Welcome to greenlight a bookstore. The bookstore. We are honored to be hosting to present the new book. Her new book is all day teaching kids at Rikers Island and shes going to be speaking so you were in for an excellent evening. Ki another round of applause. [applause] a couple housekeeping things. If you have a cell phone or something that might make noise now is the time to silence it. We have copies of the book for sale at the register and we will be signing right here after words. Nd we also have Upcoming Events so we hope you can check those outn when you buy a book you not only get the work by a great author but you support your independent bookstore and during events like this one so we appreciate that. [applause] our interviewer for this evening is the associate Vice President for Strategic PolicyProgram Implementation of Columbia University and was a leader in the black Panther Party and served in prison before thein university. Most recently invisible man in a contemporary narrativacontempore era of mass incarceration. Hes going to be speaking with our featured author whos an actress living in brooklyn and worked with incarcerated youth in various capacities for 18 years and appeared on two seasons of groundbreaking poetry that was featured in the critically acclaimed film 13. The stage play tour in over 35 penitentiary areas across the country into the production is scheduled to premiere in theem fall of this year. The new book all day recounts the year in her classroom at the island academy. The high school for inmates to new york citys Rikers Island. The narrative captured with its prisoner hierarchies under the violence and constant threat of rupture across the inmates and keepers. Despite the antics of her students and maybe in part because of it, peterson becomes a fierce advocate working not only to educate them but to instill them. The book has been praised byby critics, authors and activists including Russell Simmons and Jacqueline Woodson who writes it is a must read for anyone whos ever cared about young people and all people peterson brings amazing work, love and [laughter] the state of the juvenile Justice System and its people we will not soon forget and she adds im so glad this book is in the world. We feel the same way. Rating from the book first and then conversations and google have chance to ask questions after that so please join me in welcoming to the stage. [applause] thank you all for coming out. Im happy ti am happy to be herm going to jump right in. Not going to give too much of an introduction. Im going to read to short excerpts from the boat and just to put it in context, this wasex one year out of the 18 that i was a fulltime schoolteacher which is different from the other capacities i worked. Im going to jump right in and do the excerpts. This is my first rodeo so i am a little nervous. [laughter] s back christopher is a white skinned kid. His achameese niches on his Youth Holding space for a beer that isnt quite yet ready to grow. If it were not for the missing bottom tooth on his bottom grill, he would have a holds michael with perfectly straight teeth. Hes builhe is built like a gla, tall and muscular. He walks with a bodybuilding swagger and it takes up too much space. She never does work in talks all day barely moving his lips he makes a strange noise with his throat that sounds like alike am mangled fraud. Its a stupid game he likes to play with his voice. A weirdo, this kid. Christopher, please stop making that noise, it is very annoying i demand. I have to admit he responded and spend three minutes latethen thr him making that ugly sound just tom defy me. My mama played bingo all the kids were singing l. L. Cool j. And t. Repeating a new word that they were getting a kick out of saying it in front of me thinking i had no idea what it means. The third time i hear it i let them know i know what that means and ask them to stop saying it in front of me out of respect. Telling them not to do something is of course registering in their brains to do it. Christopher keeps saying it over and over again in the near voice while pleading with the guys to tell him what it actually means. They get a kick out of hearing him Say Something he doesnt know the meaning of and making me mad for saying it. What does that word mean, why are you tripping over it they ask. I cant him a dictionary and have him look it up. That word is in the dictionary . I thought it was spying. They were cracking up that he spelled the word out loud and searched the dictionary. M. , a. , then. They had tears rolling down her face from laughter. Its not that funny. He asked a legitimate question and that is how you learn i said in my teachers voice. I have to be extra critical with this extra slippery slope. That word had a historical meaning and metaphorical meaning so once christopher finds the literal meaning i will tell you the slang meaning. Christopher read out loud at the dictionary definition. A me a member of any number of people forming a group in west africa inhabiting a large area of the upper river valley. Then i told them it is to employ a mans large sized reproductiv. Anatomy. I may as well have said dick delay they are carrying on. So now that you know how it is being used please dont use thae word around me. He is nodding his head in agreement. Two seconds later when i turned my back i heard it again in a voice i hate. Hes testing me to see what i will do, challenging me. Rubbing the genie in my lamp. I draw a line in the sand. Christopher, i asked you not to say that. It is disrespectful, stop it right now and stop doing that thing with your voice, it is creepy. He shakes his head in a dismissive nod that reads like fuck you. My chest rises and falls smoothly with each breath i ta take. I turned my back to write on tht board and i hear mandango. I turn around i turned around in and i kneel down in the matrix allli body world of my neck beg the last thing to snap into alignment is a kneejerk reflex that brings my genie out of thee lamp all in your face crazy woman flurry, full throttle extremely loud, intense and unhinged. I am sick and tired of your disrespect. Srespect. I as asked you five times, christopher, and im not having