MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- An Alabama lawyer best known for defending death row inmates and advocating for racial justice is taking on a new role: Concert pianist at New York's Lincoln Center.
Attorney Bryan Stevenson will appear as both a speaker and performer at an event called "Freedom, Justice and Hope" that will premiere virtually on May 21. Wynton Marsalis will be the musical director.
Stevenson founded the Montgomery-based Equal Justice Initiative and wrote the best-selling book "Just Mercy," which was made into a Hollywood hit movie of the same name. But he's also a pianist and was the driving force behind the national lynching memorial in Montgomery.
An announcement from Lincoln Center says Stevenson will speak about topics including prison reform, immigration and social justice. He will play two songs at the piano, "Honeysuckle Rose" and "We Shall Overcome."
The performance is part of a series produced with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The show will include new works that were inspired by racial violence in Arkansas in 1919 and the work of anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells.