the mystery school, the teachers call me that problem too. so i was labeled burly. i ended up getting kicked out of school. i was 1617 and 18. those should have been my graduation high school with years. but his dad, i'm on the streets selling crack, gang bang and thinking that i was going to make to see 21. the how we get dressed in all red ride the bus to the hill. just walk around and wait for a group of blues to approach 1st, i would try to fight it. agonized. i'd walk in the middle and then i'd

pull out that day and watch him scatter. when i go, you know, watch was like roaches. then i got addicted to be and see my mom was here trying to be the disciplinarian and the bread winner, but she didn't have no help. i rebelled against her, but it wasn't her fault. we were in this together and that's why i should've known the, the my mom was my 1st love up until the mid eighty's when crack became the reason to be for her. it was okay. but she had an addiction and it grew monstrous. her addiction to crap superseded

everything, her dignity, her ability to reason her desire to be our mother. it was one of those things that broken me. i didn't like the life that i was living, but somehow i felt helpless to change it. and i felt like i was just being carried on this wave of circumstance, not being able to have a job not being able to get out of that life. i did that on the corner. i didn't do drive by, but i had a boyfriend that did. and i had fooled myself into thinking that if i just stayed on the fringes of that lifestyle, that i couldn't get caught up. that wasn't true when they started around and not single suspects. and i was on my boyfriend was one of my protestations of

innocence. i just fell on deaf ears. there must be no doubt. 5 who side were on people who commit crimes should be called convicted and punished. their savings will be used to put a 100000 police officers on the street a 20 percent increase. it will be used to build prisoners to keep a 100000 violent criminals. off the street, you will be put away and for what is for good 3 strikes, menu bar. and 1993. washington state was the 1st states in the nation to implement the 3 strikes policy and make it ok to put people in prison and throw away the key. there are many people who are rehabilitated their lives, who could be contributing to our young people, to our families, and that door has been slammed shut in washington state. we are still one of the only 16 states that does not have the parole system. what's interesting about

washington state is really reflective of what's interesting about the whole country . this country is based on fear. when you have a country that is based on or that has grown out of colonization and slavery, people don't rest easy. that's why everyone needs to be armed in this country to protect what they have because what they have was stolen and i talk about it may not admit it, but it's there. whether you are on the red or on the blue. whatever side it is, know once these easily in this country, mister speaker, i simply want to say legislators have on inherent conflict of interest. the number one objective, the legislatures to get re elected the also how do you get re elected? truly easy ponder podium exam, tough on crime, the children who have been killed. the victims of bias, the public is fed up and that means more prison. todd. we have

a greater percentage of our population in prison right now in any society, in the history of western civilization. and we have this high and mighty attitude about ourselves. i want you to imagine that as much as $60.00 to $0.70 and a very tax dollar in my county goes toward criminal justice. it is a horrendous waste of resources. if you don't care about people, it's a horrendous ways of resources on a private washing. it's very, very easy to instigate beer. that's what happened with 3 strikes because the face of a threat then became young, black and brown. man, we need to take these people on. they are often connected to big drug cartels. they are not just gangs of kids anymore. they are often the kinds of kids that are called super predatory is no conscience, no empathy. we can talk about why they ended up that way,

but 1st we have to bring them to here in the present. it is asked the f b i to launch a very concerted effort against games everywhere. john and i were to go to the f. b i task force. they were forming a task force or games with now with the drugs are privately, i should go around the country. you see communities everywhere, people who are no longer going to hide in their houses. this is our hail. all we wanted to know is go by your drugs and p, we're all up for lake, we don't come here. you've got to take us there, but are willing with leadership and with involvement, police and directions, least not what i take to the streets. you want to know while we're having success with our federal task force because it set them up out of the country and not all of them kicking like we were in the wanted to know why john and i knew the gang members from work on the street and so we kind of knew who they should be targeting the,

