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Marlon Peterson: Am I not human? A call for criminal justice reform
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For a crime he committed in his early twenties, the courts sentenced Marlon Peterson to 10 years in prison -- and, as he says, a lifetime of irrelevance. While behind bars, Peterson found redemption through a penpal mentorship program with students from Brooklyn. In this brave talk, he reminds us why we should invest in the humanity of those people society would like to disregard and discard.
Marlon Peterson - Human justice advocate
Marlon Peterson is a writer, youth development expert and human justice advocate. Full bio
Marlon Peterson is a writer, youth development expert and human justice advocate. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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She wrote:
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"When I become famous,
I will tell everyone
I will tell everyone
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that I know a hero named Marlon Peterson."
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Heroes rarely look like me.
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In fact,
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I'm what garbage looks like.
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No, not the most appealing
way to open a talk
way to open a talk
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or start a conversation,
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and perhaps you have some questions
going through your head about that.
going through your head about that.
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Why would this man say
such a thing about himself?
such a thing about himself?
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What does he mean?
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How can someone view him as a hero
when he sees himself as garbage?
when he sees himself as garbage?
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I believe we learn more from questions
than we do from answers.
than we do from answers.
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Because when we're questioning something,
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we're invested in taking in
some sort of new information,
some sort of new information,
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or grappling with some sort of ignorance
that makes us feel uncomfortable.
that makes us feel uncomfortable.
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And that's why I'm here:
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to push us to question,
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even when it makes us uncomfortable.
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My parents are from Trinidad and Tobago,
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the southernmost island in the Caribbean.
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Trinidad is also home
to the only acoustic instrument
to the only acoustic instrument
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invented in the 20th century:
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the steel pan.
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Deriving from the African drums
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and evolving from the genius
of one of the ghettos in Trinidad,
of one of the ghettos in Trinidad,
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a city called Laventille,
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and the disregard
of the American military ...
of the American military ...
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Well, I should tell you,
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America, during WWII, had
military bases set up in Trinidad,
military bases set up in Trinidad,
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and when the war ended,
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they left the island littered
with empty oil drums --
with empty oil drums --
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their trash.
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So people from Laventille
repurposed the old drums left behind
repurposed the old drums left behind
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into the full chromatic scale:
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the steel pan.
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Playing music now from Beethoven
to Bob Marley to 50 Cent,
to Bob Marley to 50 Cent,
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those people literally made
music out of garbage.
music out of garbage.
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Twelve days before my 20th birthday,
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I was arrested for my role
in a violent robbery attempt
in a violent robbery attempt
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in lower Manhattan.
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While people were sitting
in a coffee shop,
in a coffee shop,
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four people were shot.
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Two were killed.
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Five of us were arrested.
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We were all the products
of Trinidad and Tobago.
of Trinidad and Tobago.
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We were the "bad immigrants,"
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or the "anchor babies" that Trump
and millions of Americans easily malign.
and millions of Americans easily malign.
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I was discarded, like waste material --
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and justifiably so to many.
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I eventually served 10 years, two months
and seven days of a prison sentence.
and seven days of a prison sentence.
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I was sentenced to a decade of punishment
in a correctional institution.
in a correctional institution.
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I was sentenced to irrelevance --
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the opposite of humanity.
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Interestingly,
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it was during those years in prison
that a series of letters redeemed me,
that a series of letters redeemed me,
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helped me move beyond
the darkness and the guilt
the darkness and the guilt
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associated with the worst
moment of my young life.
moment of my young life.
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It gave me a sense that I was useful.
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She was 13 years old.
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She had wrote that she saw me as a hero.
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I remember reading that,
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and I remember crying
when I read those words.
when I read those words.
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She was one of over 50 students
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and 150 letters that I wrote during
a mentoring correspondence program
a mentoring correspondence program
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that I co-designed with a friend
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who was a teacher
at a middle school in Brooklyn,
at a middle school in Brooklyn,
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my hometown.
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We called it the Young Scholars Program.
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Every time those young people
shared their stories with me,
shared their stories with me,
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their struggles,
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every time they drew a picture
of their favorite cartoon character
of their favorite cartoon character
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and sent it to me,
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every time they said they depended
on my letters or my words of advice,
on my letters or my words of advice,
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it boosted my sense of worthiness.
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It gave me a sense of what
I could contribute to this planet.
I could contribute to this planet.
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It transformed my life.
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Because of those letters
and what they shared with me,
and what they shared with me,
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their stories of teen life,
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they gave me the permission,
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they gave me the courage
to admit to myself
to admit to myself
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that there were reasons -- not excuses --
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but that there were reasons
for that fateful day in October of 1999;
for that fateful day in October of 1999;
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that the trauma associated
with living in a community
with living in a community
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where guns are easier
to get than sneakers;
to get than sneakers;
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that the trauma associated with being
raped at gunpoint at the age of 14;
raped at gunpoint at the age of 14;
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that those are reasons for me
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why making that decision,
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that fatal decision,
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was not an unlikely proposition.
