Afternoon of Conversation: The Other Wes More: One Name, Two Fates: Wes Moore
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares a personal narrative from his book 'The Other Wes Moore,' exploring the divergent paths of two boys with similar backgrounds, one leading to a Rhodes Scholarship and the other to life imprisonment. He discusses the importance of education, environment, and expectations in shaping life outcomes, emphasizing the power of role models and the potential for redemption. The talk highlights the societal impact of expectations and the need for support systems to provide opportunities for at-risk youth.
Takeaways
- 📚 The importance of a book's title: The author initially disliked the title 'The Other Wes Moore' but later understood its significance in highlighting the existence of 'others' in society.
- 🤔 The societal 'other': The title emphasizes the many overlooked individuals in society whose life circumstances and challenges are often ignored.
- 👦 Personal journey and societal impact: The author's book discusses his own life and the stark differences from another person named Wes Moore, who took a different path in life.
- 🏠 The role of family and environment: The author's upbringing, influenced by his mother's strong values against violence, played a crucial role in shaping his character.
- 👨🦳 The impact of a father's presence: The author's brief but profound memories of his father instilled in him a sense of respect and protection towards women.
- 🔪 Tragic loss and its repercussions: The author's experience of losing his father at a young age led to confusion, anger, and a troubled adolescence.
- 🔍 A tale of two Wes Moores: The story contrasts the author's life with that of another Wes Moore, who ended up in prison, to explore the factors that led to their divergent paths.
- 💌 The power of correspondence: The author's correspondence with the incarcerated Wes Moore provided deep insights into the latter's life and the decisions that led to his fate.
- 🏡 The significance of a supportive environment: The author emphasizes that a strong, supportive community and educational institutions are vital for a child's development.
- 🌟 The role of expectations: High expectations from others can significantly influence a young person's self-perception and future outcomes.
- 🆓 The value of freedom and second chances: The author acknowledges his own mistakes and the freedom he had to seek redemption, advocating for the same opportunities for others.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the book 'The Other Wes Moore'?
-The main theme of the book is the exploration of two individuals, both named Wes Moore, who come from similar backgrounds but end up on vastly different life paths, highlighting the impact of societal factors and personal choices.
Why did the author initially dislike the title 'The Other Wes Moore'?
-The author initially disliked the title because he felt it negated the societal conversation the book aimed to convey, seemed self-referential, and assumed that readers would care about who 'the other Wes Moore' was.
What was the turning point for the author that led to the change in his life direction?
-The turning point was the intervention and support from various people who refused to give up on him, which helped him to change his path and eventually receive a scholarship to attend college.
How did the author come to know about the other Wes Moore involved in the jewelry store robbery?
-The author came to know about the other Wes Moore through a series of articles published by The Baltimore Sun, which detailed the crime and the subsequent manhunt for the perpetrators.
What was the significance of the letter the author received from the incarcerated Wes Moore?
-The letter was significant as it marked the beginning of a correspondence and relationship that would lead to deeper understanding and exploration of their divergent life paths.
What role did education play in shaping the lives of both Wes Moores?
-Education played a pivotal role. The author benefited from educational opportunities that changed his life trajectory, while the incarcerated Wes Moore's mother had her educational grants cut, potentially altering her life course.
Why did the author believe that expectations are crucial in determining a person's life path?
-The author believes that expectations are crucial because they shape a person's view of their potential and future, often leading to self-fulfilling prophecies based on what others see in them.
What is the author's view on the importance of a supportive community for a child's upbringing?
-The author views a supportive community as essential, as it provides a strong foundation for a child's home and education, influencing the child's development and opportunities.
How did the author's personal experiences with mistakes and redemption reflect in his book?
-The author's personal experiences are woven into the narrative to illustrate the freedom to make mistakes and seek redemption, emphasizing the importance of second chances and support systems.
What message does the author hope to convey to future generations through his and Wes's story?
-The author hopes to convey that all children should have the freedom to explore their potential and that society must create opportunities for them to do so, avoiding the pitfalls that led to Wes's tragic outcome.