this foolishness in my class. You havent done any work since you came here. Running your mouth making a noise like kermit the frog and now youre totally disrespectful. Youve been dismissed. I am not stupid and i do not play games with kids. Youve got to go. Im having none of your crap. Get him out of here. Im screaming like a wild banshee standing over him like a giant mother. He covers in his seat. Im like a theatrical magician doing a magic trick rubbing powder from both hands. Someone next door runs ended when he sees me standing over christopher with a look ofhe homicide in my eyes, he poses momentarily to watch me before removing christopher out of my class. Another approach is made and asks if i need a minute to go to the bathroom and calm down. No i dont need to go to the damn bathroom i snapped. Im still in my crazy trance, no filter. The look on his face reeled me back into my body and i dialedet it back. Excuse me for that, officer, im good. Now that hes out of my class im good. He took it too far and im okay now. Im slightly out of breath but steam was still speaking from out of my nostrils. Then like a scene from simple without skipping a beat i continue teaching the class but nothing happens. I do a 180degree change of tone and go right through. Now open your books to page 47. A verb as you remember showsr action. Im speaking as calmly as can be but i am layered with hot ice. I walk the aisles making sure everyone is on task as i walk past one i noticed isnt on then correct page. I demand through my teeth turn to page 47. Everyone should be on page 47. That is what we are here for. Quickly he turned to page 47 and shakes his head with a look on his face and said in a whisper or in extreme. Ive never seen you hit like that. You put on a show. Im not messing with you. Then he turned to his buddy. She said to turn to page 47, im turning to page 47. A his comments drew some chuckles. Without looking at him or raising my voice i addressed him in a slow monotone growl, there are no niggers in my class, maybe some schools, but no carrg niggers. I walked the aisles demanding work. My dad, he said and sits up straight over exaggerating his compliance like an obedient soldier. I laughed to myself because that is exactly my point, to go overboard and get crazy in the eyes so they will think im a little nuts. Mission accomplished. Today will go down. This would last a few months. Fe i could write on this until ther end of the semester and keep mama jeanie tucked away. [applause]use] im going to grab some water and read another excerpt. Are you all right . Okay. What a day to have once been a criminal with no disgrace to remain a criminal is a disgrace how about the max. Everyday i write a thought on the corner of the board and ask a student to give their thoughts. Some mornings it is surprisingly illicit to get a discussion andc some may grumble or ignore me, too early for critical thinking, i get it. Until this morning i wasnt surm if the seat of consciousness i was attempting to plant werean n registering. It brings to my attention was good. I smiled as the reques at the rs and they are in fact watching. You are so right and i write a new thought for today on the board and he copied it into his notebook. Look at what youve been through and survived. You are a walking and talking miracle and so much more than youve been told. The first is about getting to know the characters working with them all day every day each year. The alpha males decided to se st in the front row the social parlaying. Like the kitchen it is the space most comfortable where the real it conversations take place. Later i found out the leader hap a crush on me. They call themselves the bosses. They have stained attitudes always getting on my nerves. They are fly boys as fly as oney can be as they wouldnt bee caught dead in pumpkin seeds they think that the jailhouse speech to clearly have rank and power back in their housing area. They walk with confidence getting salutation and fist pumps and handshakes from other guys. Me and my crew in high school thought we were the shit, too. , knowing who is who is criticaloh information to stand up ahead of the potential explosions that might arise if most important having peripheral vision which is essential for classroom management. They sit in the same seat every day declaring their territory. They claim the front row seats on the lefthand side next to the door and the window that looks out into the hallway. The guys on their teams close behind them. The new journals keep to th themselves in the back center of the room. They are generally up for grabs since no one has a stronghold on that section. They sit next to the filthy windows. Nothing to see but dirt on these windows. On the board i write students will be able to discuss the five evolutions of malcolm x. And compare and contrast the evolution to their own and i write write a five paragraph essay reflecting upon andd answering the following question what is your governments name,n the name your mother gave you and what was your nickname on the streets and why. Why are you in jail, youre jailhouse nickname and why and finally, look into the future and what kind of man do you see yourself evolving into. I asked the group. What are you talking about, five names, he was just malcolm x. He had a different name than the name he was called when he was running the streets hustling. He was a hustler, yet he did time in prison. The leader interjected lookinget for approval. Watch your words but yes he did do time in prison and he was called Something Else and later changed his name to malcolm x. Then after his trip he would change it again to Something Else. So he had five games. What was the first, what is his government legal name, wanted his mother named him i asked,leg challenging them. I should know this, he said snapping his fingers tosi remember. Spike lee did a movie on him. After a moment he said i dont know i cant recall. I he gives up. I held their suspense long enough, they will never guess so i told them, he was born malcoll little and i write the name on a the board. When he was in the street hustling what was the street name he went by i continued. Malcolm x. A dark