Episode | #065

Through writing students learn that they have the right to dream

“Even at 29 you know to walk down a block in my neighborhood there’s still the thought of any moment my life can be taken. But at 29 I at least now... I have had an opportunity to leave bits and pieces.”

- Khalil Coleman

Khalil Coleman, educator and community activist, teaches writing workshops at several Milwaukee Public Schools. Students write essays they call “rights to life” - where they claim ownership over their entitlements as humans. For example, having and holding a dream is a basic right to life. But sometimes the environment students live in can obscure their dreams.

Khalil Coleman and his students at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School declare that the dream is still alive. Photo Credit: Aisha Turner

You can hear students read their Rights to Life essays here.

Additional Precious Lives content can be found on our media partner pages: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WUWM, WisconsinWatch.

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