| Introduction | 1 |
Chapter 1 | "You Don't Have to Cut My Foot off, Do You?" Hanging Tough: A Conversation with Doctor Sampson Davis | 3 |
Chapter 2 | "Oh, Man, You're in Trouble Again!" School Problems: A Conversation with Doctor Rameck Hunt | 13 |
Chapter 3 | "Isn't that School in the Ghetto?" Influential Teachers: A Conversation with Doctor George Jenkins | 21 |
Chapter 4 | "We're Gonna Jack Us some Icees from Jack's!" Temptation and Its Consequences: A Conversation with Doctor Sampson Davis | 28 |
Chapter 5 | "How Much do You Need?" Dreams and Missed Opportunities: A Conversation with Doctor Rameck Hunt | 36 |
Chapter 6 | "Are You Godzilla or King Kong?" The Beginnings of a Dream: A Conversation with Doctor George Jenkins | 44 |
Chapter 7 | "Yeah, Man. They Say the Driver's Dead." Living and Dying on the Streets: A Conversation with Doctor Sampson Davis | 50 |
Chapter 8 | "I don't Even Know Anybody Who Went to College." Entering Seventh Grade: A Conversation with Doctor George Jenkins Making Good Grades: A Conversation with Doctor Sampson Davis | 60 |
Chapter 9 | "You Kids are Gonna Get Yourself Killed." The Call of the Streets: A Conversation with Doctor Rameck Hunt | 66 |
Chapter 10 | "What's up with That? You Think You Better than Us?" So Easy to Fall into the Drug Scene: A Conversation with Doctor Sampson Davis | 73 |
Chapter 11 | "A Sticky Web of Bright Pink Silly String Across the Astonished Teacher's Face" Foolishness and Understanding: A Conversation with Doctor Rameck Hunt | 82 |
Chapter 12 | "I Think We Could All do this-the Three of Us-Together!" The Beginning of the Pact: A Conversation with Doctor George Jenkins | 90 |
Chapter 13 | "If He Dies, You Get Charged with Attempted Murder." Thanksgiving in Jail: A Conversation with Doctor Rameck Hunt | 100 |
Chapter 14 | "How do You Plead?" The Judge Asked, "Guilty, Your Honor." Never Again: A Conversation with Doctor Sampson Davis | 109 |
Chapter 15 | "Not only Had Their Sons Survived, But They were Heading to College." Strengthening the Pact: A Conversation with Doctor George Jenkins | 121 |
Chapter 16 | "It Feels Good, Man. It's Like Doing Push-Ups with My Brain!" The Possibility of Success: A Conversation with Doctor Sampson Davis | 128 |
Chapter 17 | "The Boy's Neck Bent in an Odd Way, and Hi Body Fell Limp." The End of Violence and the Start of Giving Back: A Conversation with Doctor Rameck Hunt | 137 |
Chapter 18 | "Yo, Yo, Yo! Check It Out! Check It Out!" Rap Stars? A Conversation with Doctor George Jenkins | 146 |
Chapter 19 | "For the First Time Since High School, the Three of Us won't be Together." Hanging in there: A Conversation with Doctor George Jenkins | 153 |
Chapter 20 | "Driving while Black" The Possibility of Losing the Dream: A Conversation with Doctor Rameck Hunt | 161 |
Chapter 21 | "Sometimes You Gotta Fail in Order to Succeed." Going Back to Where It All Began: A Conversation with Doctor Sampson Davis | 167 |
Chapter 22 | "To Friends" | 177 |
| Conclusion | 180 |
| Shout-Outs! | 185 |