Up next is a man who leads by example.
He's passionate about education
and the well-being of all his fellow human beings.
Ladies and gentlemen, my friend, Mr. Darnell "Moe" Washington.
(Applause)
I want to talk to you today about being a leader.
To be a good leader, you have to be a good motivator.
And what better way to motivate someone than to let them know you believe in them.
Well, my Uncle Dornese, he let me know he believed in me when he told me:
"When you graduate," not, "If "or, "Do your best," but
"When you graduate, I'm going to buy you whatever you want."
And that motivated me to value my education as well as others'.
I grew up in a very close-knit family,
and we spent a lot of quality time together.
I was especially close to my two cousins, Dwight and Damon,
because I had no brothers, and they were both younger than me.
I always encouraged them to stay in school and to do good just as my uncle told me.
I'll always remember the day my uncle took me to school on his motorcycle,
because I had missed my school bus.
Before leaving, this is when he told me:
"When you graduate, I'm going to buy you whatever you want."
At the time I was in the 10th grade at Canoga Park High School.
But before my 10th grade year was up, my Uncle Dornese was murdered.
Despite Dornese's murder, I was still able to stay focused on my education,
because I still wanted to make him proud of me.
At Canoga Park High, I played basketball, which I really enjoyed.
Due to our hard work and dedication to practice, we made it all the way
to the high school championship at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
It was a great experience I'll never forget.
I was voted best defensive player on my basketball team
as well as prom prince and best dancer by my fellow senior classmates.
(Cheers) (Applause)
I'm sure Dornese would have been proud of me after these accomplishments.
After graduating from high school,
I went on to further my education at West Los Angeles City College.
Tragically, in my first semester,
my 15-year-old cousin Dwight was also murdered.
He was walking down the street with his friends when a car pulled up.
Dwight leaned down to look into the car to see who it was,
and one of the gang members in the car
pulled out a shotgun and shot him in his forehead.
After viewing his body and seeing how he was shot,
I was so hurt, angry, full of rage that someone could shoot
my 15-year-old cousin in his face like that
that I could no longer stay focused on my college classes.
I just wanted revenge.
So, I dropped out of college, and I started gang banging.
After years of gang banging,
not caring how I was destroying my community, my family, myself,
I was arrested, charged, convicted of first-degree murder,
and sentenced to 35 years to life.
Day one when I got to prison I told myself I needed to turn my life around.
I started going to church, because I was brought up in the church.
Plus being on a maximum security yard at Corcoran State Prison,
there wasn't much else to do.
My security points went down from me working and staying out of trouble,
and I was then able to go to a lower level prison.
First, the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, California,
and then here to San Quentin State Prison.
At these lower level prisons, there are a lot of self-help groups,
so I got involved in all the groups I could to deal with all the issues I had,
like "Criminals and Gang Members Anonymous."
While in CGA I remember watching a video of a young man talking about
how his victim's mother was saying that her son was such a nice guy.
And the young man was upset, because her son was a rival gang member.
At the time, he didn't understand the impact of his crime.
Until one day he was in his jail cell, he happened to look out the back window.
And there was a graveyard there.
He then realized that the young man he murdered
was buried right outside his window, because he would see
the young man's mother go visit the grave site every Sunday.
At that moment, my heart opened,
and I realized that the destructive lifestyle I once lived would have
a long-lasting effect on the people I harmed,
their families, and their communities.
I also attend Restorative Justice, where I gained so much insight
about the impact of crime listening to survivors' stories
of their healing journey.
While I was at California Men's Colony, I ran into one of my young homeboys
who was 13 years old when I left the streets.
And now was 21 years old, in prison, with a '15 to life' sentence.
Knowing he'd be going to the Parole Board soon,
I asked if he had his high school diploma or GED.
He said no, but he was enrolled in a GED class.
So, I told Robert that when you pass your GED test,
I'm going to give you my work paycheck
for being a porter working in the building, which was $20.
Robert went on to pass his GED test,
and I went to the canteen and bought him $20 worth of food
and told him I was really proud of him.
I realized this was a good way to give back
and be a positive influence to others.
So, a couple of days later, I went to our workout area
and I told all the youngsters there:
"If you didn't have your high school diploma or GED,
if you would enroll in that class, I would give you my $20 paycheck as well."
They said, "Nah, Moe, are you serious?" I said, "Yeah, for real."
Well, so many of them enrolled in the class,
and started passing the test at the same time,
that we had to change the agreement since I only got paid $20 a month.
(Laughter)
So instead, we agreed upon that I would just make each of them a meal
and buy them a pint of ice cream.
(Laughter)
I just really enjoyed watching them eat and celebrate together,
and telling me how proud their parents and grandparents was of them.
And just seeing the excitement in their faces
that they had accomplished something so positive.
This has showed me: It doesn't take much to make a difference in someone's life.
No matter where you are.
Before being transferred from California Men's Colony to San Quentin State Prison,
15 of those young men had passed their GED tests.
(Applause) (Cheers)
Now I know some of you may say,
"Wow that $20 really motivated these young men," and I'm sure it did.
But I believe the true motivation was the word "when,"
which goes all the way back to my uncle telling me, "When I graduate."
Not, "If" or, "Do your best," but, "When."
Because that let me know he believed in me,
and I'm sure these young men felt the same way,
that despite the bad choices they made, somebody believed in them.
And that was more valuable to them than the $20,
because they had no problem with changing the agreement
which shows their unselfishness because someone took the time to believe in them.
So, when you leave here today, I would like to ask you to take the time
and sit face to face, not email, not text.
Sit face to face with someone you care about,
and let them know how much you believe in them,
and watch the joy and excitement you bring to their face.
I'd like to leave you with a quote from Nelson Mandela, which states:
"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we've lived,
it is what difference we have made in the lives of others that will determine
the significance of the life we've led."
Thank you.
(Applause)