They never saw me as a child | Xavier McElrath-Bey | TEDxSanQuentin

At age 11, Xavier was locked up for his own shooting and by the time he was 13 years old, he had 19 arrests and 7 convictions. In this heart-wrenching narrative, hear about the deeply traumatic experiences that were exacerbated by his involvement with the justice system and how we continue to fail the most vulnerable children in our society. Xavier McElrath-Bey serves as Co-Executive Director of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY) and is a co-founder of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network. He has fought to abolish life without parole for children in America and has played a role in ending this practice in several states including Nevada, Utah, Arkansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota. At age 13, Xavier was arrested, charged with a gang-related murder, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. While incarcerated, Xavier decided to change for the better, and he was released after serving 13 years. Soon after, he earned a Master of Arts from Roosevelt University’s Counseling and Human Services Program, and, recently, he received the 2018 Justice Roundtable Excellence Award, the 2019 JustLeadershipUSA Leading with Conviction Award, and Bright Promises Foundation's 2021 Champion for Children Award. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx