came out late last year — it stars Michael B. Jordan as civil-rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson working to free a wrongly convicted death row prisoner — the team behind it launched what many movies that tackle pressing issues do these days. They mounted an accompanying campaign that both promoted the movie and amplified its message.’s campaign
“The campaign was really about creating public demand for change and raising awareness around the systemic inequality of the justice system, and we developed a lot of programming. We’re using stories as an advocacy tool,” says Daniel Forkkio, who lead the campaign for a part of its run. “We did nearly 500 screenings and forged a lot of partnerships with justice reform organizations.
, an advocacy group comprised of formerly and currently incarcerated women — says her experience with Represent Justice stands in stark contrast to many other groups that ask her to speak on criminal justice issues. “Most organizations exploit the people who are the most impacted,” says Grayson. She shares that she’s been asked to speak at political forums where “people give us a pizza and say, ‘You’re so great.
Grayson’s organization, the Sister Warrior’s Freedom Coalition, has received three grants from Represent Justice, which started an emergency COVID-Relief Fund to support organizations helping people recently released from prison.