Liza Jessie Peterson's 'All Day' is a very, very important book. In a time when conversations about mass incarceration, racial profiling, and police brutality attract much attention, it is easy to get lost in the data that details the macro forces that have lead to the creation of the carceral state. As important as stories about policies and institutions are, they often fail to capture the human cost and personal pain of mass incarceration--the stories of the inmates and families who bear the emotional, financial, and physical cost of a racially unjust criminal justice system. Peterson's work does a wonderful job of unpacking the day-to-day effects of mass incarceration for these individuals. Her work is heart-breaking, but full of so much hope. I strongly recommend it.

You can read the full review with images here: http://avalinahsbooks.space/all-day-liza-jessie-peterson/

Yet another perfect book – yet another review overdue. I have been sitting with this one for maybe a half a year, no kidding. It's just hard to write a review for a book that moved me SO much... But I'm going to try.

5 Reasons To Read All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island

First of all, this is real. This is not fiction. And this is a topic that needs to be talked about. A young artist tries to find a temporary job teaching, to make ends meet. And ends up working one of the most meaningful jobs in her life. Which is teaching incarcerated kids – some of them with no future, trapped by a past that wasn't really their doing. The book explores the problems with our society such as racism, the inherent lack of love towards those less fortunate and our complete inability to bring up members of society in a rational way – planning for numbers of jail cells to be taken, rather than school desks and exam papers.

Reason #1.

This Is A Topic Nobody Wants To Talk About

And indeed it should be talked about all the more. Now, I don't even live in the US! In fact, there are barely any black people in my country historically. Yet, racism is very relevant to me. How relevant should it be to you then, if you live in the US? This book broke my heart – from the media or movies, one could never guess how deeply ingrained racism is in some parts of America. If you still don't know – read this. Read this and find out how people are divided into two groups, and I don't just mean black and white – I mostly mean "poor" and "worth attention". Because if you come from humble backgrounds, you will be treated so very differently than everyone else. The American Dream isn't for everyone. It's only for the right kind of Americans. I don't want to talk about this in detail, as I've read this a while ago, but Liza Jessie Peterson has enough facts and they're all reasonable. It's painful to think a black kid can land in jail by merely shouting at someone. Teenagers shout, okay? They do that. All of them do that. It's scary to think that would land someone in jail!

Reason #2.

You Will Cry

Crying at fiction is alright. But crying at reality facts is more than alright – it's right. Because it's better to know than to remain ignorant. I felt very deeply for the fates of some of the people talked about in this book, some of those children. Granted, some of them were at fault. But some were not. Some will never be given a second chance.

Reason #3.

It's Measured And Honest And Doesn't Hate On Anyone

If you think that this book blindly defends people of color against whites, then you're wrong. Liza Jessie Peterson writes very soberly, and she never sugarcoats anything. She will give you the truth, at least how she saw it. A lot of the kids she talks about did misbehave, and she will give you her honest opinion about them being little ****ers, and that it's their own fault. This is the magic of this book. It does not label. It just gives you the story, the way it was.

Reason #4.

This Woman's Got Soul!

I've never met an archetypal strong black woman in my life (that's basically cause I haven't met a single black woman! xD), but I know now that that's the way I'll imagine one, for the rest of my life, probably. Since this is a memoir, we get to see and learn a lot about Liza's character – and you just can't help falling in love with her personality! She is soulful and strong, she's got this immense love for her culture and roots, she won't let anyone step on her, and yet she is loving towards these teens in the way they will need the most – hard love. Strong love that doesn't let them get what they want. It gives them what they need. This book has inspired the biggest kind of respect for the author in my heart. I believe you will feel the same.

Reason #5.

Despite The Hardship, The Book Is Very Inspiring

I run out of words to explain. Can you just take my word on this? This book was so good, and it's worth much more than just 5 stars. It's definitely worth your time and attention. I'll even go this far. It could serve as a nonfiction companion to these greatly appreciated fiction books:

- The Hate U Give

- Dear Martin

- An Unkindness of Ghosts

I thank Center Street and Liza Jessie Peterson for giving me a copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion.

