[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.79,0:00:03.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Twenty-three years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.40,0:00:06.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the age of 19,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.15,0:00:09.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I shot and killed a man.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.45,0:00:11.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a young drug dealer
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.59,0:00:13.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a quick temper
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.96,0:00:18.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a semi-automatic pistol.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.02,0:00:20.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But that wasn't the end of my story.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.79,0:00:24.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, it was beginning,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.93,0:00:27.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the 23 years since
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.10,0:00:30.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a story of acknowledgment,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.83,0:00:34.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,apology and atonement.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.31,0:00:35.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it didn't happen in the way
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.73,0:00:39.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you might imagine or think.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.03,0:00:40.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These things occurred in my life
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.48,0:00:42.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a way that was surprising,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.63,0:00:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.26,0:00:47.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,See, like many of you,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.40,0:00:49.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,growing up, I was an honor roll student,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.98,0:00:51.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a scholarship student,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.32,0:00:53.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with dreams of becoming a doctor.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.92,0:00:56.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But things went dramatically wrong
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.56,0:00:58.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when my parents separated
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.73,0:01:02.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and eventually divorced.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.57,0:01:05.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The actual events are pretty straightforward.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.42,0:01:07.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At the age of 17,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.86,0:01:09.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got shot three times
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.51,0:01:14.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,standing on the corner of my block in Detroit.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.14,0:01:16.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My friend rushed me to the hospital.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.83,0:01:20.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Doctors pulled the bullets out,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.05,0:01:21.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,patched me up,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.84,0:01:26.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sent me back to the same \Nneighborhood where I got shot.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.22,0:01:28.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Throughout this ordeal,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.97,0:01:31.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no one hugged me,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.03,0:01:33.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no one counseled me,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.40,0:01:36.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no one told me I would be okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.34,0:01:39.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No one told me that I would live in fear,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.26,0:01:41.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I would become paranoid,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.88,0:01:44.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or that I would react hyper-violently
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.87,0:01:47.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to being shot.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.25,0:01:50.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No one told me that one day,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.07,0:01:54.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would become the person behind the trigger.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.13,0:01:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fourteen months later,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.80,0:01:59.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at 2 a.m.,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.41,0:02:01.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I fired the shots
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.05,0:02:04.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that caused a man's death.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.90,0:02:06.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I entered prison,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.81,0:02:12.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was bitter, I was angry, I was hurt.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.32,0:02:15.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't want to take responsibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.29,0:02:17.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I blamed everybody from my parents
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.34,0:02:20.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the system.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.31,0:02:22.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I rationalized my decision to shoot
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.52,0:02:24.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because in the hood where I come from,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.96,0:02:26.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's better to be the shooter
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.59,0:02:29.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than the person getting shot.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.90,0:02:33.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As I sat in my cold cell,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.22,0:02:34.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt helpless,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.87,0:02:38.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unloved and abandoned.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.26,0:02:42.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt like nobody cared,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.14,0:02:44.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I reacted
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.15,0:02:47.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with hostility to my confinement.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.16,0:02:48.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I found myself getting
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.30,0:02:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deeper and deeper into trouble.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.62,0:02:53.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I ran black market stores,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.40,0:02:56.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I loan sharked,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.12,0:02:58.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I sold drugs that were illegally smuggled
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.18,0:03:00.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into the prison.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.04,0:03:01.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had in fact become
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.61,0:03:04.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what the warden of the Michigan Reformatory called
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.30,0:03:07.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"the worst of the worst."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.13,0:03:09.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And because of my activity,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.46,0:03:12.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I landed in solitary confinement
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.15,0:03:14.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for seven and a half years
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.58,0:03:17.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of my incarceration.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.79,0:03:19.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now as I see it, solitary confinement
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.46,0:03:21.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is one of the most inhumane and barbaric places
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.40,0:03:24.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can find yourself,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.30,0:03:27.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but find myself I did.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.19,0:03:30.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One day, I was pacing my cell,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.70,0:03:35.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when an officer came and delivered mail.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.22,0:03:36.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I looked at a couple of letters
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.95,0:03:38.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before I looked at the letter
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.87,0:03:41.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that had my son's squiggly handwriting on it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.93,0:03:43.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And anytime I would get a letter from my son,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.37,0:03:45.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was like a ray of light
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.27,0:03:48.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the darkest place you can imagine.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.03,0:03:51.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And on this particular day, I opened this letter,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.84,0:03:54.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in capital letters, he wrote,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.95,0:03:58.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"My mama told me why you was in prison:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.20,0:04:00.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,murder."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.90,0:04:02.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said, "Dad, don't kill.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.82,0:04:08.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jesus watches what you do. Pray to Him."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.26,0:04:10.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I wasn't religious at that time,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.10,0:04:11.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nor am I religious now,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.81,0:04:14.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it was something so profound