the place started doing more sweeps, they would just get the kids and round them up for whatever little reason they could if they could get them on a sentence like give them a loan. so keep them from ever coming. that is to plant built on these keys, playgrounds on these kids chicken doors and they get the search more later. i got you got you down and let them play in the day. they got to run them, lose all by yourself. and if they cost you by yourself, and you may not have them even been a criminal activity, they just because they were out there, they get them just on low during finals walk into the corner store. and i, and i saw a house little further up, but i thought look nice, so i want it to walk by. and the police saw me, they would say to me, what you do on here. the only around here, the narrative

that we keep hearing is that there are people are entitled to be here. even though folks know that this is not anybody's, that's not their land. so that narrative of being entitled and really protecting that is really what drives a lot. but we as a country don't want to uncover that to pay given a race based country such as we are the p. well, that really are impacted by the porous and the blacks the looking back. now i'm able to see everything that happened. i wasn't able to see it. the, so wasn't able to avoid the trash that were set for me. a lot of us weren't. i don't wanna excuse any of the crimes that were committed because they were crimes committee, but some people didn't commit crimes and were just caught up in the furnace that they chose. and it wasn't even the friends that they chose. the principal they grew up with this has been able to do, they need, these are the kids you went to school with these, these 2 people who's on the house and went to the sunday dinner. and most of us

didn't just wake up and say, i want to be a game member, this is what i'm going to be in life. we just go into that because this will expose to it. and then the last part of my career, i have the best job ultimate freedom to set my own targets in my own investigation. as long as i was producing, they left me alone. so didn't have a lot of supervision by the late ninety's at the hill top area was pretty much cleaned up, the american jacob, aggravated murder. the drama aggravated

murder is the highest crime in washington. they changed some law in a hard time for on crime in 1994 that says if i'm murder or her during the discharge of a fire or from a motor vehicle, then you can be subject to the death penalty or life in prison. if i would have got sensors to 1st to be murder, i probably would have as 27 years since the murder occurred during the discharge of a file from a motor vehicle. and that 777 use. the reason that the judge did not have the ability to give them the sentence of the west and life without parole, is that the legislature made it an aggravating circumstance to do

a drive by shooting. because he shot impulsively without knowing who was in the other car, but out of the car, only one punishment was appropriate. that law was passed because mostly white legislators viewed it as words for gang members to shoot from a car. it was a clear reaction to the fear, black and hispanic individuals, a weapon to the commission of the crime. the promise of the criminal justice system is that he rises above race. will be the title of the when i work in washington state, it's a state that is overwhelmingly why that's not true when i go into a prison. criminal justice system remains broken by the influence of race, the

needs to come to the russian states. never as tight as i'm one of the most sense community invest. nothing has all sense and up the speed. what else holes question about this? even though we will then in the european union, the kremlin media mission, the state on russia cruising and split the ortiz full neck, even our video agency, roughly all the band on youtube tv services. for the question, did you say a request to change? the

and the store employee in the west freedom of speech was deemed a right and not a privilege. it appears. this is no longer the case. this is also the case with the latest iteration over russia. gatos only right speech because a lot of the many privacy around the feel like cattle. you feel like

something's not real, the down and search some roller coaster on your emotional wellbeing. you put in a sale 8 by 10. sell with people that you don't know. you never, may, you don't know what they're there for. what the bell isn't deprivation to your sanchez or to explain you're away from everything that you know. i could not conceive of my life taking place within the walls that i saw around me . we're going to give you 3 meals a day. we don't give us a minutes lab for us to go slab to sleep on. and that's basically yet. there is no rehabilitation. there's no repair present as a socializing force at total institutions or does it work by and large

now people learn to become anti social. it's not designed to help anybody grow officers and make sure that you understand that you are a prisoner. when you find yourself in contact with them, they tend to look down as a way of not giving you eye contact for a lot of prisoners, a kind of makes them internalized that nobody i don't think that as prisoners were treated as people now i'm able to handle values all over like minded slavery, you know, mean and, and get out of that as you guys are. so i used to be a young know, sitting in this room and i used to be talking about stuff that i didn't have no