I realise that has taken me this long to get back with any kind of review. I had to have a long blogging hiatus due to work, but now I'm back and want to make sure that even late I'm still giving some feedback.
Honestly, I struggled at times to read the book. At first thought maybe it was because it was an e-copy, but after reading a few other e-books I know that wasn't the case.
I wasn't far off to finishing the book when I just gave up, I had a lot of other books to read and this one was dragging.
My favourite parts of the story, and the reason I'm giving it 3 starts, was the stories in the classroom, the kids stories of injustice and all Black History facts. Every time the author went on about being a struggling artist my brain just switched off, which was quite a shame because the stories that need to be told got lost in between the not so interesting stories of an artist.
Unfortunately, I had read about 72% of the book when another artistic rant came on and I couldn't keep going anymore.

Bugger me, America is messed up. I’m sure the UK has some pretty shocking practices when it comes to children awaiting trial for criminal offenses but as far as I’m aware we don’t lock them all up together and stick them on an island, like some kind of Lord of the Flies for black kids. However, that’s exactly what happens in this true-life account of incarcerated children – children! – who are awaiting trial for seemingly minor misdemeanors on Rikers Island, New York.

The book is the account of one teacher’s perspective on what it’s like to work with these kids. Locked up, far from their families, with just the clothes they were wearing when they were arrested, the full extent of what happens to these poor (in both senses) young men is portrayed with brutal honesty. From gang fights to mental health issues everything is recounted with no sugar coating. It’s a morbidly fascinating glimpse into a world very few of us (hopefully) will ever get to see first hand.

*At this point, I am going to have a little bit of a rant. This is tenuously linked to my review but only because of my involvement in the UK justice system. You have been warned*

As someone who spent a few years working in the UK police force at a time when they had just been branded “institutionally racist” I have a little bit of experience of the ways that we worked to change the organisational culture. We aimed to include diversity in everything we did, not just with training (a full two day session that was actually really fun) but by embedding it into everything we did, from appraisal and job interview questions to marketing and branding. We had area Diversity Action Groups with targeted action plans. We attended events like the Caribbean Carnival and Pride. We targeted recruitment adverts to specific interest publications to increase the number of female, LGBTQIA+, disabled and minority ethnic applicants. We had support groups for all the different diversity strands that reviewed all of our policies and procedures to ensure fairness and transparency. We monitored the ethnicity of anyone stopped and searched and published the figures on a monthly basis (if anyone is interested, they were always overwhelmingly white men). Of course there were still problems, but I witnessed myself the amount of work and the dedication of many, many officers and staff to really engage with the idea. And things changed. Slowly, teeny tiny bit by bit, things got slightly better. We recruited record numbers of females and minority ethnic staff. We had awareness days for religious and cultural celebrations where staff and officers brought in food and talked about what the day meant to them. It was really fun (and the free food was a huge, yummy bonus). Everyone seemed really positive about the changes that were being made. I believe (obviously I can’t prove this) that as a result, Detection rates for hate crimes increased as more emphasis was put on outreach work within communities that were previously very hostile towards the police. I really felt like the actions that we took were having an effect on the community that the police force served.

So I was horrified to read that almost every single inhabitant at Rikers Island was black or Latino – and that it was just accepted that if they had been white they would have been let off with a slap on the wrist. I literally can’t believe how blatantly racist the system is -and that no-one is doing anything about it.

*Ok, rant over. Back to the book review…*

It was really interesting to see how working in such a place was incredibly difficult for the staff – something that often gets neglected in such stories. Peterson is understandably frightened at being left in charge of a class of potential criminals who are disinterested in learning – what’s the point when your life will forever be tarnished with a criminal record? The way that she engages with the kids, enlightens them about their options and inspires their creativity is really impressive. However, the anxiety that she has about taking the job, the sheer effort of designing interesting ways to teach the curriculum and the massively long hours (not to mention the incredibly low pay) all take their toll and I really felt for her when she had to make tough decisions about continuing in the role.

