Youtube Exercise » English Grammar Homework

Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice | TED

TED

2M views 14 years ago

Warm-up Questions

When you hear the word “injustice,” what examples come to mind in your country or community?
What kinds of problems do you think a talk titled “We need to talk about an injustice” will focus on?
What do you expect a TED speaker might ask the audience to do after the talk?

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Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice | TED

Identity, grandmother’s lessons, and how identity shapes choices (00:00 – 05:44)

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1. Where does the speaker say he spends most of his time?

In government offices
In universities and research labs
In jails, prisons, and on death row
In technology companies

2. What does his grandmother ask him to promise as the second promise?

To always help his cousins
To move away from the rural South
To always do the right thing, even when it’s hard
To study law

3. What surprising fact does the speaker admit later about alcohol?

He stopped drinking after becoming a lawyer
He drank for the first time at age 21
He owns a winery
He has never had a drop of alcohol

Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice | TED

Mass incarceration, race, poverty, and the death penalty (05:44 – 13:51)

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1. According to the speaker, about how many people are in US jails and prisons today (compared to 1972)?

About 300,000
About 900,000
About 10 million
About 2.3 million

2. What does he say matters more than culpability in shaping outcomes in the justice system?

Wealth
Age
Education
Public opinion

3. What does the speaker say the death penalty in America is ‘defined by’?

Deterrence
Revenge
Tradition
Error

Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice | TED

Hope, courage, dignity, and actions the audience can take (Q&A) (13:51 – 23:42)

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1. What warning does Rosa Parks give the speaker about his work?

It will make him famous
It will make him unpopular with clients
It will make him move to another state
It will make him tired

2. What does the older man in the courthouse tell the speaker to do?

Quit the case immediately
Write a new motion
Apologize to the judge
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

3. In the Q&A, what does the speaker say drove much of the dramatic increase in incarceration?

More investment in education
A large rise in violent crime
Higher immigration rates
A misguided war on drugs

Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice | TED

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1. What is one main idea the speaker repeats throughout the talk?

Technology alone will solve social problems
Identity can shape what people believe is possible and how they act
Most people in prison are there for homicide
Fear is the best way to keep communities safe

2. What is the speaker’s overall view of how the justice system works in relation to poverty?

It is unbiased if there is a jury
It is harsher on poor people, even when they may be innocent
It treats poor and rich people the same
It is mostly influenced by geography, not money

3. What does the speaker suggest society must do to be ‘fully human’?

Ignore difficult topics to stay optimistic
Punish more people to reduce crime
Pay attention to suffering, poverty, exclusion, and injustice
Avoid talking about history

Discussion Questions

Discuss the ideas from this video

Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice | TED

The speaker says there is “power in identity.” What identities (personal, professional, national) influence people’s choices in your community?
He argues: “Wealth, not culpability, shapes outcomes.” Where do you see money affecting fairness (in law, education, health care, etc.)?
The talk suggests a different question about the death penalty: not “Do they deserve to die?” but “Do we deserve to kill?” Which question do you find more persuasive, and why?
What is one concrete action (local or national) that people could take to reduce injustice, besides donating money?