Don Hewitt, the founder of 60 Minutes, passed away earlier this month. The show’s guiding mantra was focused on four words: tell me a story. Hewitt believed that a well-told story could send a powerful message better than anything else.
This past Saturday evening, Bonni (my wife) and I were invited to a screening of Sin By Silence, a documentary about domestic violence and women who have been convicted of killing their husbands after bearing years – and in some cases decades – of horrific physical and psychological abuse.
The pain and suffering in the movie is almost unbearable to watch.
While the documentary follows the stories of several women, it centers on the story of Brenda Clubine. She was convicted of her husband’s murder, long before the law allowed for juries to consider the abuse that women endured at the hands of their husbands as part of the sentencing decision. The movie documents her 26 years in a California penitentiary for her husband’s death. During her time in prison, she was told (incorrectly) that her only son had been killed in an accident.
Brenda speaks of her struggles in the documentary and her subsequent decision to organize women in the prison to form Convicted Women Against Abuse (CWAA) to help educate the criminal justice system about women in her situation. Through media, letter writing, and incredible patience, this organization influenced new laws that more appropriately considered the plight of battered women in domestic abuse situations.
Due to her participation in the documentary, the audience learns that her son is able to locate her and they lovingly reunite. The movie ends with a court scene in 2008 where Brenda’s petition to revisit her sentence is reviewed by a judge…who concludes that she should no longer be held by the state. After 26 years in prison, she is freed.
Many of us shed tears watching this powerful film. And yet, I was completely unprepared for what happened next.
The director of the film introduced Brenda who, unbeknownst to many of us, had been sitting in the audience. As she walked to the front of the room, she received a standing ovation.
How I wish the world could have been there to see that moment. I know that every person who was there that evening left with a powerful intention to raise awareness of this documentary and the nationwide tour that Brenda and Olivia (the director) now begin.
I wish I could tell you that I was the type of person who would have been motivated to support this effort without having heard and witnessed a piece of this powerful story. I doubt it is the case. Like so many other things in our lives, good ideas that aren’t compelling are, for me, just ideas that never command action.
Ideas become compelling when a powerful story motivates us to WANT to take action. That’s when we make the transition from mere compliance to enthusiastic cooperation with the people we work with, live with, and attempt to influence through our leadership.
Don Hewitt influenced the entire American news media through powerful story-telling. Brenda Clubine is taking her incredible story on the road to educate people and influence change in our society.
What’s the story you have that will affect change in your business, your family, or our society? If you want me (and others) to take action, we want to hear it. We’re all ears.
Tell me a story.
For more on Sin By Silence,
visit www.sinbysilence.com
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