It begins at the tip of a gleaming fencing sabre and extends through an evolutionary lifetime from angry boy to medal-winning Olympic athlete and acclaimed sabre fencing champion, businessman, philanthropist, educator and now — resident of Harlem.

Peter will share insights and adventures from his remarkable multi-faceted life at Mount Morris Talks! Thursday, November 3 at 6:30 PM.

As an inner-city teenager in Newark, Peter was an unlikely candidate for world-class fencing champion. But his mother urged him (with the addition of a $5 bribe) to take up the sport as a way of channeling his anger and giving vent to his bitterness at an absentee father, poverty and racism in a society that consistently challenged this bi-racial child of Japanese and African American parents. Little did she know this would be his first step on the path to greatness. Peter brought an unbridled intensity to the sport. This, along with discipline and hard work, propelled him to remarkable heights as an athlete and provided him with the opportunity for an education, a chance for a better future and a fierce will to win. And thus was laid the foundation for the rest of his life’s work.

Peter says, “My mother always told me to not cry, to work hard, be ethical and fight to achieve my goals. And if I should survive the fight, to get up and fight some more.”

He is imparting this same ethic to children from New York’s most underserved neighborhoods through a range of programs designed to empower inner city youth. The cornerstone of his efforts is the Peter Westbrook Foundation, with its Academic Enrichment Program that provides college and professional mentors to tutor students; the After school Leadership Program, which helps talented student athletes realize their academic and athletic dreams; and the Saturday Fencing Program, which teaches young people the sport of fencing and helps groom the next generation of champions.

This 6-time Olympian, 13-time US National Champion, author, mentor, friend and neighbor has recounted his life story in Harnessing Anger: The Way of an American Fencer. You can hear that story first-hand from the legendary Peter Westbrook himself as Mount Morris Talks. Don’t miss the opportunity to be enlightened and inspired.

Mount Morris Talks! is a series of conversations between the community and leaders, news makers, artists, authors and thinkers who live in the Harlem area. MMPCIA is proud to sponsor this series and offers it free of charge to the community.