Johnny Holmes and Christian Picciolini #

https://storycorps.org/listen/johnny-holmes-and-christian-picciolini-171006/

You were rough.

• rough (adj.) - dangerous or violent

The one that I remember, I kind of ushered you into the dean’s office. And I remember she put her arms around you to try to calm you down. And excuse the language but you were like, ‘You black bitch, get your filthy hands off of me. And I live to see the day when a nigger will be hanging from every light pole in Blue Island.’

• usher (verb.) - to show someone where they should go, or to make someone go where you want them to go
• dean (noun. C) - an official of high rank in a college or universitywho is responsible for the organization of adepartment or departments
• excuse (verb.) - to forgive someone
• filthy (adj.) - extremely or unpleasantly dirty
• get sth off sth - to remove a part of your body from a particularplace

I knew you had been brainwashed and I remember saying to you, ‘Chris, how can you be filled with so much hate? You play on the same football team as my son.’

• brainwash (verb.) - to make someone believe something by repeatedlytelling them that it is true and preventing any otherinformation from reaching them

Many years later, I was working for IBM and I was terrified.

• terrified (adj.) - very frightened

And of course within the first five minutes, as I’m standing in that hallway, here comes you walking right in front of me.

• hallway (noun. C) - a hall

The one thing that you told me that day, you were like a prophet, you said, ‘This isn’t just about some white kid who goes into a Nazi group. This is about every young person who feels vulnerable and is looking where to belong.’

• prophet (noun. C) - a person who is believed to have a special powerthat allows them to say what a god wishes to tellpeople, especially about things that will happen in the future

Reaching people, getting people on the straight and the narrow.

• reach (verb.) - to understand and communicate with someone
• narrow

That was one incident with us. Look how it’s multiplying.

• incident (noun. C) - an event that is either unpleasant orunusual
• multiply (verb.) - to increase very much in number, or (inmathematics) to add a number to itself a particularnumber of times