It’s a shame that, as a reader, you don’t get to understand more of the back story about the inhabitants of Rikers Island. Understandably, Peterson has to maintain a professional distance but it would have been fascinating to understand what the young men had been through in order to end up where they were. There are certain issues that get alluded to (violence, drug abuse, sexual abuse etc.) but you never get to find out a full back story.

Despite the fascinating subject matter, I also found the storytelling a little clunky. There were parts that went into massive detail and parts which were skimmed over. I thought that with better editing the book could have been really great but as it was I gave it 3/5.

This is not your typical teacher turned savior of at-risk youth. Peterson's narrative is not self-aggrandizing. Instead it is a no-nonsense tale that shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of prison life and education. A worthwhile read.

5★
“Thought for the Day: African people introduced civilization to the planet. We were scientists, astronomers, philosophers, master masons, kings and queens, a mighty people long before we became slaves in America. Know thyself. If we did it once, we can do it again. Remember the ancestors. —Ms. P”

Peterson’s account is a unique contribution to how to deal with the dilemma of what to do with, for, and about all the boys who are locked up in prison with little help or hope for a future life outside the system.

She’s an artist, a poet, a performer. She’s been a catwalk model. She’s an Amazon with a forceful presence, a quick wit and a bucketload of compassion for these ignorant, neglected kids.

“Thought for the Day: If the mountain was smooth, you wouldn’t be able to climb it. Challenges and obstacles are meant to build character and strength. —Ms. P”

She’s the Nubian Queen, the Black Sista, the Thug Mama. She tells terrific stories about these boys, and you can see them prancing and rapping or slouching and chastened or mesmerised and fascinated by what she tells them. You can hear them and smell them. She has captured their language and their manner and works with them so they understand her. She is formidable!

[My Goodreads review has a photo]
PHOTO of Liza Jessie Peterson
Nubian Queen, Black Sister, Thug Mama

She had given some poetry workshops at the prison on Rikers Island (NY) when she was asked to take over the last three weeks teaching a group of high school boys. Pressed for money (to put it mildly), she agreed. It meant 4:30 am starts (yawn) to get there, and it meant dealing with a roomful of older teenaged boys, all black with an occasional exception.

“It was supposed to be temporary, but a funny thing happened when passion met purpose, and so it’s been eighteen years and counting that I’ve been working in multiple capacities with incarcerated youth.”

Peterson has a lot to say about the system and some of the good people working in it. She has even more to say about why she thinks this is happening to black kids. I will let her tell it.

“Slavery is the rotten root, foundation, and engine of America.
. . .
It’s important that my boys are informed of their history. It amazes me how much they don’t know, how much they haven’t been taught, how disconnected they are from the truth
. . .
“I know I have to find a way to connect them back to their humanity. I have to get them to see their value and understand they come from a powerful, meaningful, worthy people. They matter. We need them. They have to know that. They have to know how valuable they are so death won’t be a goal and murder won’t come so easily. They aren’t disposable.”

She begins by introducing them to Malcolm X, and then initiating a Thought for the Day, writing it on the blackboard, quoting someone (sometimes herself – Ms P). Early on, one boy protests that they aren’t there to work (study).

“Miss, this jail! We criminals!’ the pimply-face kid shoots back.

‘Malcolm X said "To have once been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal is the disgrace." Elevate your mind, Black man. And as long as I’m here teaching, that’s what we’re going to do . . . elevate.’

‘Tell it, sister girl! yells Xavier, a tall, slim diesel kid with deep mahogany skin, chiselled features and high cheekbones. His face is a gorgeous African mask. And he is clearly the drama king and alpha male in class.

Xavier slaps his chest and reckons he’s an X too, while the class laughs with him because his name does start with an X. It helps that he likes Ms P. She engages them in a lengthy conversation about Malcolm X's five names (government name, street name, jail name, Malcolm X, and later his Muslim name). They start comparing their names and realising that jail doesn’t have to be the end of the line for them.

She tells them:
“’Malcolm didn’t know he was being called for greatness. He didn’t know part of his destiny was going to prison to become a great man; just like you’re sitting right here and in my class for a reason. Your life is still unfolding brothas. Who you are now is not who you are going to always be.’
. . .
‘That’s deep, Ms. P,’ he [Tyquan] says, nodding his head. I like how you put that. I’m feeling that. Word. I’mma be a great man . . .

part of me be wilding out but another part of me know I’mma do great things one day; it’s like I’m caught between the devil and god,’ Tyquan exclaims.