clue about, you know, i'm saying politics, policies, legislators, nice to hear people speak about these different things. i use it. i hate not knowing that, you know, right. i used to hate watching cnn and see these guys talking about politics and have no clue about what they was talking about. but knowing that these decisions were affecting my life somehow. and i would say that that is kind of one of the things that sent me on my quest. i wanted to learn. i think that the opportunities with the black prisoners caucus, with my interaction with free people, i'm able to really internalize that i'm not an offender. i'm not a prisoner, i'm just a man who happens to be in prison. one of the things that the black presidents cough is says is that they may be absent from community, but they're still a part of community sales. people come from the outside every single week who cared about us. and i'm saying that will let us know that we were still part of that community. not always your the mary. she said,

if we planned on returning back to the community, how we came in here, then we might as well stay in here. i was the president of the black caucus at monroe. i went to the home for a class and fraction possession of a cell phone because i was life without. it didn't grant me the opportunity to stay at my gosh, have to call him back. the office was essentially a large part of everything that was going on. but when i got here that was enough, i basically just reached out to ministration. and it was kind of hesitant on allowing us to be able to have the name, black prisoners congress. it was to radical for them, i think for something to have black, the just reinforced the

black 1st as long as, as a loan for doctors, history within the department of corrections the and so eventually it was never been able to get going. and so now as we started to have some of our 1st meetings, the idea was now what is it that we want to see, right? what are the opportunities that we need in order for us to, you know, really stay committed on improve yourself. you'll be getting to meet people who's been there longer than you've been a lot. people want them since the sevens and so you'll realize that they're really not letting people

in the signs. not only do you have to make a commitment, but you have to make a choice. if i still want to continue living the life that got me here, or i want to try and live in a bedroom, right? we can never become somebody different, but we can become a better version of the almost immediately upon entering our cloud. i'm very, i found out that a few guys had just started

a program and they called cheese and just uh for taken education and creating has me and come on and all that i've been on. and since with his kids in the same place, he was on the east side, i was on the heel down. so we was really rivals back in when he kind of gave when he came here. say them he was and he was involved a, b, b, c. and he went to starter teens program. they came up with the idea. we was like, okay, let's do it. there was several of us or call them back who had a lot of time to do and present and we weren't being allowed to attain education class. the priority for our education department is those individuals with 7 years or less on their sense. so if you have more than 7 years, which a lot of people do, you don't get a chance to get an education. we want it to get professors to be able to come out here, but we was too far. so the next thing was to either let each program go to waste

or do we figure out a way to make slow. so say that we came up with was we'll just teach the class, work backwards from here. and let me know that we can teach math renewed or we could teach writing as why it was more about the skill sets that we already had and being able to just really nurture those and provide those in the classroom settings . so y equals negative and a negative is positive. we reached out to a lot of prisoners, right guys, we have degrees and all types of but then we also just quickly came to the realization just because you have a degree doesn't mean that you can teach. eventually we begin to 5 guys who teach him was something that was natural. thompson you set about creating all the syllabus isn't on curriculum to teaching on classes. started changing and shaping people's thinking. and from there, the worst rate when i got here and was

working on the school floor blue by the teach classroom. and it was the 1st time i ever seen a classroom being taught without an officer and it was prisoners lift enough prisoners. and so when i seen these guys doing and stuff i had to be part of the for half, 2 hours within a day, we decided to diversify our board. this way we can attract more students, but also we can understand each other more. so is reaching all corners is present part of me coming on board with this with seeing what you guys were doing and, and wanting to get behind there. i was, i guess, finally an opportunity for me to go and do something productive. that was it provided before that inmates create. we've created a support group for, for positivity and the most on life of environments.