Outlines
📚 Book Title Controversy and Societal Reflection
The speaker begins by expressing gratitude for the invitation to the Aspen Ideas Festival, humorously acknowledging the intimidating schedule. They share an anecdote about the book publishing process, highlighting the disconnect between the author's intent and the publisher's marketing strategy. The author initially dislikes the proposed title 'The Other Wes Moore', arguing it contradicts the book's broader societal focus and finds it personally absurd. However, the publisher's insight reveals the significance of the word 'other' in reflecting the overlooked individuals in society, prompting the author to consider the fine line between different life outcomes.
👦 Childhood Memories and the Impact of Absentee Father
The narrative shifts to the author's childhood, influenced by his mother's strict teachings against violence towards women, stemming from her own history of abuse. A pivotal moment occurs when the author, as a child, hits his sister, leading to a profound lesson from his father about respect and family protection. This interaction leaves a lasting impression, with the author idolizing his father. Tragically, the story takes a turn with the father's death, which the young author struggles to comprehend, leading to emotional turmoil and behavioral issues in his later years.
🔍 Parallel Lives: A Journey of Two Wes Moores
The speaker delves into a story that parallels his own life with that of another individual named Wes Moore, who took a drastically different path. The two Wes Moores, despite similar backgrounds and challenges, ended up in vastly different circumstances—one receiving a scholarship and the other serving a life sentence for a crime. The author's curiosity leads him to correspond with the incarcerated Wes Moore, initiating a series of letters and visits that provide deep insights into the factors that shaped their divergent lives.
🏛️ The Power of Education and Changing Expectations
The author emphasizes the crucial role of education, using the story of Wes's mother, who was denied the opportunity to continue her education due to financial constraints, as a case study. He argues that education is not just about acquiring knowledge but also about expanding one's network and social connections. Furthermore, the author discusses the importance of environment and the expectations placed on individuals, suggesting that our destinies are molded by the expectations of others, which in turn shape our own self-expectations.
🌟 Freedom and the Pursuit of Redemption
In the concluding part of the script, the author reflects on his own life's challenges and mistakes, acknowledging the freedom he had to seek redemption. He underscores the importance of mentors and role models who encouraged him to envision a broader world beyond his immediate surroundings. The author expresses a heartfelt wish for future generations to experience the same freedom and emphasizes the collective responsibility to create opportunities for them.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Aspen Ideas Festival
💡The Other Wes Moore
💡Societal Conversation
💡Publishing
💡West Moes
💡Education
💡Environment
💡Expectations
💡Redemption
💡Role Models and Mentors
💡Freedom
Highlights
The importance of the book title 'The Other Wes Moore' and its significance in representing societal 'others'.
The author's initial resistance to the book title due to its perceived limitations and personal name inclusion.
The concept that societal 'others' exist in every community, often overlooked or misunderstood.
The author's personal journey from a troubled youth to receiving a prestigious scholarship, as detailed in a Baltimore Sun article.
The profound impact of the author's father's death at a young age and its subsequent emotional turmoil.
The parallel narrative of another individual named Wes Moore, who took a drastically different path leading to a life sentence.
The exploration of the factors that led to two Wes Moores having such divergent outcomes despite similar backgrounds.
The transformative power of education and its role in altering life trajectories, as illustrated by the author's and Wes's mothers' experiences.
The significance of environment and community support in fostering a child's development and potential.
The role of parental involvement and the importance of early childhood interactions in shaping a child's vocabulary and readiness for school.
The influence of expectations on an individual's life path and how they are often a reflection of the expectations others have for them.
The author's personal struggles and mistakes, and the freedom to seek redemption for them.
The critical role of mentors and role models in expanding one's perspective and recognizing personal potential.
The chilling truth that the author's life could have mirrored Wes's tragic outcome, and vice versa.
The collective responsibility to create opportunities and freedom for future generations, as emphasized by both Wes Moores.
The author's closing thoughts on the importance of understanding and addressing the root causes of societal disparities.
