This is For the Others

[Music]

so back in the 1960s

there was a song in central america that

was banned

caught in houses in that song

there’s a there’s a lyric that best

describes my speech

how sad my people look

this is for all those others

the outcasts the immigrants the

the ones from ghettos and poor people

this is to try to redefine the way they

we are seen talked about and judged

but first i want to tell you about me

when i was four years old a woman came

from

america and told my sister she was our

mother

now until that day we were raised

believing that the people raising us

were our parents they were really our

grandparents

two years later when our mother took us

away i cried

i knew i was never going to see my

grandparents again

i arrived in new york when i was 6 years

old i’m from central america i’m here

legally

i’m first generation immigrant

now before i go on there’s one thing to

know about my mother

you see she wasn’t home much but there

was a reason

she had two jobs she had two children

she was doing it by herself

you see we don’t have a father we don’t

even know who he is

i started school when i was six years

old i didn’t speak no english

i didn’t even know how to read or write

not even my own name

i was bullied because of who i was i’m

latino

and the way i dressed i had shabby

clothes and pales

shoes it took me about a year to learn

somewhat good english but even then i

was still bullied

i remember an incident i had when i was

nine years old we’re in the fourth grade

we’re doing the pledge of allegiance but

i had my head down i was mumbling

my teacher stopped she came right up to

my face and said

if you don’t know the pledge of

allegiance just stand there quietly i

was shocked

i started crying i started crying

because how embarrassing made me feel

and how angry i got at age nine also

happens to be when i started noticing

gangs

started they were riding up and down my

block joking and playing with each other

they looked like they belonged i didn’t

they were friends i didn’t have any not

even amongst my own latinos

i didn’t even know if i belonged it’s

not that they didn’t want me

that they weren’t there long enough for

me to know they would leave

transfer move because they were going

through the same situations i went

through

being bullied everybody kept moving

everybody but the gangs so what was i

supposed to do

i joined the gang and by age 13

the game was everything to me at 13

i caught my first assault charge because

of my gang

at age 14 because of my gang i was in a

group home

at age 15 and 16 i was in an upstate

juvenile facility because of my gang

and when i went home i went right back

to what i knew

the streets and the gang

and at age 18 i was rearrested

charged with murder and assault and

sentence 21 years to life

i’m 28 years old now ladies and

gentlemen and it took me

to come to prison and realize who your

true friends are because they guide you

in the right path

and they don’t abandon you my gang did

but the reason i’m telling you my story

though

because my story is not a unique one

many go through what i’ve been through

it’s not similar

to worse situations both here in america

and abroad

and hopefully by you hearing my story

i can open up your eyes your minds and

your hearts to these other individuals

these outcasts these young boys and

girls and girls

so we can start redefining their lives

making them better productive members of

society

so before you leave here today i want

you to ponder some questions amongst

yourselves

what can we do to redefine the lives of

these outcasts so we can

reintegrate or learn a new culture here

but more importantly what can we do

to redefine the life of these young men

or

girls stuck behind bars becoming more

violent

because violence is often off he’s known

so he doesn’t end up becoming another me

my name is alexander aguilar home and

i’m hoping

that my story could help everybody

redefine the lives of these other

individuals

thank you