Good morning, friends.
As protests rage on across the country, Warner Bros. has released its film Just Mercy for free for the month of June. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
The movie is based on the life of Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. In it, a young Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan) takes on the case of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who is sentenced to die for murder despite evidence that proves his innocence.
You may remember The Profile Dossier on Stevenson from earlier this year. Since he founded the human rights organization, Stevenson and his staff have won the release of more than 135 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row.
Anyway, I wanted to share with you something he wrote in his memoir, Just Mercy, which was adapted for the film. In this excerpt, he refers to Jimmy Dill, a man who was executed in Alabama in 2009 in spite of serious concerns that he did not receive the adequate legal assistance necessary to ensure a reliable conviction and sentence.
“We are all broken by something. We have all hurt someone and have been hurt. We all share the condition of brokenness even if our brokenness is not equivalent. I desperately wanted mercy for Jimmy Dill and would have done anything to create justice for him, but I couldn’t pretend that his struggle was disconnected from my own.
“The ways in which I have been hurt—and have hurt others—are different from the ways Jimmy Dill suffered and caused suffering. But our shared brokenness connected us. Paul Farmer, the renowned physician who has spent his life trying to cure the world’s sickest and poorest people, once quoted me something that the writer Thomas Merton said: We are bodies of broken bones. I guess I’d always known but never fully considered that being broken is what makes us human. We all have our reasons. Sometimes we’re fractured by the choices we make; sometimes we’re shattered by things we would never have chosen.
“But our brokenness is also the source of our common humanity, the basis for our shared search for comfort, meaning, and healing. Our shared vulnerability and imperfection nurtures and sustains our capacity for compassion.
“We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, forswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity. I thought of the guards strapping Jimmy Dill to the gurney that very hour. I thought of the people who would cheer his death and see it as some kind of victory. I realized they were broken people, too, even if they would never admit it.
“So many of us have become afraid and angry. We’ve become so fearful and vengeful that we’ve thrown away children, discarded the disabled, and sanctioned the imprisonment of the sick and the weak—not because they are a threat to public safety or beyond rehabilitation but because we think it makes us seem tough, less broken.
“I thought of the victims of violent crime and the survivors of murdered loved ones, and how we’ve pressured them to recycle their pain and anguish and give it back to the offenders we prosecute. I thought of the many ways we’ve legalized vengeful and cruel punishments, how we’ve allowed our victimization to justify the victimization of others. We’ve submitted to the harsh instinct to crush those among us whose brokenness is most visible.
“But simply punishing the broken—walking away from them or hiding them from sight—only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too. There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity.”
Remember … it’s never too late for justice. Below is the trailer for Just Mercy:
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PROFILES.
— The billionaire criticizing the rich [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The winner of the world’s most expensive sibling rivalry
— The amputee gravel-racing hero
— The pandemic mask mafia
— America’s therapist
— The man building a green mega-mansion
— TikTok’s biggest star
— The platforms transforming the porn industry
— The celebrity-powered virtual school
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PEOPLE TO KNOW.
The billionaire criticizing the rich: You probably heard Chamath Palihapitiya go on his most recent rant, arguing that the U.S. shouldn’t be bailing out billionaires and hedge funds during the coronavirus pandemic. The 43-year-old founder of investment firm Social Capital is himself a Silicon Valley billionaire. His financial success has led some people to view his attacks as hypocritical, but that’s the thing about Palihapitiya — he doesn’t care what his peers think. (Institutional Investor)
“I don’t think these things are controversial. These are the things that I believe.”
The winner of the world’s most expensive sibling rivalry: The Ambani brothers — Mukesh and Anil — began their careers as close business partners whose approach was “two bodies, one mind.” But after their father passed away, they grew increasingly bitter and estranged. They first split the business empire that their father had founded five decades ago, until tensions grew to the point where they became direct competitors. This sibling rivalry has become an object lesson in the promise and perils of India’s economy under Modi. (Bloomberg)
The amputee gravel-racing hero: Leo Rodgers, 35, lost his leg 13 years ago in a motorcycle crash. Bikes have been at the center of Leo’s life for more than a decade, and they’ve given him a career, a way to get around, a way to express himself, a community, a purpose, a way to see the world, and a way to help people. He’s an amputee cyclist whose story shows us that we can find so much beauty even in the face of so much loss. (Bicycling)
“I know now that my purpose in life is some kind of inspiration. I’m working on it.”
The pandemic mask mafia: The federal government and states have fueled an unregulated, chaotic market for N95 masks "ruled by oddballs, ganjapreneurs and a shadowy network of investors.” There are people who are getting rich off the pandemic by flipping masks from one private buyer to the next. “It’s like stumbling into the drug business,” said one broker. Take a look inside the bizarre world of coronavirus mask traders trying to profit off a global pandemic. (ProPublica)
“Can one make a profit off a global crisis without becoming a vulture, and where is the line?”
