Tonight we celebrate Raise the Age with the world premiere of I COULD TELL YOU ‘BOUT MY LIFE — Mike Martin’s story about returning to life in Harlem after incarceration on Rikers at 17 and a panel discussion with Mike Martin (BYkids filmmaker), Holly Carter (BYkids founder and executive director), Chiemi Karasawa and Hollis Meminger (Mike’s BYkids film mentors), Tim Lisante (superintendent overseeing Rikers), Christine Pahigian (Friends of Island Academy executive director), and moderated by Johnny Perez (director of U.S. Prison Programs, National Religious Campaign Against Torture). We honor Christine Pahigian and the Honorable Bryanne Hamill, NYC Board of Corrections, Board of Children’s Rights, Commission on Civil Rights/NY Advisory Committee and retired NY Family Court Judge. We close with a performance by Messiah Ramkissoon. We experience what BYkids strives to instill in classrooms around the world – engagement, empathy and understanding.
