Two brothers, psychologist and educator Howard Stevenson and civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, held a compelling conversation on race and justice on Thursday at the Fitler Club in Center City.
The discussion, titled “Healing & Justice: A Journey Through Story, Conflict, & Collective Care,” centered around the power of storytelling to address hidden hurts and hostilities in order to unite communities in America’s current political climate. The event was moderated by Robin Smith, a psychologist, New York Times best-selling author, and SiriusXM host.
Howard Stevenson, currently the Constance E. Clayton Professor of Urban Education and director of the Resilience Empowerment Collaborative at the University of Pennsylvania, emphasized the urgency of the moment. “People in this country are stunned and paralyzed about what to do with all their hate that’s coming at them,” he told The Tribune. “We’ve been working for quite a long time at Lion’s Story trying to help people get out of that paralysis.”
Howard added, “When you want to do something, you have a purpose, but you can’t find the courage. We think about healing as a way to get you unstuck. We’re a place where they can start to use their voice and instead of just watching, the hate just wins.”
The event was a part of a fundraiser for Lion’s Story, the nonprofit co-founded by the Stevenson brothers to help individuals and organizations manage identity-based stress and conflict.
Robin Smith stressed the importance of creating safe spaces for truth-telling, especially for Black communities. “The reason I say that so much of truth-telling is being stripped from our communities, and it is being stripped from our country,” she said.
Lisa Nelson-Haynes, executive director of Lion’s Story who joined the organization last spring, highlighted the significance of community voices in the healing process. “You need to get into communities, and really allow them to tell their own story, and all of that, and that they are experts of their own experience,” she explained. “I don’t need to tell their story. If you don’t have racial literacy, you don’t understand what these microaggressions or biases are and don’t have the language for it.”
Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and Legacy Museum and author of the New York Times best-selling book *Just Mercy*, reminded the audience of the courage Black people showed during Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement. He reflected on the new challenges faced during integration. “That was a whole new thing, and we were going into spaces where we knew people didn’t want us. That was a whole different kind of courage that we need to tap into,” he said.
Moderator Robin Smith shared her hopes for the evening. “What I hope most is an inner discomfort with the status quo, that we are not helpless. And that when we believe that we are helpless, we are speaking that into existence.”
The Fitler Club event space was filled to capacity as attendees engaged in this vital conversation aimed at healing and justice through storytelling, conflict resolution, and collective care.
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**About Lion’s Story**
Lion’s Story is a nonprofit organization co-founded by Howard and Bryan Stevenson. The group’s mission is to help individuals and organizations address identity-based stress and conflict by fostering racial literacy and empowering communities to share their truths.
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On Thursday evening, September 18, 2025, *The Philadelphia Tribune* also hosted its 2025 Most Influential African Americans event — a celebration honoring Black Philadelphians making significant impacts across the region.
https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/healing-and-justice-stevenson-brothers-talk-hidden-hurts-hostilities-in-todays-political-climate/article_6acb7b5e-ff7c-4722-99fd-c5842103c9b0.html
