1. 1
Transforming
Justice
Literature for All of Us
Poetry Journal
2016

2. 2 3
Transforming
Justice
poems by
Literature for All of Us
students

3. 4 5
Introduction
Literature, like justice and
mercy, must be available to
everyone. There can be no
exceptions to, no exclusions
from the rule. With literature and
justice for all…for the two are
deeply bound, indeed. So many
victims, survivors, are born of
injustice, particularly from our
nation’s peculiar institutions
making up our criminal justice
system. For too many, there is
no justice, only a system that
dehumanizes and diminishes us
all.
And so it is within the inhumanity of our
system that we seek the humane; it is within
the darkness that we seek the light. It is within
these pages, we offer the hope, truth, yearning,
despair, wit, worry, darkness, and light from
the hearts and minds of the young poets who
sit around the tables at Literature for All of Us,
making sense of it all. We offer you, our
readers, a key unlocking the souls of young
folks fighting hard to be heard, fighting to be
seen, to stay alive, to make meaning of their
place in a world that makes no place for them,
that too often decides who and what they are in
the blink of an eye, the pull of a trigger.
The gifts of poetry are manifold: Poetry releases
us, allows us to exist where there is no time, no
body, no harm, no judgment, no fear, no end,
no pain – yet the words of these young women
and men of our community are imbued with all
that and more. These pages are an invitation to
read, to hear, to learn, to feel all of it with them,
to walk beside them.
Pamela Cytrynbaum
Executive Director, Chicago Innocence Center
The Chicago Innocence Center is a nonprofit organization
devoted to investigative reporting of wrongful convictions.
All proceeds from the sale of these journals benefit
Literature for All of Us programs, which serve
under-resourced youth.

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A Note from Literature for All of Us
When Literature for All of Us was
invited to partner with Piven Theatre
on the Dead Man Walking project,
our first consideration was whether
a story about the death penalty
related to our mission. It did not
take long to see that author and
activist Sister Helen Prejean’s work
was deeply connected to our focus
on trauma-informed literacy
programs for underserved youth.
Like justice, literacy is a basic
human need, an essential
ingredient for an equitable society.
Studies show that:
• Nearly a billion people entered the 21st
century unable to read a book or sign their
names. (“The State of the World’s Children”
1999).
• Two-thirds of children who cannot read
proficiently by 4th grade will end up in jail or
on welfare (Begintoread.com, 2014).
• Children who read for pleasure made more
progress in math, vocabulary and spell-
ing between the ages of ten and sixteen
than those who rarely read. (“Long Term
Vocabulary” 2014).
For those of us whose lives are privileged,
literacy may have been absorbed as easily as
breathing clean air. We did not have to fight for
it, were not shamed into believing it was
something we could never master, and were
not distracted from it by the chaos that poverty
wreaks. Sister Helen Prejean wrote,
I think of the gifts of my own upbringing: I can read any book
I choose and comprehend it. I can write a complete sentence
and punctuate it correctly. If I need help, I can call on judges,
attorneys, educators, ministers. I wonder what I would be like
if I had grown up without such protections and supports. What
cracks would have turned up in my character? What makes me
think that I wouldn’t have been pregnant at seventeen? How
law-abiding would I be?
Growing up in a world that often fails to protect and support our
youth, especially our youth of color or those who live in
poverty, is what many of the young poets at Literature for All of
Us are challenged by every day. Reflecting Sister Helen
Prejean’s work, our aim as we invited participants to share their
voices, was to examine their personal stories in order to
illuminate the ways in which individual experiences manifest on
a systemic level.
In addition to poetry, our participants created powerful imagery
applied to squares of fabric. These squares were sewn into a
gorgeous, giant quilt by Evanston artist, Margaret Ann Crain.
The quilt has been installed at the Evanston Art Center for
display from April 9th—May 9th, 2016. In addition, some of the
images from the quilt have been copied and scattered
throughout this poetry journal.
As you read our students’ words, we hope you are moved to
consider literacy as it clashes with or compeiments privilege,
to contemplate your power to access or enact justice, and to
reflect on your own mission.
— Karen Thomson, Founder + Executive Director
Abby Harris-Ridker, book group leader
Nate Olison, book group leader
Vanessa Borjon, book group leader
Juliet C. Bond, Director of Development
Literature for All of Us