America’s therapist: Brené Brown spent her career in academia as a shame and vulnerability researcher. And then in 2010, her TED Talk went viral and Brown’s life completely transformed. She’s become a full-blown pop culture phenomenon. And in the midst of the coronavirus, more people seem to be turning to her than ever before. (Texas Monthly)
“Social distancing doesn’t have to mean social disconnection.”
The man building a green mega-mansion: In 2018, a mystery billionaire named Peter Gilgan spent $48.8 million to buy a 10,800-square-foot beachfront mansion in South Florida. And then, he tore it down. In its place, he’s willing to do whatever it takes—maybe spend another $50 million—to build his own dream home that’s net-zero energy: a mansion that will generate renewable power roughly equal to the power it uses. (Bloomberg)
“You want to leave behind something meaningful, memorable to your family, that people can be proud that they know you. This, to me, is an investment.”
TikTok’s biggest star: Charli D’Amelio has 59 million followers on TikTok. She’s the video app’s most popular creator, and she’s only 16 years old. Ask her what exactly sets her apart from the other teens dancing in their bedrooms, and she’ll tell you she has no idea. Her TikTok bio reads, “don’t worry i don’t get the hype either.” Here’s how Charli went from being a normal kid to making millions of dollars a year. (The Washington Post)
“She could so easily just cash in, do stuff ad hoc and charge per post. But she wants to influence societal change.”
COMPANIES TO WATCH.
The platforms transforming the porn industry: The economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has been disastrous for the adult entertainment business, which has had to shut down studio productions. But some porn stars are thriving by running premium social media accounts on platforms like Snapchat and OnlyFans. The idea is to offer more personalized content at a time when in-person interaction is not possible. It’s a trend that could change the way the industry works forever. (The Ringer)
“I might come out of this pandemic and never have to travel again because it’s going to financially set me up to not need to ever go anywhere.”
The celebrity-powered virtual school: Once you’ve exhausted Love Is Blind and Tiger King, what do you do? People are binge-watching MasterClass courses featuring Malcolm Gladwell and Shonda Rhimes. The celebrity-powered e-learning platform has seen an uptick in viewership, and it just raised a fresh $100 million to continue adding more content. Here’s what happens when you give virtual learning a face lift. (The New York Times)
“Why can’t education also be entertaining?”
This installment of The Profile is free for everyone. If you would like to get full access to all of the recommendations, including today’s audio and video sections, sign up below.
AUDIO TO HEAR.
Ben Thompson’s on the future of media: Ben Thompson, the author of Stratechery, says that trying to sell content on the internet is a loser’s game. What you need to do instead is deliver a valuable service or analysis that continually informs the reader. “So many media companies view the internet as killing their business and it did,” he says. “The ones that succeed in the future will figure out how the internet makes their business possible in the first place.” This is a really good one. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
Ta-Nehisi Coates on the emergence of meaningful change: When renowned author Ta-Nehisi Coates looks at the world today, he doesn’t only see hurt and pain. He sees hope and progress. “I really don’t know how this plays out, but I think we are very much in an unprecedented moment with direct analogs to other periods,” he says. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
Jennifer Garvey Berger on finding calm in chaos: The world has changed in many ways since 2020 began. Leadership coach and author Jennifer Garvey Berger explains why it’s so important to create routine in our everyday lives. As a leader, it’s a delicate dance of showing your humanity and vulnerability while also being there as a stable sounding board for someone in need. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
Stephen Colbert’s secretive private life: The Stephen Colbert you know on TV is not anything like the real Stephen Colbert. He purposefully plays a parody of a loud, outspoken political pundit. He almost never does interviews as his real self. In this rare conversation, Colbert opens up about his childhood and how losing his father and both of his brothers in a plane crash changed his entire life. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
VIDEOS TO SEE.
The children building the America of the future: In this free documentary, you meet the kids who participate in a public speaking competition where they perform poetry and speeches that are inspired by the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As the students prepare their speeches, you’ll be able to see America through the eyes of the kids who will be in charge of creating its future. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
Heather McGhee on the cost of racism: Public policy expert Heather McGhee once received a call on live television from a North Carolina man named Gary. “I'm a white male, and I'm prejudiced,” he said and then continued, “But I want to change. And I want to know what I can do to become a better American." McGhee and Gary went on to meet in real life and become friends. In this talk, McGhee says it led her to think about how our society's racism has been backfiring on the very same people set up to benefit from privilege. This is a must-watch. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
Charli D’Amelio on the power of authenticity: No one is more surprised by her sudden fame than Charli herself. She began making TikToks for fun when she accidentally struck social media gold. In this podcast, Charli and her family explain how the internet can catapult everyday, normal people into the crazy world of celebrity. She says the key is to avoid conforming and instead focus on building a loyal community around an authentic interest unique to you. (Link available to paying subscribers.)