The boys call Tyquan “Africa” because he’s so dark. Racism isn’t limited to Caucasians.

“Over time, we internalized the lie and now tell it to ourselves. Dark skin. Ugly. Nappy hair. Bad. Broad nose. Curse. Thick lips. Undesirable. We’ve been infected from centuries ago and are still sick with self-hate. There is so much to deprogram and teach the babies.”

She is sorely tested by some of the kids, but mostly manages to keep it all together using music, poetry, creative writing and pride in their ancestry to keep them engaged. The boys are divided by gang, by age, by hierarchy, and she learns quickly how to negotiate through those minefields.

But when she is challenged to breaking point, out comes Thug Mama.

“I swing around in slow motion, a Neo-in-The-Matrix, full-body whirl, with my neck being the last thing to snap into alignment. It is a knee-jerk reflex that flings my thug mama genie out the lamp into a full-octave, West Philly, all-up-in-your-face, carazaay woman verbal fury. I am full throttle: extremely loud, intense, and temporarily unhinged.”

She goes into a rant about respect and ends with:

“'Get him out of there now!’ As I am screaming like a wild banshee, standing over him like a giant possessed mother, he cowers in his seat, stunned by my beast. He’s the incredible shrinking thug.”

She keeps a tight lid on Thug Mama's genie bottle. One boy who pushes the boundaries usually escapes.

“Maybe it’s because when I yell at him to do work, he smiles at me sheepishly and responds with, ”Yes, my Black queen sister…I’mma do my work, my Nubian queen,’ forcing a smile from me. He’s such a swindler and I fall for it every time.”

Peterson is appalled with how society has failed generations of kids.

“The prison system is a racket and the current public education system is its partner in crime. Kids have to be anomalies and teachers have to be renegade third-eye warriors to counter this Matrix.
. . .

Mass incarceration is big business and works hand in hand with having communities of uneducated, underemployed, uninspired people; both feed the appetite of a caste system designed to keep the superwealthy in power and in control.”

You can see the kind of presence she brings to the stage or the classroom In this video of her speaking about the book. http://www.salon.com/2017/06/06/watch-using-poetry-to-inspire-students-behind-bars/

This is a terrific, thought-provoking read and I hope it makes some really big waves! Thanks so much to NetGalley and FaithWords for the preview copy from which I’ve so extensively quoted, so quotes may have changed. And thanks so much to author/teacher/leader Liza Jessie Peterson for her fantastic work, both here and with the kids.

Poets and educators are among the most underrated professionals of my time. I've seen firsthand what a poet educator can do for a group of teenagers eager to expand their conscious and their place as children of color in our public school system.

"There must be a better way to raise our youth among us who have gone astray than to warehouse them in penal institutions throughout the land" (Peterson).

Liza Jessie Peterson doesn't mince words or play subtle when it comes to her testimony on teaching incarcerated boys in All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island.

Her activism is at the heart of her novel. We meet boys like Tyquan, Danny Gunz, Leaky, and others as she brings to light how young men of color are educationally and "culturally malnourished." Peterson argues that the curriculum is not relevant, antiquated, and stale.

I, along with the boys, learned that Malcolm X had five names. It was a history lesson for me and well-timed with date night. My husband purchased tickets for us to view a documentary on Malcolm X. I felt like the kids did in the classroom discovering new histories. It couldn't have been timed better.

While Peterson's novel begins like the beginning of a conversation with a stranger - clean, repetitive, and lighthearted - she quickly moves into conversational writing. Peterson's use of curse words and "jail talk" make the novel rich in tone. It adds a depth that would not otherwise be felt if she had kept her tone clean and safe.

She sings to my heart when she states the truth:

"People who are paralyzed by poverty, racism, and lack of access to adequate educational resources and employment opportunities, and are depressed, are much easier to control and exploit in order to maintain a permanent underclass" (Peterson).

And we must do better by our children.