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Featured Poets
Chapter 1: The School to Prison Pipeline
Chapter 2: The Prison Industrial Complex
Chapter 3: Community
Chapter 4: Imagining a Different World
Ilena Banks
Willie Davis
Prentiss Flag
Angel Gamboa
Malik Hollins
William Jones
Zakeya Lewis
Tamera Odie
Willie Oliver
Shawn Reed
Lupe Sagal
Adrienne Scanlon-
Rodriguez
Africa S. Biggs
Krystal L.
Adrian Macias
Selene Medrano
Princess
Nomar Viscarra
Chloe Bernard
Adrian Cyrus
Rosa Leodoro
Hope Massallo
Nelmarie Perez
Darrin Powell
Nomar Villagomez
Liz Alvarez
Adrian Castillo
Zoe Correa
Victor Delgado
Miko
Perla Ruiz
One of the exciting
commitments we made as a
partner in the Dead Man Walking
project was to create and
implement a four-week curricula
with over 650 students across
Evanston and Chicago. We
called it “Transforming Justice.”
This journal is divided into four
sections, reflecting the content
and structure of our curricula and
sharing the too-often silenced
voices of our students. As you
move through this journal, please
consider how the poems shift from expressions
of frustration to hope for a transformation of the
world as our students experience it today.
Transforming Justice Curricula

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Chapter 1:
The School to Prison Pipeline
When we began to build our
four-week “Transforming Justice”
curriculum, we knew we wanted
to start with something our youth
could use as a point of reference, a
spark to open up a larger
conversation about systemic
oppression. It made sense to begin
with the school-to-prison
pipeline—not only as a theory, but
as it directly affects many Evanston
and Chicago youth. We chose
poems and texts which examined
how nation-wide policies and
practices often push youth, especially from
lower income communities, out of classrooms
and into the juvenile and criminal justice
systems. Our poetry prompt for the first week
of curricula was designed with Kev Martinez’s
poem, “When I Do the Math” in mind. We asked
our students, Does the school system fall short
for you? Who does the school-to-prison pipeline
affect? What do you need to succeed? And how
does equality add up for you when you do the
math?
When I do the math, I see
money being put into jails
instead of schools.
When I do the math, I see
police brutality steadily increasing
and no one trying to help but
the victims.
When I do the math, the system doesn’t add up.
When I Do the Math
by shawn reed

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What I need to succeed is to believe in myself,
remind myself who I’m doing this for.
I think my success is on me,
not the school.
If I don’t understand something,
it’s on me to ask.
If I’m having trouble it’s on me to tell.
All I need to succeed is me.
The school can help by
talking to me or giving me advice
if they see me going off track.
What I Need to Succeed
by lupe sgal
Instead of prisons,
give me schools.
Instead of handcuffs,
give us books.
Instead of shaming us,
give us opportunities.
Instead of stereotypes,
give us recognition.
Instead of hatred,
give us love.
My community is dangerous,
but it is also welcoming.
Freedom
by williams jones

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1 goal plus
1 building plus
7 periods plus
4+ counselors plus
books for every student plus
technology
equal one big, perfect
high school
School Resources
by ilena banks
Instead of prisons,
give me better streets.
Instead of judging,
give us understanding.
Instead of silencing us,
give us a voice.
Instead of dumbing us down,
give us education.
Freedom
by adrienne scanlon-rodriguez

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Instead of prisons,
give me hope.
Instead of pain,
give us peace.
Instead of hurting,
hold us.
Instead of lying,
give me the truth.
Instead of telling us,
show us.
My community is lost,
but it is also strong.
We are aware,
but we are also unforgiven.
I am hopeful.
I am not lost.
Free for Life
by tamera odie
Why do schools say, “No one is left behind”?
When I do the math, I see many fall behind.
I see children that just don’t care, school is not for them.
I see kids come and go and never return.
In my head I think, “Return, if possible.”
But we all know it’s not possible.
We lose friends that we had from 3rd grade to these streets,
Society thinks we did not care
from the start, but it’s not true.
I have a dream to make it far;
even Martin Luther King had a dream.
It partly came true.
If we believed in him,
I know I could believe in you.
When I Do the Math
by zakeya lewis

