Hello everyone. My name is Ethan Phan, and I’m an eighth grader in Orange County, California. My school had given me the opportunity to address a cause of our choice. I have chosen civil justice for the reason that I believe that the foundations of civilization have to be based on equality, harmony, and justice. This is because every citizen should have the same access and opportunities to contribute to advancing society and living their life.

This is why I hope to raise money for the Equal Justice Initiative. After watching Bryan Stevenson’s “We need to talk about an injustice” TED Talk, I discovered his organization based in Montgomery, Alabama. The EJI fights for the wrongly convicted and against excessive punishments, with the defendants often being non-White citizens from lower-income areas and being processed in racially biased courts of law. They also investigate prison conditions to ensure the well-being and safety of inmates, are committed to educating the public about overlooked racial injustices in the United States’ past, and providing hunger relief to people who need it most.

I believe the EJI is one of many nonprofit organizations devoting time and effort towards addressing injustices related to the decisions made in legal settings, and has the full capacity to make a resonating difference, as it is doing now. Organizations such as the EJI need funds to work in the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world and one that currently spends around $300 billion annually on prisons.

So please, give as much as you can towards a meaningful cause that will benefit us all, and please share this GoFundMe with others you know. If you do, you can let yourself know that you did something to support a more just United States of America.