculty

Resources for Faculty

This section collects resources for faculty teaching FYI 101 or FYH 101 in the fall of 2022. Navigate the tabs to find:

Resources dedicated to Just Mercy, including collections of educator resources
Additional resources including books, articles, and podcasts on related topics
Links to relevant organizations

If there are resources you'd recommend adding to this page, please contact Garrett Traylor (outreach coordinator) or Farah Marklevits (FYI coordinator).

Tredway Library extends a special thank you to Sharon Varallo (Communication Studies, APEP) for her extensive contributions to the resources listed in this Augie Reads guide, and for her work with the Augustana Prison Education Program (APEP).

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Call Number: KF373.S743 A3
Publication Date: 2014
This year's Augie Reads title is available in multiple locations at the library, as an ebook, and through other I-Share libraries.

Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice
In an engaging and personal TED talk -- with cameo appearances from his grandmother and Rosa Parks -- human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson shares some hard truths about America's justice system, starting with a massive imbalance along racial lines: a third of the country's black male population has been incarcerated at some point in their lives. These issues, which are wrapped up in America's unexamined history, are rarely talked about with this level of candor, insight and persuasiveness.
From the 60 Minutes archives: The true story behind “Just Mercy”
In 1992, Ed Bradley covered this story on 60 Minutes, reporting that the wrong man might have been sitting on Alabama’s death row.
Teacher's Guide to Just Mercy
From the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization founded by Bryan Stevenson, which provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and others who may have been denied a fair trial.

Anti-Racism Resources
Given the connection between mass incarceration and racism, this guide put together by the Tredway Library (in part thanks to work started by Dr. Monica Smith) contains a number of useful resources that may help navigate this subject.

Death by Prison by Christopher Seeds
Publication Date: 2022-07-12
This book is an ambitious overview of the rise of life sentences for American prisoners and the impact this penal form has had on the social fabric of the United States. The library has purchased a copy to be made available soon.
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Call Number: Stacks (3rd Floor) ; HV9950 .A437 2012
Publication Date: 2012-01-16
This book shows how the mass incarceration of a disproportionate number of black men amounts to a devastating system of racial control. Despite the triumphant dismantling of the Jim Crow laws, the system that once forced African-Americans into a segregated second-class citizenship still haunts and the criminal justice system still unfairly targets black men and deprives an entire segment of the population of their basic rights.

Throughline: Reframing History: Mass Incarceration
This episode of the Throughline podcast from NPR examines how the United States imprisons more people than any other country in the world, and the fact that a disproportionate number of those prisoners are Black. What are the origins of the U.S. criminal justice system and how did racism shape it? From the creation of the first penitentiaries in the 1800s, to the "tough-on-crime" prosecutors of the 1990s, how America created a culture of mass incarceration.
Teaching About Mass Incarceration: From Conversation to Civic Action
An article from Learning for Justice, a publication of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
States of Incarceration Resources
The following resources support discussions around histories and current issues in mass incarceration, whether in the classroom or other settings. States of Incarceration is a project of the Humanities Action Lab, a coalition of universities led by Rutgers University-Newark.

Equal Justice Initiative
Founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of Just Mercy, EJI is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons.
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
List of Prison Reform Organizations
List from Center for Prison Reform.
The Sentencing Project
he Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.
Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.