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Instead of prisons, give us protection and education
Instead of violence and disrespect
Give us hope in succeeding
Instead of disrespectful and racist comments
Give us help and loyalty
My community is dangerous and rough
But it also is loyal and knows how to survive
We are smart and strong people
I am a Mexican and proud
I am not a criminal
Free for Life
by angel gamboa
Instead of prisons,
give me a life that I can be
proud of.
Instead of throwing us
behind bars,
give us the chance to redeem
what has been lost.
Instead of letting our heads
spin round and round,
give us the freedom and
opportunity to learn.
Instead of not believing a word
we say, give us the chance
to talk, you listen.
Instead of seeking a truth that
was never there, give us the
recognition so that you know
who we are.
My community is
rundown and shady,
but it is also
where I live and
where I grow.
We are just students that are
misunderstood,
but we are also students with
dreams and lives.
I am a fighter.
I am not a criminal.
Freedom
by prentiss flag

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Instead of prisons,
give me freedom.
Instead of failure,
give us success.
Instead of enemies,
give us brotherhood.
Instead of cells,
give us opportunity.
Instead of unfairness,
give us equality.
My community is quiet,
but it is also violent.
We are neighbors,
but we are also strangers.
I am different.
I am not a statistic.
Freedom
by malik hollins
Why do schools say, watch who you are around?
When I do the math, I see students putting themselves down
and just giving up.
But when it comes down to making a good life
they realize how wrong they were
when they gave up on themselves.
When I Do the Math
by willie davis

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Instead of prisons,
give me freedom and trust.
Instead of beatings and arguments,
give us love and compassion.
Instead of broken hearts,
give us happiness.
Instead of tears and sadness,
give us joy.
My community is violent,
but it is also together as a community.
We are loyal to each other,
but we are also humans that have feelings.
Free for Life
by selene medrano
Chapter 2:
The Prison Industrial Complex
The second week of our
curriculum focused on the concept
of the “prison industrial complex.”
This term describes the
overlapping interests of crime
reduction andbusiness as they are
applied to the growing prison
population in America. We
bookended the content by utilizing
two works from previously
incarcerated poets, “To the Police
Officer Who Refused to Sit in the
Same Room as My Son Because
He is A ‘Gangbanger’” by Luis
Rodriguez and “On A September Day” by
Jimmy Santiago Baca. Through reading and
writing, we investigated the possible biases
against or lack of empathy afforded to our
criminalized population. Book group members
were invited to reflect about how the prison
industrial complex may have intersected with
their own lives. In the writing prompt, we asked
our young people to express the changes they
want to see in their justice system.

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Instead of prisons, give me guidance
Instead of punishing us, teach us
Instead of hating us, love us
Instead of watching us fail, help us succeed
Instead of killing us, help us live
Give us love and protection
Free for Life
by princess
instead of prisons, give us chances
instead of guns
give us opportunities to have fun
instead of doubting us and stopping us
give us a chance
instead of treating us like dummies
give us the chance to fly out, don’t let us be bummy!
instead of these prisons
give us some reasons
my community is hurting
but it is also searching for answers
they’re getting blurry
we are tired of being stuck in the mud
but we are also tired of not having the chance to get out of the
mud
I am not done
I am gonna help make a difference
Free for Life
by nomar viscarra

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Instead of prisons, give me counseling.
Instead of killing, work things out first.
Give us time and peace.
Instead of police being on the offensive side,
give us a chance to reveal ourselves.
Instead of assuming and pointing fingers,
give us respect – we are humans.
Instead of all the anger and frustration,
give us the benefit of the doubt – everyone is not the same.
My community is going through a lot,
but it is also good at times.
But it needs a change.
We are all human,
every adult should know right from wrong.
I am a leader.
I am not a follower.
Free for Life
by africa s. biggs
Instead of prisons, give me hope.
Instead of judging,
give us time to explain.
Instead of shooting,
give us a chance to live.
Instead of prison sentences,
give us a chance to redo.
Instead of screaming,
give us the respect we deserve.
My community is full of equals
but it is also full of hate,
and we are the source of it.
I am here to be free and have hope.
I am not a prisoner of society.
Free for Life
by adrian macias