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.29,0:04:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about my son's words.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.06,0:04:18.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They made me examine things about my life
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.68,0:04:20.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I hadn't considered.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.62,0:04:22.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the first time in my life
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.56,0:04:24.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I had actually thought about the fact
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.53,0:04:28.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that my son would see me as a murderer.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.20,0:04:30.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I sat back on my bunk
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.25,0:04:32.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I reflected on something I had read
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.27,0:04:34.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in [Plato],
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.86,0:04:36.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where Socrates stated in "Apology"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.84,0:04:41.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the unexamined life isn't worth living.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.11,0:04:46.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At that point is when the transformation began.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.94,0:04:49.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it didn't come easy.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.92,0:04:53.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the things I realized,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.76,0:04:55.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which was part of the transformation,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.92,0:04:59.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that there were four key things.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.66,0:05:01.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first thing was,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.97,0:05:04.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had great mentors.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.28,0:05:06.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, I know some of you all are probably thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.16,0:05:09.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how did you find a great mentor in prison?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.33,0:05:12.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in my case,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.19,0:05:13.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of my mentors
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.42,0:05:15.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are serving life sentences
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.30,0:05:18.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were some of the best people\Nto ever come into my life,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.01,0:05:21.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they forced me to look at my life honestly,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.27,0:05:23.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they forced me to challenge myself
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.10,0:05:25.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about my decision making.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.61,0:05:29.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The second thing was literature.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.87,0:05:31.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Prior to going to prison,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.61,0:05:33.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't know that there were so many brilliant
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.61,0:05:36.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,black poets, authors and philosophers,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.89,0:05:39.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then I had the great fortune
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.91,0:05:44.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of encountering Malcolm X's autobiography,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.07,0:05:48.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it shattered every\Nstereotype I had about myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.62,0:05:51.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third thing was family.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.06,0:05:55.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For 19 years, my father stood by my side
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.74,0:05:58.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with an unshakable faith,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.17,0:05:59.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because he believed that I had what it took
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.83,0:06:02.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to turn my life around.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.12,0:06:05.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I also met an amazing woman
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.02,0:06:08.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who is now the mother of\Nmy two-year-old son Sekou,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.45,0:06:10.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she taught me how to love myself
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.68,0:06:14.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a healthy way.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.96,0:06:17.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The final thing was writing.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.65,0:06:19.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I got that letter from my son,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.07,0:06:21.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I began to write a journal
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.28,0:06:24.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about things I had experienced in my childhood
Dialogue: 0,0:06:24.08,0:06:26.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in prison,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.87,0:06:30.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what it did is it opened up my mind to the idea
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.14,0:06:33.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of atonement.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.11,0:06:35.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Earlier in my incarceration, I had received
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.19,0:06:38.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a letter from one of the relatives of my victim,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.100,0:06:41.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in that letter,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.84,0:06:43.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she told me she forgave me,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.68,0:06:45.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because she realized I was a young child
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.63,0:06:46.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who had been abused
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.97,0:06:48.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and had been through some hardships
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.76,0:06:51.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and just made a series of poor decisions.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.50,0:06:53.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was the first time in my life
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.97,0:07:01.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I ever felt open to forgiving myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.70,0:07:02.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the things that happened
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.94,0:07:05.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after that experience is that
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.27,0:07:07.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought about the other men who were incarcerated
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.16,0:07:08.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,alongside of me,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:08.97,0:07:11.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how much I wanted to share this with them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.89,0:07:13.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I started talking to them about
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.64,0:07:15.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of their experiences,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.57,0:07:17.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I was devastated to realize
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.05,0:07:20.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that most of them came from\Nthe same abusive environments,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.43,0:07:23.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And most of them wanted help\Nand they wanted to turn it around,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.97,0:07:25.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but unfortunately the system
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.71,0:07:28.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that currently holds 2.5 million people in prison
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.93,0:07:31.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is designed to warehouse
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.13,0:07:35.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as opposed to rehabilitate or transform.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.42,0:07:37.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I made it up in my mind
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.31,0:07:39.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that if I was ever released from prison
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.06,0:07:41.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I would do everything in my power
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.52,0:07:45.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to help change that.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.22,0:07:47.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 2010, I walked out of prison
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.99,0:07:51.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the first time after two decades.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.07,0:07:52.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now imagine, if you will,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.66,0:07:55.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fred Flintstone walking into an episode
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.24,0:07:57.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of "The Jetsons."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.62,0:08:00.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was pretty much what my life was like.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.56,0:08:03.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For the first time, I was exposed to the Internet,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.87,0:08:05.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,social media,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.61,0:08:09.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cars that talk like KITT from "Knight Rider."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.74,0:08:11.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the thing that fascinated me the most