we've been committed against one another for so long. it literally allows the prison to run itself as long as they stay separated, we've got to worry about them coming together, becoming knowledgeable, fixing the social issue that end up landing them in prison in the 1st place. the more do we begin to educate ourselves, the more empowered we become, the less manipulating we can be, the less oppressed we can be. now what we're beginning to realize is that we can get more accomplished together then we can apply the, you know, because it can take an assessment at 1st. i really didn't want to lead column by because of the things that we were doing up there. there were so powerful and the relationships that we have with administration. i didn't think that we're going to be able to duplicate some of those things. so i thought to stay there and my comfort zone. i can see you in a view. ready tomorrow was coming up for his time and leave also. ready 2 more settings mine are shown, and i went to my review right after that,

where i spoke to my counselor and they asked me where i want to go when it came time to transfer and they told me shout. so i was having a seat more to do. morning i was coming and he sent word to say good, i'm glad because i mean having some problems with trying to get to pbc store to you . most of the people that live in this county were just friends. this is not a diverse community. the most diversity they have is behind these barbed wire fences. some days they have a challenge accepting me. so i can only imagine what the challenges would be around a black christmas car. the fear that i here is not all you know, the name is the black prisoners congress. it's, it's a black gang. we should be fearful of the people who are ignorant, short sighted opinions about things like that. having taken the opportunity to do

to participate and learn really what is going on there watching correction center. thank you for being here today. i attended the you summit and i was speechless. i listen to the stories that were being told, the things that i had to say really resonated with me and drew me in the things that we have been through. things that we have been around, i would worry what others would think would i think i go saw? that was my concern. i used to think that not the gang bang was assigned a week. i only intended to be there for a few minutes to kind of check in doing introduction, see what it was about. and when i sat down, i did want to get back up. we hope to help young people away making some of the same, but also we hope to be able to reach young people themselves. we believe in and expect them to influence and add to the most. we solidify the bbc here. we wanted

to move on to the next thing and start to teach program because this present as far as prisoners is, is kind of the america of prisons in our state. this is where every person 1st comes to an issue. every person, if you're transferred from one prison to another prison, you have to come through here. so as we in inmates who is going to be here for awhile, we see everybody in the state. they have to cross our pass. i see young guys all the time, come to here whose life i'm influenced, negative. that's something that i've had to live with, working towards having a positive influence on those generations. now, it gives me a way to undo some of the wrongs that i've done in the past the a the same wrong.

just don't you have to shape out the application and engagement equals the trail. when so many find themselves will support. we choose to look for common ground, the the, [000:00:00;00]

the in the year of 1954, the united states of america engaged in warfare against the people of vietnam. the white house supported the corrupt public governments of southern vietnam. 1965 americans began their invasion following the aim to defeat the forces of vietnamese patriots. defend the gun was confident that the victory would be on the american side due to its military, severe yours. however, the vietnamese during this war into total hell for the occupants. unable to cope with a guerrillas, the american army started blanket bombing alongside using chemical weapons and naples, which burnt all alive. the village of my lay,

where he 1969 american soldiers killed 504 civilians, including 210 children, became a tragic symbol of this war. all and all. during the whole period of this conflict, the usa dropped on vietnam more than $6000000.00 tons of bonds, which is 2 and a half times as much as on germany during the 2nd world war. in 1973, the american army under the pressure of the rebels, withdrew from vietnam, and only 2 years later did the pop and regime. and so i got involved. however, the vietnamese paid a high price for their freedom. more than 1000000 in vietnamese people became the victims of america in the dressers. the 5 wasn't doing the edges closer to allowing you thing to use as well. so. so i think that in so russia, i think it is,

it is impressive for most of us, which they begins to look into the adults they leave in the world of dark fantasy. one of those being an idea that a nuclear power, which is russia, can be displayed on the battlefield with to you as a presidential candidate, plug it out in the tv debates, which at one point becomes a flight function. rationally that it is well known that