As people across the country continue to face hardships amid the novel coronavirus, humanity still exists and happy news persists. In a heartfelt moment, people from two vastly different places, an elite private school and a California state prison, came together to help a student in need. After inmates at California’s Soledad State Prison, the state’s largest prison to house sentenced men, heard a student was struggling to pay his monthly tuition they came together to raise the funds.
The inmates, called “brothers in blue” by a book reading program the Palma School and prison created to develop understanding between the two groups, raised more than $30,000 from inside prison to create a scholarship for Sy Green. The scholarship will not only help Green, whose parents have suffered medical emergencies, finish school but attend college at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CNN reported.
"Regardless of the poor choices that people make, most people want to take part in something good," Jason Bryant, a former inmate who played a key role in creating the scholarship, told CNN. "Guys were eager to do it.”
Bryant shared that while serving his 20 years in prison, he made a regular effort to change his life by educating himself and running a leadership training program for inmates. "I'm never far from the reality that I committed a crime in 1999 that devastated a family—several families—and irreparably harmed my community," Bryant said. "I keep that close to my heart, and I would hope that people can identify the power of forgiveness and the probability of restoration when people put belief in each other." This dedication to restorative justice resulted in Bryant’s sentence being commuted in March. According to CNN, he now works as the director for restorative work at Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs. The organization provides resources to formerly incarcerated individuals including skills training and stable housing.
The student scholarship idea came to life when Bryant connected with friend Ted Gray who wanted to start a scholarship program for students in need. Hundreds of incarcerated men jumped at the opportunity to give back the gift of education. Despite the incredibly low minimum wage rate of eight cents per hour in prison, the brothers in blue were able to raise $30,000 from their intensive labor work and ability to sell possessions or food to partake in the campaign. "I get paid to do what I do, so, why not pay it forward and give it to someone else for a change?” an inmate identified as Reggie told CNN. Reggie donated his entire monthly paycheck of $100 to the scholarship.
"I didn't believe it at first," Jim Michelleti, the teacher who created the reading program, said. "They said, 'We value you guys coming in. We'd like to do something for your school ... can you find us a student on campus who needs some money to attend Palma?"
While the brothers in blue did not choose who the scholarship money went to, they thought Green was the perfect candidate. According to CNN, Green’s parents sent him to a prep school in order to avoid gangs, drugs, and fighting but after six months they struggled to pay tuition even with the help of financial aid because Green’s father, Frank Green, was not only unable to work but was in need of heart surgery. During this difficult time is when the Green family was made aware of the scholarship. "It brought me to tears," Frank Green said. "At that particular time, it was truly a blessing. It was unheard of."
To show their thankfulness Green and his family began making regular visits to the prison, and four former inmates even attended his graduation. Green told CNN that he is so grateful for their kindness he plans to continue visiting the brothers in blue during his college breaks. "That's only the right thing to do. Beyond the scholarship, the knowledge that they pour into you, that's, that's the best thing," Green said. "They definitely take my future serious and they genuinely do care about me as a person."
The relationship between Green and the brothers in blue continues to grow as the inmates contribute to his education. "They would bring him into the prison to receive mentorship, to participate in groups with us, to share his goals and visions, and to really have accountability conversations with men in blue—men who had made terrible choices," Bryant said of Green’s family. "They put in an incredible amount of not only gratitude and appreciation, but also trust in us to help mentor their son. And that was remarkable."
Despite the novel coronavirus creating obstacles for individuals across the country, the reading program continues with students and inmates connecting over Zoom. According to CNN, other schools are also beginning to take part in similar programs. The brothers in blue also plan to continue their scholarship program for students in need and hope to inspire others to do the same while participating in restorative justice.
"I don't feel like myself or my team or the guys who contributed to this incredible gift for Sy are special. We're just people who want to do good things," Bryant said. "If more people just decided to do good things, this world would be a better place."