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.53,0:08:13.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was phone technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.31,0:08:14.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,See, when I went to prison,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.58,0:08:16.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our car phones were this big
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.36,0:08:18.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and required two people to carry them.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.96,0:08:21.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So imagine what it was like when I first grabbed
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.05,0:08:23.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my little Blackberry
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.17,0:08:25.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I started learning how to text.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.12,0:08:26.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the thing is, the people around me,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.79,0:08:28.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they didn't realize that I had no idea
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.39,0:08:31.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what all these abbreviated texts meant,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:31.08,0:08:36.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like LOL, OMG, LMAO,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.11,0:08:37.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until one day I was having a conversation
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.85,0:08:40.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with one of my friends via text,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.11,0:08:44.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I asked him to do something,\Nand he responded back, "K."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.14,0:08:47.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I was like, "What is K?"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.32,0:08:49.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he was like, "K is okay."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.28,0:08:50.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in my head, I was like,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.28,0:08:53.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Well what the hell is wrong with K?"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.30,0:08:55.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I text him a question mark.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.81,0:08:59.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said, "K = okay."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.48,0:09:04.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so I tap back, "FU." (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.17,0:09:05.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then he texts back, and he asks me
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.93,0:09:07.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why was I cussing him out.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.60,0:09:10.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I said, "LOL FU,"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.26,0:09:11.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as in, I finally understand.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.96,0:09:13.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.100,0:09:17.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so fast forward three years,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.26,0:09:19.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm doing relatively good.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.14,0:09:21.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have a fellowship at MIT Media Lab,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.81,0:09:25.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I work for an amazing company called BMe,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.03,0:09:27.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I teach at the University of Michigan,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.36,0:09:29.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's been a struggle
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.34,0:09:30.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I realize that there are more
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.80,0:09:32.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,men and women coming home
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.44,0:09:35.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are not going to be\Nafforded those opportunities.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.60,0:09:37.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've been blessed to work with some amazing
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.40,0:09:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,men and women,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.08,0:09:41.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,helping others reenter society,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.85,0:09:46.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one of them is my friend named Calvin Evans.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:46.06,0:09:49.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He served 24 years for a crime he didn't commit.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.02,0:09:52.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's 45 years old. He's currently enrolled in college.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.78,0:09:54.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And one of the things that we talked about
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.51,0:09:56.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the three things that I found important
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.22,0:09:57.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in my personal transformation,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.84,0:09:59.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first being acknowledgment.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.78,0:10:02.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had to acknowledge that I had hurt others.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.20,0:10:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I also had to acknowledge that I had been hurt.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.00,0:10:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The second thing was apologizing.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.42,0:10:09.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had to apologize to the people I had hurt.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.57,0:10:11.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even though I had no expectations\Nof them accepting it,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.64,0:10:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was important to do because it was the right thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:14.40,0:10:17.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I also had to apologize to myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.35,0:10:20.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The third thing was atoning.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:20.17,0:10:21.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For me, atoning meant
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.85,0:10:23.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going back into my community
Dialogue: 0,0:10:23.45,0:10:24.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and working with at-risk youth
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.99,0:10:26.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who were on the same path,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.79,0:10:30.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also becoming at one with myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.53,0:10:32.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Through my experience of being locked up,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.29,0:10:34.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the things I discovered is this:
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.48,0:10:35.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the majority of men and women
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.69,0:10:39.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are incarcerated are redeemable,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.11,0:10:40.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the fact is,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.37,0:10:42.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,90 percent of the men and\Nwomen who are incarcerated
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.72,0:10:45.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,will at some point return to the community,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:45.41,0:10:47.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we have a role in determining what kind
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.33,0:10:50.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of men and women return to our community.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.94,0:10:53.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My wish today
Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.56,0:10:57.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that we will embrace
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.21,0:10:59.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a more empathetic approach
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.36,0:11:02.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,toward how we deal with mass incarceration,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.58,0:11:03.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we will do away with
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.72,0:11:06.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key mentality,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.04,0:11:09.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it's proven it doesn't work.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.96,0:11:12.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My journey is a unique journey,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.41,0:11:15.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it doesn't have to be that way.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:15.08,0:11:17.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Anybody can have a transformation
Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.48,0:11:20.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if we create the space for that to happen.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.32,0:11:22.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what I'm asking today
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.09,0:11:23.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that you envision
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.79,0:11:26.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a world where men and women
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.13,0:11:29.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aren't held hostage to their pasts,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:29.83,0:11:31.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where misdeeds and mistakes
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.26,0:11:34.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't define you for the rest of your life.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.03,0:11:37.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think collectively, we can create that reality,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.22,0:11:38.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I hope you do too.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.92,0:11:40.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.69,0:11:43.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)