Background

The speaker in this video, Bryan Stevenson, is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization that assists underrepresented people. During his talk, he discusses topics related to inequalities and considers historical, ethical practices that have shaped the way we collectively approach various social problems. Stevenson ends his Ted Talk by questioning our identity as a society and advocating for individuals to take action to create a more equitable social world. As you watch the Ted Talk, reflect on your identity as a human services professional who must take diversity issues, multicultural experiences, and social justice initiatives into ethical consideration. Because the counseling profession, for instance, emphasizes social justice and advocacy, counselors are ethically responsible to “recognize and advocate to eliminate racism, sexism, classism, homoprejudice, ableism, ageism, and religious bias” (Remley & Herlihy, 2020, p. 78).