. >> art teacher saved my life, a guy named frank ross. he got me excited about ceramics when i was in tenth grade. i got pretty good at it. >> hinojosa: but it was more than that. it was that you, you know, you're here with this high school teacher, right? >> oh, he was cool guy, man. >> hinojosa: really cool guy, but you walk by and all of a sudden, there's a room... >> yes, our art room. >> hinojosa: ...that is open... >> one potters wheel. >> hinojosa: ...and there's music coming out? >> yeah, he has jazz music on, he's got a coffee pot-- most important-- and he makes a great, big, old ceramic bowl, and i'd never seen that done before. it was magical. >> hinojosa: now, you were, at this point, a kid who was, like... >> drifting. >> hinojosa: ...drifting. >> yeah. >> hinojosa: you could have easily gone down the wrong road. >> an african american male drifting in america is highly in danger. you're either going to get yourself killed, or you're going to go to jail, or something in between. >> hinojosa: and part of the reason why you wer