H.O. Brittingham Elementary students take walk into greatness

A group of H.O. Brittingham Elementary students took a walk into greatness Dec. 19, thanks to a personal tour of Milton’s Lydia B. Cannon Museum’s exhibit on Bryan Stevenson led by his sister, Christy Taylor.

The “Walking Into Greatness: Bryan Stevenson” exhibit traces Stevenson’s life from his youth attending an all-black school in Milton, through graduation at Cape High, and his launch of the Equal Justice Initiative organization, which provides legal representation to people who were illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused in prison. 

Taylor told students her brother has helped exonerate more than 160 death-row prisoners.

“He saved many lives of people who were innocent, or whose penalties were too harsh,” Taylor said. 

HOB Library Manager Bevelene Holloman organized the trip so students could learn more about Milton’s hometown hero. Students followed footsteps that lead through the timeline exhibit and grow in size as visitors progress to different eras of Stevenson’s life. 

“You’re walking into greatness now,” Taylor said. “Your footsteps can be like my brother’s.”

Stevenson is the author of bestselling book “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” which has also been adapted for young adult readers and is now a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson. 

“Walking into Greatness: Bryan Stevenson” will be on display through the end of Black History Month in February, museum curator Heidi Nasstrom Evans said. A traveling exhibit will also visit Sussex County libraries in 2020, Evans said.