Bryant’s sentence was commuted in March due to his contributions in restorative work while he was in prison. He now works as the Director for Restorative Work at an organization called
Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs (CROP), which helps equip formerly incarcerated people with tools like skills training and stable housing in order to succeed in their communities.
In a twist of fate inside the prison, Bryant had reconnected with his former crime partner, Ted Gray, who had the idea to start the scholarship and pay it forward with the gift of education. Hundreds of incarcerated men jumped at the opportunity to make a heavy, meaningful investment in someone else’s life.
Considering that minimum wage in prison can be as low as 8 cents an hour, raising $30,000 is an astonishing feat. It can take a full day of hard labor to make a dollar inside prison, so every cent donated by inmates is worth a lot more than a penny in the free world. Some brothers in blue who had no money to donate even hustled to sell possessions or food so they could be a part of the campaign.
One inmate, Reggie, donated his entire monthly paycheck of $100 to the cause, telling
CNN’s Lisa Ling, “I get paid to do what I do, so, why not pay it forward and give it to someone else for a change?”
The perfect scholarship candidate
The brothers in blue did not get to choose who got their scholarship, but in hindsight they said Sy Green was the perfect candidate.
Sy’s parents wanted him to have a top notch education and transition away from a public school that had problems with gangs, drugs and fighting. But after his first six months at Palma School, their money started depleting fast, even with financial aid. When his father, Frank Green, needed heart surgery and became unable to work, the family was on the brink of being unable to pay tuition.
That’s when they found out they would be receiving a massive gift from complete strangers inside the correctional facility.
“It brought me to tears,” Frank Green said. “At that particular time, it was a truly a blessing. It was unheard of.”
Sy and his family started making visits to the prison in addition to taking part in the Palma reading group. He and his family have embraced building relationships with many of the bothers in blue, and four former inmates even attended his high school graduation.
He told CNN that knowing hundreds of men made sacrifices for his education inspires him to try his best and work hard every day. Sy plans to continue visiting the prison on his breaks from college, where he now plays basketball and studies sports broadcasting.
“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,” Sy said. “They definitely take my future serious and they genuinely do care about me as a person.”
Meanwhile, being involved with the scholarship gave many inmates an opportunity they never had — the chance to be a role model.
Bryant added that the Green family was a perfect fit for the scholarship because they put trust in the inmates’ leadership.
“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. “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.”
Rehabilitation and restorative justice
Craig Koenig, the warden of the Correctional Training Facility, said that in 24 years with the California
prison system, he has witnessed a positive shift in policy. A system that once had a mentality of simply warehousing inmates is moving towards a model of rehabilitation.
“(It’s) what needs to happen. Our job is to help these men reintegrate back into society,” Koenig said. “As these men are leaving, a far larger percentage of them are becoming productive members of society than what we had before. So, why wouldn’t we do it? We’re trying to transform men’s lives.”
A belief in altering lives through the powers of compassion and honest discussion is still what drives Palma School’s reading program today.
Even amid the
coronavirus pandemic, the Palma School reading program has continued over Zoom, with even more students from others schools now able to take part.
The inmates also plan to continue the scholarship program for another student in need. With the help of inmate leadership groups and
the CROP organization, they want to keep paying it forward, and they hope to inspire other citizens in the community to do the same.
“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,” said Bryant. “If more people just decided to do good things, this world would be a better palace.”