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Because those letters
mattered so much to me,
mattered so much to me,
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because writing and receiving
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and having that communication
with those folks
with those folks
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so hugely impacted my life,
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I decided to share the opportunity
with some friends of mine
with some friends of mine
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who were also inside with me.
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My friends Bill and Cory and Arocks,
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all in prison for violent crimes also,
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shared their words of wisdom
with the young people as well,
with the young people as well,
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and received the sense
of relevancy in return.
of relevancy in return.
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We are now published writers
and youth program innovators
and youth program innovators
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and trauma experts
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and gun violence prevention advocates,
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and TED talkers and --
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(Laughter)
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and good daddies.
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That's what I call a positive
return of investment.
return of investment.
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Above all else,
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what building that program
taught me was that when we sow,
taught me was that when we sow,
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when we invest in the humanity
of people no matter where they're at,
of people no matter where they're at,
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we can reap amazing rewards.
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In this latest era
of criminal justice reform,
of criminal justice reform,
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I often question and wonder why --
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why is it that so many believe
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that only those who have been convicted
of nonviolent drug offenses
of nonviolent drug offenses
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merit empathy and recognized humanity?
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Criminal justice reform is human justice.
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Am I not human?
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When we invest in resources
that amplify the relevancy of people
that amplify the relevancy of people
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in communities like Laventille
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or parts of Brooklyn or a ghetto near you,
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we can literally create
the communities that we want.
the communities that we want.
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We can do better.
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We can do better than investing solely
in law enforcement as a resource,
in law enforcement as a resource,
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because they don't give us
a sense of relevancy
a sense of relevancy
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that is at the core of why so many of us
do so many harmful things
do so many harmful things
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in the pursuit of mattering.
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See, gun violence is just a visible
display of a lot of underlying traumas.
display of a lot of underlying traumas.
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When we invest in the redemptive
value of relevancy,
value of relevancy,
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we can render a return of both
personal responsibility and healing.
personal responsibility and healing.
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That's the people work I care about,
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because people work.
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Family, I'm asking you
to do the hard work,
to do the hard work,
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the difficult work,
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the churning work of bestowing
undeserved kindness
undeserved kindness
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upon those who we can relegate as garbage,
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who we can disregard and discard easily.
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I'm asking myself.
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Over the past two months,
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I've lost two friends to gun violence,
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both innocent bystanders.
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One was caught in a drive-by
while walking home.
while walking home.
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The other was sitting in a café
while eating breakfast,
while eating breakfast,
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while on vacation in Miami.
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I'm asking myself to see
the redemptive value of relevancy
the redemptive value of relevancy
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in the people that murdered them,
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because of the hard work
of seeing the value in me.
of seeing the value in me.
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I'm pushing us to challenge
our own capacity
our own capacity
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to fully experience our humanity,
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by understanding the full biography
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of people who we can
easily choose not to see,
easily choose not to see,
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because heroes are waiting
to be recognized,
to be recognized,
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and music is waiting to be made.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Marlon Peterson - Human justice advocateMarlon Peterson is a writer, youth development expert and human justice advocate.
Why you should listen
Marlon Peterson is the host of the podcast, Decarcerated, which highlights the journeys of resilience, redemption and success of formerly incarcerated people.
Since his release from prison in 2009, after serving 10 years, Peterson has spearheaded the creation of two youth development programs in New York City, How Our Lives Link Altogether (H.O.L.L.A!) and Youth Organizing to Save Our Streets (YO SOS). With a focus on gun violence prevention and youth advocacy, both programs have provided programming for hundreds of young people.
In 2015 Peterson left his full-time work in the nonprofit sector to create The Precedential Group, a social justice consultancy that works to address the trauma revolving around the intersections of race, gender, violence, police violence and community violence. His work through the Precedential Group has allowed him to provide support for organizations throughout the United States and Trinidad & Tobago, W.I.
As a writer, advocate, program developer and public speaker Peterson has been recognized as a Soros Justice Fellow, Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar, Ebony Magazine Power 100 Honoree and TED Resident. His writings have appeared and been cited in The Nation, Gawker, The Atlantic, Huff Post, Black Press USA, Ebony and the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian. He has contributed to Kiese Laymon's aaward-winning novel, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America and Love Lives Here, Too by former New York Times columnist, Sheila Rule.
Peterson is Brooklyn born and bred with a Trinidadian heart. He is a graduate of New York University and is currently working on his first Pulitzer, a memoir.
Marlon Peterson | Speaker | TED.com