Transcripts
ever greater West
Moore sorry thank you and good afternoon
thank you very much Elliot to the whole
uh Aspen ideas festival and Walter for
the for the invitation and um and
whoever was in charge of scheduling and
wanted to Humble Me by ask me to go
after a Supreme Court Justice I
appreciate that as as well um I hope you
all don't decide to like completely like
book out and leave now that uh now that
he complete but uh but it it's a it's a
real honor to um to be here and it's
interesting because that actually
reminds me of of a of a very quick story
when um when I first was putting
together this this the uh the book that
I wrote is called the other westm and
when I first put together this book and
a dirty little secret about publishing
and I'm sure like 90% of people in here
are published themselves so they know
that basically what's inside of a book
is all author that's the author's words
those are the author's thoughts what's
on the outside the cover the title
that's a lot publisher because that's
the Publisher's chance to Market and so
when the publisher starts having
conversations with their authors about
what do what do they want the cover to
look like and the title to look like in
many cases it's it's almost ceremonial
they're doing it because they're being
nice right and so we were having I was
having a conversation with my publisher
our ceremonial convers ation about what
they thought the title of this book
should be and I had like five or six
ideas that I thought were really good
that I wanted for this book and they
were like so what do you think and I
came up I was like what about out of
many or what about Baltimore Sons or
what about all the difference and I had
all these different names and they
looked at me and they're like those are
interesting and they said well we have
an idea for you what do you think about
the other West
more and as soon as they said it I
thought to myself and I looked at them
and I said that is the dumbest book
title that I've ever heard in my
life and I said it for a bunch of
reasons I and they said what do you
think what what's wrong with it and I
said well there's a bunch but let me
give you three first thing I've been
very clear that I wanted the intent of
this book that people understand that
it's not just about these two boys but
it's really about a societal
conversation and so by putting the name
in the title aren't you completely
negating that entire argument the second
thing I said I don't know what author
puts their name inside of their own book
title it sounds ridiculous and the third
thing I said no one knows who one West
Moore is so I don't know why anyone
would care who the other West Moore
is and and and they and they looked at
me and they said that's that's
interesting we get that point but um the
problem is is I think you're missing the
point the problem is is that you're
right this isn't about you and and it's
not about
him the name isn't important you can
throw any name inside of that
title and the fact remains there are
West Moes of both sides that exist in
each and every one of our
communities the most important thing
about the title is the
other the other the fact that our
society is full of others many people
who haven't made it to Aspen during this
week many people who will walk by
and not think much about their life
their circumstances and their challenges
or many people we look at their final
life
conclusion and never once think about
how they got there positive or
negative and the thing that I tried to
uncover and the thing I really learned
from myself with that was the more we
actually try to uncover that the more we
realize how little separates us from
Another Life
altogether and the story in the
background of it really
begins with a an article from The
Baltimore Sun which is my hometown paper
and B and the Baltimore Sun wrote a
piece this was back in 2000 I just
received a road scholarship and the
Baltimore son wrote a piece about my
life and my childhood and how I was a
local kid who would just received this
award but in the article they went a
little bit deeper not just talking about
the award but talking also about my
background and in the article they
talked a little bit about how some of
the some of the challenges that I had
growing up and how a lot of them stem
from what happened with my
father I only have two memories of my
father the first memory of my father was
once when I was about 3 years old my one
one thing about my mother my mother was
always very insistent on the fact that
that men never put their hands on women
and she made sure that her son never put
his hand on a woman as well so I swear
as early as when I was in like a
bassinet this was lessons that she was
telling me and my older sister who was
about 5 years older than me I have a
younger sister and older sister my older
sister uh we would have these little
sibling games that sometimes were joking
around sometimes were not but sometimes
ended in physical confrontations it's
like siblings do
and I didn't realize that my mother's
insistence on why men never put their
hands on women became came from her
personal past was the fact that she was
mentally and physically and sexually
abused so she always said I will never
tolerate it if I see it and I
particularly will never tolerate it if I
see it in my own son
and so one
day we were playing I was playing around
my sister she was blowing in my face and
I was laughing and again she's about 9
years old this time I'm I'm three years