past. She sold drugs and get a little bit of everything, gambling, hustling, he was on the street, hard body just like you saw what was his name i asked again looking at their bewildered faces and shrugging shoulders i try to give them a little bit of help. Part of his name described the color of his hair and the other part was the name of the city he was from. Tyrone was confident that he was right. Harlem. No not as many as brooklyn. I am not from brooklyn they responded with a smile knowing his comment would get a rise out of his body from brooklyn. Watch your mouth, he growled falling right into the trap starting drama by any means necessary. Another one of the bosses chuckled. Okay, everyone has snitches, lets focus. Being called a snitch is a dangerous dishonor like the mob calling you a rat. I immediately reengaged him. Malcolm did eventually end up in harlem but he wasnt originally from harlem. I am stumped i cant recall it. He shakes his head in defeat. He had reddish brown hair. I would have never guessed that he admitted. Well, now you know and that is how you learn i reassured him. His interest in the lesson seems to corral the class. He loved it and wanted to let me know. I like learning this. He bobs his head and shoots me i friendly slightly flirting smile. His skin is the color of molasses and he had porcelain white teeth that shine like brandnew piano keys. Hes determined to beain destruction. He backed out of his seat. Please take your seats i politely ask. I dont care about malcolm x. What did he ever do for me. This way makes my blood rise. I want to slap the taste out of his mouth for disrespecting my hero, one of the most courageous black leaders i consider a divine miracle for black people in this pipsqueak is throwing dirt on my favorite gladiator. Watch your mouth, dont dare disrespect to malcolm x. Like that. Go take a walk. Im not dealing with you today. I pointed to the door desperate for him to get out. If someone asked me why im in the hallway and going to say that you told me i could take a walk and it will be more on you than me. He isnt a bad looking kid he just needs to see the dentist and a wizard for a new attitude. [applause] so i guess we will have a little conversation and open the floor to. I really enjoyed the book. Ir never having been imprisoned dat ive ever thought of the prospective. Can you talk a little bit about how you got to this place and kind of expand on that and howte you develop the documentation . My first was in 97, 98 and i was hired as a teaching artiste to do poetry workshops. My first time in jails and introductions to what we refer to as mass incarceration. I was supposed to do three weeks and then the Nonprofit Organization i worked for something to another school and i wound up all the teachers on Rikers Island kept requesting the so i was the public residence for three years because they kept teasing me over and over again so that was my first introduction to the population and i had a really great connection and throughoutt the years i worked in reentry so i worked with organizations that help young people once theyhe return from rikers. I wouldve to recruiting and counseling so i worked in so many capacities and one year a principal at the school needed a substitute for the summer. He asked me whether i substitute for a couple of weeks because he knew me from being a teaching artist and i said sure. It was a way to make a steady income and from the summer he asked me to stay on for the fal semester for a teacher. I needed the cash and a steady income so i took it on not having a clue of what i was getting myself into. When i was at rikers from this period of 2008 to 2009, i never thought of a book. All i could do when i came home and stresse download what coulde happened that day because it was sucking the marrow from my bones, just dealing with teenagers they are insane whether they are in jail. So it is a temporary phase of insanity that they go through. So then i picked up my journal and by happenstance i picked up and read one of the passages that made me laugh and took me back. I kept turning the pages and thought i had chronicled my journey at rikers in my journa,t you use a lot of black history and other types of signage in terms of the black Panther Party, malcolm x. And you were talking about being on a Different Team at the same page. Can you tell me how do you feel about it now after youve written about it and can you still go back . I do advocacy independently so im not working with any organizations right now. You had an epiphany and things kind of changed. Can you talk about how you feel about that today . What pushed me out was not the kids. I probably would have left a lot sooner but ive grown so attached to them and felt a sense of responsibility and had this kind of mother bear protective thing with my kids in the class but it was theas the S Administration and with the department of education that kind of created this straitjacket and i talk about it in the book it took away any creativity i could bring to the classroom. I had to wake up at 4 30 in the morning and it was a twohour commute. And im an artist. I need to create and have thatat creative blood flowing and it was just constricting that so thats whats led to me going. It wasnt the jail environment because even after that i came back, got a job working for a nonprofit and then i left and worked for another so they sent me back in and i worked for the department of counselors and so i was working with them every day. So even after i left as a fulltime schoolteacher i was back reengage in the population. They are going to close the leadership and he said hes going to speed that up and make it three years. Is the Biggest Issue i think is reentry. Billions of dollars are invested in a so you see yourself as ar,i black liberator. What kind of landing space do you think that you would want to carve out for young people in prison when they get out to help them integrate back into society . Guest we work specifically with adolescents coming home. Providing job training servicesg and counseling but i think ant important component that needs to be supported if there needs to be a connection of what they call the og to co