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Chapter 3:
Community
During the third week of
Transforming Justice, we focused
on community and individual
accountability in response to
community conflicts. We discussed
policing, restorative justice, and
what it means to transform justice.
Many of our students agreed that
the goals of transformative justice
must include:
• Safety, healing, & agency for
survivors
• Accountability & transformation
for those who harm
• Transformation of the social
conditions that perpetuat vio-
lence, systems of oppression
and exploitation
Our discussions in week three were centered
on questions of transformation. We asked, what
might happen if there were no police or prisons.
Could students imagine a world without police,
without the school to prison pipeline, without
prison? What might happen without these
institutions? What might the world look like? Who
would benefit?
Our poetry prompt focused on two poems. The
first was Poem about Police Violence by June
Jordan and the second was Field Trip to the
Museum of Human History by Franny Choi.
Using the imagery and story contained in these
works, we asked students to build a poem
around their visions of transformation.
Instead of prisons, give me a second chance.
Instead of hard rock beds, give us a mattress and a pillow.
Instead of hurting and degrading, give us help and understand-
ing.
Instead of locking up the innocent, give us clarity and enough
evidence.
Instead of our young black kids losing their lives, give us anoth-
er chance to get it right.
My community is a long way from recovery,
but it is also filled with many good people.
We are different in many ways,
but we are also the same in many ways.
I am hurt for our community.
I am not sorry for the people who actually deserve it.
Free for Life
by krystal l.

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My community,
the one that is hurting with no type of stability.
We’re hurting…
Do you hear them crying?
Yes, what are you going to do
when it’s your children dying?
Bang, Bang
Shhh…
Nothing happened
Cops say, lying…
My community is scared, so tired of hiding.
What can we do when it’s the people protecting us
that we’re fighting?
My community.
My Community
by hope massallo
The world would transform
if everyone worked together as one.
Gang bangers not shooting for the fun of it.
Cops not harassing us, trying to shoot us.
Protecting us like they’re supposed to.
Someone dies -
put a blanket on them
and wait for the ambulance to pick up the body.
This world is crazy
and the madness needs to stop.
Less criminals, more good people.
That’s how it would transform.
Transformation
by rosa leodoro

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If I were in charge of the world, I’d make it safe by
banning guns
and only letting cops have tazers
and ban wars.
If I were in charge of the world, you wouldn’t have to worry
aboutgetting shot by someone
who is supposed to protect you.
If I were in charge of the world, there would be no
guns,
or dope,
or gangs
If I were in charge of the world, there would be plenty of
opportunities for African-Americans.
If I Were in Charge of the World
by hannah hunter
If I were in charge of the world,
you wouldn’t have to worry about racism,
hate, hunger, hurt.
If I were in charge of the world,
there would be no hunger, homelessness.
If I were in charge of the world,
there would be plenty of education, love, homes.
If I Were in Charge of the World
by alice wilson

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If I were in charge of the world,
I’d make it safe by having
no police brutality,
and everyone would know everybody in the world
so the people that don’t have many friends
can have a ton!
If I were in charge of the world
you wouldn’t have to worry about
homophobic people or racism.
If I were in charge of the world,
there would be no
negativity/discrimination.
If I were in charge of the world, there would be plenty of
happiness, positivity
and hope and dreams.
If I Were in Charge of the World
by riley king
If I were in charge of the world,
I’d make it safe by destroying guns.
No more guns.
No more guns.
If i were in charge of the world,
you wouldn’t have to worry about violence.
I would change all that.
If I were in charge of the world,
there would be no violence.
No more guns.
No more violence.
If I Were in Charge of the World
by kevin hona

