They never saw me as a child | Xavier McElrath-Bey | TEDxSanQuentin 2022

At age 11, Xavier was locked up for his own shooting and by the time he was 13 years old, he had 19 arrests and 7 convictions. In this heart-wrenching narrative, hear about the deeply traumatic experiences that were exacerbated by his involvement with the justice system and how we continue to fail the most vulnerable children in our society. Xavier McElrath-Bey serves as Co-Executive Director of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY) and is a co-founder of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network. He has fought to abolish life without parole for children in America and has played a role in ending this practice in several states including Nevada, Utah, Arkansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota. At age 13, Xavier was arrested, charged with a gang-related murder, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. While incarcerated, Xavier decided to change for the better, and he was released after serving 13 years. Soon after, he earned a Master of Arts from Roosevelt University’s Counseling and Human Services Program, and, recently, he received the 2018 Justice Roundtable Excellence Award, the 2019 JustLeadershipUSA Leading with Conviction Award, and Bright Promises Foundation's 2021 Champion for Children Award.

Attica prisoners and guards | Peggy Vance, E. Nowak, Jemar Kelley + Donovan Jackson | TEDxAttica 2019

Attica is definitely not known for teamwork between its prisoners and guards. However, this talk given by two incarcerated men and one correctional officer tells of a popular program at Attica where they work together to mentor and help at-risk youth.Peggy Vance is a photographer and letterpress printer living on a farm in upstate New York. Shooting with film and printing in a dark room remain my favorite way to create photographs. My work is varied; I have shot weddings, in prisons, my family, home interiors, around the world and especially around this farm. I work primarily with a Leica M7 and a Holga. For events, including weddings, I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II as well. I have been printing on a Chandler & Price for over two decades. The letterpress branch of Beech Tree is my effort to encourage handwritten communication for every occasion -- for gratitude, for congratulations, for mourning, for keeping in touch. The paper is usually from Italy but I recently began working with a heavier card stock. Collections change seasonally.A correctional officer for 30 years, Mr. Nowak looks forward to working with his son as he begins his own career as a correctional officer at Attica. A whiz at everything automotive, Mr. Nowak enjoys building race cars and driving them and with his son fixing cars throughout their neighborhood. Mr. Nowak is a first lieutenant in his local fire department, where he works with the Boy Scouts of America Explorer Program. Here at Attica, he serves on the Fire Brigade Team, is an expert on SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus), a member of C.E.R.T. (Crisis Intervention Response Team), the Youth Assistance Program, and a certified drug tester for NARC. He has worked a locksmith fixing cells, doors, gates and locks and as a fabricator building objects for the facility from steel. In his spare time, Mr. Nowak loves to hunt and fish. Above all, he is devoted to his family and his wife of 31 years.With much work, Jemar Kelley has left his negative influences behind. While in prison over the last 20 years, he has completed multiple substance abuse programs as well as aggression replacement training. He has learned to think in terms of intelligent options and consequences before deciding upon a course of action. He is a man who checks and constantly renews himself, realizing that life is a continuous growth process, requiring adjustment, ever evolving and changing. He is deeply committed to mentoring youth recognize their own negative behaviors to help them avoid making the same bad choices he made that will lead them down a road of poverty, incarceration, and or death. At 42 years old, Jemar is the proud father of two intelligent daughters. His oldest is enrolled in college to be a medical assistant. His youngest has received acceptance letters from 18 colleges and graduated from high school with honors. She is enrolled in college to be a business administrator.Donovan Jackson was raised by his preaching mother and teaching grandmother where church and school were mandatory. A well-known rebel, he embraced an opposite path in life where he majored in bad decisions and choices. When he got tenured at Attica, he made great strides to shake off all he learned at the university of knuckleheads. At 33, he now spends his time at Attica mentoring at-risk youth, counseling his peers, and spreading his infectious smile to others. He is devoted to his wife of 9 years and their four daughters.

This is for the others | Alexander Aguilar | TEDxSingSing 2020

Alexander Aguilar is a young man with a deep commitment to helping and inspiring at-risk youth. When he was a young man himself, Alexander was involved in the gang lifestyle and the juvenile justice system. Now, as an incarcerated man at Sing Sing, he dedicates himself to having tough conversations about what justice looks like for those under 18. In this evocative presentation, he shares his personal story and talks about how we make sure more children grow up and don’t share his path or his circumstances. Alexander Aguilar grew up in gangs and juvenile halls. Determined to overcome the struggles he has faced, Alexander has set a new path that focuses on improving himself and building tighter ties to his family. He is committed to giving back, stating, “If my experience can help keep a child from making the same mistake that I did, then I’m happy with that.”

Youth and today's society | Sherman Jackson | TEDxIronwoodStatePrison 2014

This piece is inspired by events that have transpired in Sherman Jackson‘s life and the lives of people around him. He believes that the youth of today‘s society should have more information about crime, drugs, and their consequences in order to help reduce the rate of incarceration. Sherman is 25 years old and from Troutdale, Oregon. He is Lakota, Oglala and aspires to return to his reservation as a drug counselor to help alleviate the drug and alcohol problem. He currently is attending Palo Verde College to obtain not only an AA but to become a drug counselor through the Alcohol and Drug Studies course.