Sometimes we need someone to encourage our dreams. This is where the boys' "Nubian Queen, Ms.P" comes into their lives allowing them to dream outside of the bars where society has placed them.

I recommend this book if you're comfortable with language which makes you uncomfortable. I challenge any educator or librarian to pick up this book and learn what it is "to show up, daily and consistently, for something greater than" yourself.

I gave it three stars out of five because I wanted to hear more stories about the boys and I feel the book trailed off into another story in the end. I would purchase this book for my poet friends.

Deep and thought provoking. This book gave me a lot of things to think about.

I 100% didn't care for this book and I struggled through it. I had a lot to say about this book but after I re-read what I wrote I decided to delete it and just state that I didn't care for it. I want others to have an open mind and come to their own conclusions and do some research on their own based on some of the information found in this book. The one thing that I truly wish would have been in the book is what happened to these kids that she cared for so much but that was lacking.

I appreciate Ms. Peterson on putting out there how she feels and what she believes. Takes a lot of courage to do that.

This book is very real and honest. It's very inspiring and gave everyone a new perspective on incarcerated kids. Absolutely a must read for anyone who cares about poverty, children, and education. Her passion for teaching and her love for her students is undeniable.

Thank you Netgalley for this book.

This is an incredible story! As an educator, this book was inspiring in ways that I didn’t expect, and eye opening in ways that I was hoping for. Liza Jessie Peterson chronicles her time as a teacher at the Rikers Island institution.

What I absolutely loved about this book is that Liza Jessie Peterson brought the humanity of the incarcerated teens to the forefront. At no point did she talk about the “big scary jail” or her “awful scary students.” Her voice is so real and honest, and her love for her students was evident. Her anecdotes of conversations made me laugh and frown and shake my head in solidarity. It is amazing what can be done when you teach students self worth and high expectations. There’s no savior complex in her despite the incredible amount that she has accomplished and influenced, and that humility in the face of success is so refreshing for books like this.

It was a pleasure to read this book. I felt hopeful, and I felt inspired to continue speaking out against racially profiling and statistically evident disparities in incarceration. This is a book that I would recommend to anyone, especially educators, especially those working in low income and disadvantaged areas.

What a refreshing read. The author teaches incarcerated kids at Rikers. Anyone that knows anything about Rikers, knows this is no easy place to be. Ms. Peterson begins as a substitute teacher and begins a path that brought me to experience many different emotions. Her writing is straight forward and beautiful (the poet in her shines)!!!What I thought was going to be insight on what it is like to teach in a prison instead was lessons on kindness, faith and devotion. Both the teenagers and the author grew from their experience together. Thank you Ms Peterson for giving these young men something to hold onto which is yes, they did something wrong, but they have a chance to grow from boys to men. I salute you Queen. Thank you for writing this book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read the advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Bravo, Liza Jessie Peterson! All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island, New York's Most Notorious Jail was a poetic, spiritual and powerful read. The author took me on a draining and emotional ride as she expressed her personal frustration trying to financially support herself without losing her ever present dedication to her creativity, art, poetry and performance all the while never giving up her unyielding desperation to teach...to inspire the kids at Rikers to learn where they came from and to know that they matter.

In some ways, the author, Liza is no different than some of the incarcerated kids; her rage makes her feel as if she is drowning, she is losing traction and feels depressed and sad and recognizes that sleep is an escape. At times her rage bubbles up and gets released to whoever is there and she even acknowledges that a "split second of misdirected fury" could put her on the undesirable side of the bars.

Her beautiful prose is chock full of meaning and flows so naturally, I can picture her telling her story in person as her words evoke the emotion of a live conversation. Even her students appreciate her poetic phrasing as they observe how her anger fuels the creativity and beauty of her words. The boys in her class were her family and the rapport they developed was of mutual respect. Her knowledge of black history, poetry, music, life and survival as well as her theatrical and expressive performance skills are all put to good use at Rikers and I admire this strong, authentic, multitalented author/artist/teacher who has made a difference and surely continues to do so. This book is five stars for me, and so is Liza Jessie Peterson...beautiful, articulate and inspiring.