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Chapter 4:
Imagining a Different World
In our last week of the Transforming
Justice curricula, we wanted our
students to embrace the
opportunity to think creatively about
what it would mean to transform
their community or world. Each
participant had the opportunity to
apply their own unique design on
a square of fabric. These squares
were given to artist, Margaret Ann
Crain who created a gorgeous
quilt, decorated with the stories and
experiences of our students.
At our site for pregnant and teen
mothers, we brought in A is for Activist by
Innosanto Nagara, a children’s book that
reimagines the alphabet with empowering
words and images. The book was received with
enthusiasm and curiosity by the young
women who were able to apply the expressions
of power in the board book with possibility in
their own lives.
Our poetry exercises unearthed round-table
questions based on the poem America by
Fatimah Asghar, a poem which voices the
frustrations of being “othered.” We then worked
through Juan Felip Herrera’s poem, “Let Us
Gather” where he envisioned his community
coming together in the face of injustice. This is
the landing point we wanted to offer our youth:
how do we come together? How does your
community gather in the face of injustice? What
are the possibilities when we imagine a different
world?
If I were in charge of the world,
I’d make it safe by making world peace.
If I were in charge of the world,
you wouldn’t have to worry about being poor
or Starbucks ever closing.
If I were in charge of the world,
there would be no guns or cold.
If I were in charge of the world,
there would be plenty of money
and food for everybody.
If I Were in Charge of the World
by adrian cyrus

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America, why do you neglect grants for undocumented people?
America, I am knowledge.
America, I am not a bag floating in the city of your fresh air.
Justice
by perla ruiz
America, why do you criticize me?
America, I am a human being.
You cannot judge me.
America, I am not an alien.
I’m a proud Mexican, put in work for the family
Tears, sweat, and pain.
That’s a true American.
America, I am as fair as can be,
But I’m mistreated for what I be?
That role don’t play for me!
America, I am not an animal.
You can’t change my rights just for my accent’s flows.
I want fairness and dfreedom!
America, I am not a felon.
The anger I get inside me is based on the way you treated me!
So America, once again, why do you criticize me?
America
by victor delgado

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America, why do you do this to us?
America, I am a person.
America, I am not a criminal.
You said there’s freedom here, where?
Muslims can’t dress how they want because people
are quick on judging.
Hispanics can’t speak Spanish because we are “Americans”
not “Mexicans.”
Africans can’t wear braids because that’s for “criminals.”
America, you’re the one that shouldn’t judge.
Trying to say there’s freedom. Where?
We are not criminals, America.
We are here to work,
to study.
It’s horrible to wake up every day
thinking this could be your last day
in this “awesome” country.
America, you make me laugh.
America
by liz alvarez
America, why do you minimize my people?
America, I am not a number.
I was given a name.
America, I am not a servant at our door.
Don’t fool me.
Me and we, the people will uproar.
There are alreadyguerilla soldiers out in these streets.
Guess who the target’s gonna be?
I stand my ground
and fight for generations whose blood you have stolen
from underneath their feet.
May god bless New America.
America
by miko

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I don’t wanna die in a police brutality prosecution.
I wanna live.
I don’t wanna be the next one to get shot.
I wanna make it.
I don’t want to go missing like other people have.
I wanna be safe.
I Don’t
by zoe correa
America, why do you segregate our people?
America, I am human too.
America, I am not different from others.
America, why do you lock up our people?
America, we are one together.
America, why do you do what you do?
America, aren’t we all human beings?
America
by adrian castillo

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Acknowledgements
On behalf of Literature for All of Us, we would like to thank
everyone who made this journal possible. First and foremost,
we want to thank our book group participants not only for their
writing, but their presence and participation.
Our deepest thanks to Margaret Ann Crain whose talent and
generosity made it possible to put the powerful images that our
students produced into a celebrated work of art.
We owe an insurmountable debt to Sunny Fisher whose sound
advice and guidance led us on our way to publishing this
beautiful anthology.
Literature for All of Us is grateful to the Evanston Community
Foundation and Michele Pockross who invested in the
production of the journal, allowing us to publish and distribute
the voices of our participants to a larger audience. We’d also
like to thank our partners:
Piven Theatre Workshop
Evanston Township High School
Chicago Innocence Center
The James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy
Evanston Art Center
The opportunity to collaborate in issues of justice and mercy
with the experts and artists involved in this initiative was a
pleasure and a privilege. Together, we open worlds.
Contact:
Literature for All of Us
2010 Dewey Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
www.LiteratureForAllofUs.org
info@literatureforallofus.org
Instagram: @LitForAll
Twitter: @LitForAll
fb.com/literatureforallofus

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“It is our duty to fight
for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other.
We have nothing to lose
but our chains.”
Assata Shakur
Literature for All of Us
2010 Dewey Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
www.LiteratureForAllofUs.org