old blown in my face and then eventually
I just get up and I start running after
her and once I finally catch her I turn
around and I pull my fist back and I
swing and I hit her and I hit her in the
arm but as soon as I made contact I
turned around and I saw my
mom and I knew it was about to get real
bad and so my mother then starts yelling
after me telling me to go to my room I
immediately run up to my room and again
when she's like you know you don't put
your hands on women I would always try
to explain to her that this is not a
woman this is Nikki this is my sister
this is totally different but my mother
didn't see the difference so as I'm up
in my room and we had a small we had a
small house down in Maryland and we had
like a crib and a bed where myself and
my sister said and I started hearing
footsteps coming up the
stairs and then I heard a knock on the
door and the door opened up and my
father walked into the
room and my father had a very calming a
very soothing presence to him he was
tall but never Rose his voice and he
came into my room and he sat down on the
bed and he picked me up and he put me on
his lap and he started explaining to me
why my mother was so mad explaining to
me that you know I needed to protect my
family my and and I should never ever
attack women and explain to me why she
was so upset and then at the end of it
he said to me he explained to me that I
needed to go downstairs and I needed to
apologize to my mother and apologize to
my sister and he was going to go with
me he fixed me up we're walking down the
stairs and the whole time as we're
walking down the stairs together my
whole hand
wrapped around his
finger literally and
figuratively and as we're walking down
the stairs he's looking down at me and
I'm looking up at him and I remember
just trying to copy the way that he
walked the way that his chest stuck out
the way that his head held high and I
did the same
thing my father was my
hero he was everything I wanted to
be and the only other memory that I have
of him was a little less in a year later
was when I watched him
die and at three and a half years old
when you hear that your father passed
away you have no idea what that
means I kept on hearing that he moved on
to a better place and the only thing
that I was concerned about was when was
he coming back here and it wasn't until
I got older that I realized that he
wasn't and a lot of that frustration a
lot of that confusion eventually turned
to anger it turned to apathy it turned
to the point that eventually I was
picking and choosing which days I wanted
to go to
school it came to the point that by the
time I was eight and N years old I was
already on academic and disciplinary
probation by the time I was 11 it got
worse by the time I was 11 was the first
time that I felt
handcuffs clasped around my wrists at 11
years
old but then through a lot of help and a
lot of intervention and a lot of people
who refused to give up on me I was able
to help change direction change aouth
and the Baltimore son wrote a little bit
about this story and about how I just
received this
award now at the same time the Baltimore
son was also writing a whole series of
articles on four guys who one day walked
into a jewelry
store two guys when they walked into the
jewelry store as soon as they walked in
at 11:30 in the morning they reached in
their coats and they pulled out
guns and as they reached and they pulled
out guns they started pointing the guns
at everybody who was on inside the store
either shopping or working and telling
everybody to hit the ground and keep
their hands on top of their
heads and about 10 seconds later two
other guys walked into the store and
they reach in their coats and they
pulled out
mallets and one guy with a gun and one
guy with a mallet went to the left and
one guy with a gun and one guy with a
mallet went to the
right the ones with the guns were
keeping everybody on the ground while
the ones with the mallets were walking
around and just smashing out jewelry
cases and taking out watches and rings
and
necklaces and they met in the back of
the they met in the back of the store
with a little over $400,000 worth of
jewelry and one of the guys yelled let's
go and then all four of them ran out of
the center of the store and ran out to
the adjacent parking
lot one of the people that was inside
the store that day was an off-duty
police officer
who was mood lining as a security
guard he was a 13-year veteran of the
Baltimore Police
Force he was a three-time recipient of
police officer of the
year he was a father of five who just
had
triplets and the reason he was working
that day was because it was his day off
from the police force and he had to work
a second job to make extra money for his
family and he got up off the ground and
he drew his weapon and he ran outside to
the adjacent parking lot to see if he
could stop the guys from getting away
and as he ran outside he started kneeing
next to cars and kneeling next to
vehicles to see if he could figure out
which vehicle that they were in and he
didn't realize that one of the vehicles
that he was kneeling next to was one of
the vehicles that the guys were
in and then a window rolled
down and then three
shots were taken a Point Blank Range two
hit him in the chest one hit him in the
head and he was killed
instantly and there was a 12-day
national man
hunt for with those four guys and
finally after 12 days all four guys were
caught and one of the PE one of the
people that the police were looking for
