180º Ishmael Beah, “Boy Soldier”

T. J. Leyden became a racist skinhead when he was 15.

He took part in about 200 fights, got Nazi tattoos inked into his skin …

… and recruited hundreds of kids into the skinhead movement.

Then he saw his three-year-old son trying to be just like his dad— and decided it was time to set a different example.

Now Leyden teaches tolerance to kids and helps police monitor the criminals he used to hang out with.

“I ruined a lot of lives. I don’t forgive myself. Only my victims can forgive me.”

Emmanuel Jal left his home in Sudan at age eight. Rebel soldiers told him he was going to school.

But instead of reading and writing, Jal and other child soldiers learned to shoot AK-47 assault rifles.

After about four years, Jal escaped the rebel army with 400 other boys. Fewer than 20 of them survived.

Jal was one of the lucky ones. He went to school, became a hip-hop star, and uses his money to give kids in Sudan a real education.

“Hatred and revenge are feelings I have to constantly fight. But now I fight them through my music. That’s my weapon of choice.”

Shawn Benner was a teenager when he joined a gang in Virginia.

He got busted for assault, car theft, drugs, and armed robbery.

He watched his best friend die in a hail of bullets.

Now, Benner has had enough. He got a job and had his gang tattoos burned off. It felt like hot grease on his skin. But to him, it was worth it.

"I'm still young. But everybody I knew [in the gang] is either locked up or dead. Not one of them is gangbanging…. It was a waste of my life.”

REDEMPTION People seldom change. A very few make a complete 180º.

When individuals change, what happens to the world around them?

What would you do differently if you were given the chance? transformation Who do you know who has turned his or her life around? do-over Have you made a mistake in the past that still affects your life today? rehabilitation Have you made a change in your life that has affected other people? reformation What is redemption? conversion Can people who have done terrible things redeem themselves? regeneration Does everyone deserve a second chance? redemption What would you do differently if you were given the chance? transformation Who do you know who has turned his or her life around? do- over Have you made a mistake in the past that still affects your life today? rehabilitation Have you made a change in your life that has affected other people? reformation What is redemption? conversion Can people who have done terrible things redeem themselves? regeneration Does everyone deserve a second chance? redemption What would you do differently if you were given the chance? transformation Who do you know who has turned his or her life around? do-over Have you made a mistake in the past that still affects your life today? rehabilitation Have you made a change in your life that has affected other people? reformation What is redemption? conversion Can people who have done terrible things redeem themselves? regeneration Does everyone deserve a second chance? redemption What would you do differently put your voice on record RAWWRITE When individuals change, what happens to the world around them?