stephen bright is the unsung hero behind what brian stevenson has built and done. him. >> an unsung hero -- poppy -- >> remember when it was lemon poppy? i think you sent me lemon poppy. >> lemon poppy -- >> i will see you in the morning. >> i know. have we lost our minds? >> maybe -- [laughs] >> i blame you. >> why? >> because, you know, you're a big reason why i want to be there, don lemon. >> poppy said, can i tell you them what he said? >> -- >> her husband said, the only reason i'm letting you do this is because of don. >> it's true. -- and get up at three in the morning. he said? for what. i said, for don. >> come here. >> i'm so excited that we'll have caitlin with us. we are going to have fun. >> i love you. >> do you. if you don't wake up, can i come knock on your apartment door? >> poppy kay, love you. >> love you. >> love you as well. we will continue to share these inspirational stories all week. be sure to tune in saturday at 8 pm eastern for champions for change, our one hour special. we've got a lot more ahead. new york's attorney general suing trump

the memorials director, brian stevenson, hopes the collected names will help change the narrative ofhow to tell its own story. >> when i moved to montgomery, this was a study that had 59 markers and monuments of confederacy and you couldn't find the word slave and slave free anywhere? >> how is that possible? >> people had been intentional about denying that part of our history. so this memorial, this site, this is intended to be an intentional response to our silence. >> we talked to folks around the country about the confederacy stood for, the monuments, they say black people own slaves to, there were white slaves. >> there are many reasons beyond slavery. >> these are all things that are designed to deracialized what happened. and they are aberrations. we've allowed that to happen because we were fighting these other struggles, right? this site is designed to help people understand that you can't ignore this any longer. >> you see one county with one name and then one county with two names and then you see a county like this with over a dozen names. >> do you have any dodge county

. >> civil rights attorney brian stevenson started working with bright right out of law school.ative. >> in a lot of ways, it does become like ministry. i think you can't actually appreciate the burdens of the condemned, of the poor, of the marginalized, if you haven't tried to carry some of those burdens. >> you have to let your heart be broken. >> yes, that's right. steve made it safe to love the people you represent. >> someone, like shawna shackelford. >> what happened in 2009? >> my house burned down. i ended up getting blamed. we lose everything, end up hom homeless, and i was charged with first degree arson. they offered me 25 years at first. >> 25 years in prison? >> yes. >> for a fire you didn't set? >> right. >> and then you wrote a letter to someone. >> i received a letter just two weeks ago. >> oh, my god, i have not seen this letter in forever. i've lost my job. i've lost my home. i've lost my dogs. now i sleep in my car. >> i'm tired and i'm beaten and i don't understand how to fight this. it's been days now since i've eaten. >> so bright took on her case for free.

. >> civil rights attorney brian stevenson worked with bright right out of law school. the equal justice initiative. >> in a lot of ways it does become like ministry. i think you can't appreciate the burdens of the condemned, of the poor, of the marginalized if you haven't tried to carry some of those burdens. >> you are have to let your heart be broken. >> yes. that is right. steve made it safe to love the people you represent. >> like shanna shackleford who was charged with burning down her home. >> what happened in 2009. >> my house burned down. i ended up getting blamed. we lose everything. end up homeless. and i was charged with first-degree arson. they offered me 25 years at first. >> 25 years in prison? >> yes. for a fire you didn't set? >> right. >> and then you wrote a letter to someone. >> i received a letter just two weeks ago. >> i have not seen this letter in forever. i've lost my job. i've lost my home. i've lost my dogs. now i sleep in my car. >> i'm tired and i'm beaten and i don't understand how to fight this. it is been days now since i've eaten. >> so