one of the people that was eventually
caught tried convicted and sentenced for
the crime was a guy whose name was also
Westmore and the more I learned about
this
tragedy this police officer who went to
work one day and didn't come
home the more I read articles about this
story and the more they detailed the
people who were involved the more I
realized how much more that Wes and I
had in common than just our
names I found out that we were living in
the same neighborhood literally at that
time blocks away from each other that we
both grew up in single parent households
we both had academic and disciplinary
probation growing up we were around the
same
age and so that's when I started
thinking myself so how does this happen
how do you get two kids from similar
backgrounds and similar circumstances
who end up going into two completely
different places that as I'm getting
ready to head off 3,000 Mi away from
home on a SC
scholarship he's getting ready to head
it to 25 mil away from home to a maximum
security facility for the rest of his
life him his older brother and the two
other guys who were convicted that
day and I knew there were questions I
wanted to ask and I knew that Wes was
the only one that could answer them so
one day I just decided to write
them I had no idea if he'd write back
and quite honestly I knew I couldn't
control what Wes
did but I wrote him I wrote him a note
and then a month later I received a
letter back from Jessup Correctional
Institution from West
Moore and it's one of these things that
if that letter that I receiv received
from Wes was you know written in in in
crayon like he wrote it with his whole
hand and it didn't make any sense if
that was a letter I would have received
I would have re I would have looked at
that letter and said okay I get
it I have a better understanding of what
happened the promise is that it
wasn't the promise to this day it was
one of the most interesting and
articulate letters that I've ever
received where the first thing he did
was he first thanked me for writing him
cuz he says when you're in prison you
think that the whole world doesn't think
you exist
anymore and then he started answering
all the
questions that I post
on and eventually that one letter turned
into dozens of letters those dozens of
letters turned into dozens of visits and
now I've known Wes for over for for
around eight
years and when I first started going
through this process me I had known West
for years before the idea of a book came
about
but after speaking with Wes about
it he said something I thought was
interesting he said listen I've wasted
every opportunity every opportunity I've
ever had in
life and if you can do something to help
people understand the consequences for
their decisions and also do something to
help people understand the neighborhoods
that these decisions are being made in
then you should do
it and that then became the fire and the
motivation behind this whole project the
idea of this was never to cast
revisionist history the idea of this was
never to open appeal processes or
anything like that Wes's fate is
sealed but the question I wanted to ask
was why was his fate sealed so long
before February 7 of
2000 and there's what I wanted to try to
figure out is what is that thing that if
we can give kids that kids will be just
fine if we can get them that one thing
that I know they'll be okay and the
takeaway that I took from this entire
experience of of doing hundreds of hours
of interviews and speaking with everyone
who would talk to me his friends my
friends his family my family Etc was I
realize there is no one
thing raising kids is extraordinarily
complicated and when you happen to have
to raise kids in some of the most
dangerous and precarious neighborhoods
in our in our country it becomes that
much more
complicated but I do know a couple
things that do
matter one thing that matters is
education
matters and not simply because I mean
even if you take take it away from the
boys take it back a generation to the
mothers Wes's mother was the first one
in her family to go to
college she graduated with honors from
Baltimore City Community College and
gets accepted to John's Hopkins
University first one in her
family and one day she receives a letter
indicating that her grants were
cut and she could no longer afford to go
to
school now I can't help but think how
different her life could have turned out
and would have turned out had she had
the chance to finish school not just
because of what you learn and not just
because of the piece of paper that you
can hang up and frame on your
wall but because with higher education
your networks change your friendships
change your connections
change I know if I took a quick straw
poll I'd be the first one to raise my
hand to say how many people would the
job you either have or job you've had in
recent history that you did not get that
job through the classifi ads or
monster.com because that's not the way
it works for 70% of people in this
country for 70% of people in this
country you get a phone call or an email
from someone who says we have a mutual
friend there I'm looking for someone
that can do X Y and Z and they mentioned
you or you call somebody who says you
know I'm interested in getting into your
field can you teach me a little bit
about it and next thing you know that's
how the ball starts
rolling education matters not just
because of what you learn but who you're
learning it
from I also know that environment
matters and it's not that I think that
