How does a gang member make the transition from life on the streets to earning a doctorate in public policy? It’s not exactly an everyday event.

Terence Lester was born into a two-parent household, but his parents later separated. In search of safety and stability, his mother moved Terrence and his sister from place to place. Carrying the weight of that early trauma, Terence turned to gangs, became a juvenile delinquent, experienced homelessness, and at one point lived out of his car. He dropped out of high school.

But Terence’s story doesn't end there. He eventually returned to school, graduated from college, and defied the odds by earning five degrees, including a Ph.D in public policy.

In “From Dropout to Doctorate,” Terence unveils the realities of educational injustice and the profound impact of unjust policies and systems on Black communities. He shows how poverty disrupts the lives of Black families, leading to homelessness and perpetuating the school-to-prison narrative.

Drawing from his own personal narrative and scholarly research, Terence names the complex challenges faced by Black children in under resourced and socially dense environments. As a public scholar and nonprofit leader, he advocates for equitable access to advanced education and addresses the systemic barriers that limit opportunities for Black people.

Terence’s advocacy encourages us to envision a world rooted in justice and inclusivity. Offering remedies of community involvement and mentorship, Terence charts a hopeful pathway that cultivates potential and provides opportunities for Black youth to thrive.

In his podcast, Imagine Dignity, Terence focuses on homelessness and interviews people who live on the streets. His goal is to spread kindness, inspire empathy and help to create a world where no one is invisible.

Jack and Gonzo talk with Terence his personal experiences and his call on educators, nonprofit leaders, and community influencers to confront educational inequity and inspire systemic change. Listen to the conversation.

  Some people don't believe the Holocaust actually happened or that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. And some people don’t believe that 26 children and adults were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary school in 2012.

And the man best known for creating the Sandy Hook conspiracy is conflict entrepreneur and InfoWars star, Alex Jones, who called the massacre a “fake” and a “hoax.”

Josh Koskoff, the lawyer for the families of the Sandy Hook victims, who obtained a $73 million settlement, also brought a successful legal action against Jones, who profited from the false narrative he created. Jones is a skilled communicator who knows how to communicate to a certain core of people who see him as the sole truth teller and everyone else as part of the deep state.

Jones isn’t short on charisma, and he isn’t short on showmanship.

The InfoWars stage is flashy and has a high tech look. If you didn’t know better, you would think you were looking at a legitimate major news broadcast system.

Trial testimony showed that Jones relied on a business model that was based on building a belief system with his audience so that he could sell a variety of products—male enhancements, t-shirts and more. He’s a master at seducing people with his talk so that he can get them to buy his wares. Jones couldn’t stop talking about Sandy Hook because of the amount of traffic it drove to his store.

Not surprising, Jones monetized the trial. After every day in court, Jones would be on InfoWars, making belittling comments about the court. Of course, those comments would be used in court against Jones the following day.

Jones created harm beyond his lies. It wasn’t unusual for his listeners to accost the families of the victims in public and accuse them of pretending to have lost a child.

Josh Koskoff, the lawyer for the families of the Sandy Hook victims, did what most thought was impossible. He prevailed in a lawsuit against Remington Arms, the company that manufactured and marketed the AR-15 rifle that was used to murder 20 children, between six and seven years old, and six staff members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. But obtaining justice for the families wasn’t easy.

In part 1 of our conversation with Josh, we talk about the lawsuit. In part 2, we talk with Josh about the lawsuit he brought against Alex Jones of Info Wars, who said the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.

The massacre occurred on December 14, 2012. Before driving to the school, Adam Lanza, the gunman, fatally shot his mother. He killed himself after killing the 26 students and staff members. The incident is the deadliest mass shooting in Connecticut history and the deadliest at an elementary school in U.S. history.

In December 2014, nine families filed suit in Connecticut against Bushmaster, Remington Arms, Camfour, a distributor of firearms, and the store where Lanza's rifle was purchased. The case was brought as an exemption under the 2005 Federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which generally prohibits lawsuits against gun manufacturers.

The families claimed that the AR-15 was suitable only for military and police use and that Remington inappropriately marketed it to civilians. Filing the complaint in Connecticut was the beginning of a seven-year saga. Remington tried to move the case to federal court and to have the case dismissed. There was much legal maneuvering. Eventually, Remington persuaded the trial court to dismiss the case.

The families appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court. The court decided in a 4–3 vote to reverse parts of the trial court's rulings and sent the case back to the trial court for additional hearings. Remington asked the Supreme Court of the United States to review the decision, but the Supreme Court declined.

In July 2021, Remington again asked the trial judge to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge denied Remington’s request. The next day, Remington offered $33 million to be shared by the nine families. In early 2022, Remington agreed to settle for $73 million.