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So you have a lot of colleges and universities on your speaking agenda and we were really
curious about why you prioritize those given your limited time I really do
think that this generation is going to bear the burden of solving the problems
we've created by this era of over incarceration and excessive punishment
you know this statistic that one in three black male babies is expected to go to jail and
prison one in six latino male babies is expected to go to jail or prison that's that's the
coming generation that wasn't true in the 20th century when college freshmen
were born it was it became true in the 21st century and I think young people are going to inherit this problem
and the earlier they can begin talking and thinking about it the more
effectively they'll address if they have the opportunity to begin insisting that we
talk more honestly they're in a position where as they mature and grow they can
demand truth and reconciliation and that excites me because I don't think we can
afford to wait another day another month another year I think it's just really critical that
we generate a conversation now people are going to be dealing with these issues
for the next twenty thirty forty years unfortunately there hasn't been a lot of
truth-telling
and honest heart to help people engage meaningfully port with some of these
issues on the other side of this silence is actually understanding and on the other side
of understanding is something that feels more like freedom we won't be bumping
into each other like we do now we won't distrust each other like we do now we'll actually begin to
understand things about each other that we don't now and I think that that's really important and a lot of the conversations
that we have with students round when people become aware of issues that some
some of them haven't been aware of before they often say well what do we do
re-entry is going to be an enormous challenge for this country because we
haven't really developed the habits or created any infrastructures or
institutions to help people recover from decades of incarceration and so that's
already going to require volunteers and individuals who are motivated
we need volunteers we need students we need people to engage in working with these
populations just wonder what you would say to younger people who haven't figured out
what they're calling is how do they look for that how do they find it I think there's power in
proximity I think if you get close to the things you care about to the problems
that you most worried about you learn things that you won't learn from a
distance
it'll turn into something that will shape your career and your thinking
ultimately I think you have to not just follow the curriculum and what's in your mind
you also have to follow what's in your heart I really do believe that you become a
fully plugged in person when the work you do the life you
live is a life that's not just shaped by the ideas in your mind but is shaped by
the ideas in your mind that are fueled by the conviction in your heart