the answer is is picking kids up from
one environment and throwing them to
another environment because that's not
the
answer in fact if supports aren't in
place that actually compounds the
problem the best way you can help a
child is by making sure they're coming
up in a strong supportive home the best
way you help that home is by making sure
that home exists in a strong supportive
Community the best way you do that is
making sure of anchor educational
institutions in that
Community but that environment matters
because when you think even as we're
having all these larger conversations
about education reform which are
incredibly important conversations that
we're having now the three things that
keep children from reading at grade
level by third
grade the three things are summer
learning loss chronic absence which is
defined as kids who are missing 30% or
more of the school year and kids who are
entering School
unprepared all three of those things
have nothing to do with structural
school reform
environment matters because parents have
to understand their job they're they are
their child's first and best
teacher but helping parents understand
because one thing I believe about
parents is not that a lot of parents
don't
care it's that a lot of them don't
know they don't know why it's important
to read to your child as early as when
they're in utero they don't know why
it's important to describe things to
your child when you're talking about the
sky that it's not just the sky but it's
the blue sky to making sure that they're
entering school with a strong
vocabulary that kind of stuff
matters and the third thing that I know
that matters is expectations
matter I remember when I was speaking
with Wes about
Baltimore and I asked I said so do you
think that we're products of our
environment and Wes looked back me and
he said actually I think we're products
of our
expectations and I thought to myself
he's absolutely right we're not products
of our environments we're products of
our
expectations but the thing about
expectations is that expectations aren't
born from nowhere the expectations that
we have for ourselves the expectations
that all young people have for
themselves they're born from the
expectations other people place on
them they're born from what other people
see in their
future and that's how begins to
formulate we're a country full of
self-fulfilling
prophecies and I remember someone once
said to me it's a real shame that you
lived up to your expectations and West
didn't and I said actually the real
shame is that we both lived up to our
expectations
we both ended up exactly where we
thought we
would these things matter when we're
talking about how do we develop a
stronger more secure
Society because the greatest battles
that we're going to fight as a country
will never be outside I'm saying this as
a
veteran but they're
within there how much intellectual
Capital are we driving from areas where
the expectations are not just externally
but internally so low
what I'd like to do very briefly is just
close with a a small part of the book
one thing I heard that authors do is
read parts of their books I guess I
should do it um but it's a very small
part it says things have not been
perfect for me in the years since the
book story ended like many boys who grew
up without a father in the home I
searched for ways to fill that hole
sometimes in places I shouldn't have
looked I made some tremendous mistakes
along the way I've done things I deeply
regret said things I wish I could take
back and disappointed people in ways
that still embarrass me I have fought
battles I should not have engaged in and
walked away from causes that needed and
deserved a champion but I've had the
freedom to make those mistakes and the
freedom to seek Redemption for them when
we're young it sometimes seems as if the
world doesn't exist outside our city our
block our house our room we make
decisions based on what we see in that
limited world and follow the only models
available the most important thing that
happened to me was not being physically
transported the moves from Baltimore to
the Bronx to Valley Forge didn't change
my way of thinking what changed was that
I found myself surrounded by people
starting with my mom grandparents uncles
and aunts and leading to a string of
wonderful role models and mentors who
kept pushing me to see more than what
was directly in front of me to see the
boundless possibilities of The Wider
world and the unexplored possibilities
Within
Myself people who taught me that no
accident of birth not being black or
relatively poor being from Baltimore or
the Bronx or fatherless would ever
Define me or limit me in other words
they help me to discover what it means
to be
free as I wrote at the outset of this
book The chilling truth is that Wes's
story could have been mine the tragedy
is that my story could have been
his my only wish and I know Wes feels
the same is that the boys and girls who
come after us will know the same Freedom
it's up to us all of us to make a way
for
them fashion which sounds a little bit
like
関連動画をさらに表示
From 2010: Wes Moore, and "The Other Wes Moore"
Encouraging Hispanic Girls to Grow | Michelle Navarro | TEDxMountainViewCollege
FIND YOUR PURPOSE - Best Motivational Video for 2022 | Goalcast
Family Values | Deon Jones | TEDxAmericanUniversity
TEDxGoldenGateED - Jeff Duncan-Andrade - Growing Roses in Concrete
The Power of a Teacher | Adam Saenz | TEDxYale
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)