Malik's Hope

Meet Malik, a playful and creative kid from Bed-Stuy. He lives with his mom and sister and was 11 years old when we first met him. Sometimes it seems he’s been around for far longer than that!

I have like three back-up plans to my first job. I want to be a game designer, if I can’t do that, I’ll be a writer, and if I can’t do that, I’ll be an artist, and if I can’t do that I’ll be a photographer. Backup plans...

I think bullies are unsure of themselves. Heck, why would they be bothering people. Someone is bothering them. Those kids don’t think they’re special enough. They are special. We’re all special.

[Referring to his pen pal, Balla] I like that we both draw, I think that’s really something special. He likes drawing, I like drawing. I really think we could be a perfect match.

These kids kinda like deserve a second chance. I mean if I could just turn back the clock, I could just stop this war.

People. Friends. Other countries. Tokyo. Sure I’m black. Sure you’re black. Sure you’re white. Sure you’re Spanish. Sure you’re Hindi. Doesn’t matter. We’re still people.