CHPI BLOG
If you want to make a post on our blog, contact one of our officers! We'd love to have your voice heard!
If you want to make a post on our blog, contact one of our officers! We'd love to have your voice heard!
Here is an excerpt from one of our cohort students at GDC -- an early Father's Day present!
A Grandfather’s Love & Grandson’s Love for 1 Another
By Henry Lyle (Shaun)
I am new to writing. Not because of alot of reason’s: But I’m ready to learn again after having my trials at youth without school.
I am writing a bout my grandfather and me because he was my male father figure-influence in my life. He taught me to become a man. And loved me unconditionally. As I did him. My grandfather’s name was Brice Henry Hulsey J.R. That’s where I got my name from. Was from his middle name But I call him (Papa). He was born on October 22, 1927. He had been a cook on a ship in the Army; over in Germany. He was there for some years from what I understand. He married my Grandmother Blanche Geneva Hulsey when he got home- to South Carolina. Her name was Blanche Geneva Hulsey once they were married. She was born on September 4th, 1932 i believe if that’s correct. She had two kids already when they got together my deceased uncle Steve and my Aunt Martha. Then they had 3 kids together as well. My Uncle Calvin, my aunt Carol. And my mother Marline. My mom, and went on to raise their family together. He worked in a mill called or owned by John b. Hollingsworth off of Laurens RD into Mauldin. A piece of metal flew into his eye and messed his eyes up. He continued to work to support the family.
Now let’s begin again
10 years ago my Grandfather died. Now let’s rewind back to my childhood. I was born April 10th 1984. When I was a kid all the way to adulthood; my grandparents took care of me except for a few months here & there with my mom back in the late 90’s. My grandfather told me to go to school. He always made sure I got there when I was younger. But when I move those few months with my mom I went to Berendo Middle School in L.A. California. My 2 brothers, 1 friend and myself were the only 4 white kids in the whole school. But we were popular. Moved back to greenville, sc with my grandparents went to Hughes Academy Middle school and southside Highschool for a month or so. Before I moved again with my mom and stepdad and brothers to Iowa for a few months and I never went back to school. So when I moved back to S.C. with my grandfather after my grandmother died. I decided i wasn’t going back to school.
A few short years later my grandfather went blind in 1 eye, after years of doctor visits and surgerres that had been caused from his accident at work and being shot in head when someone tried to rob him in 2001 on Valentines Day knowing I was not home. Only a few more years went by and he had gone completely blind. So that then made it time for me to grow up very quickly; and had to be a caregiver to him as he had been to me my whole life. Yes it was hard but things needed to be done. I had to make sure I found ways to get him to Drs. Appointments. Had to ensure all the bills got paid. Kept the house clean. Made sure I cooked his meals to eat. He especially liked breakfast I made him scrambled eggs, fried ham or bologna or sausage and biscuits. And a cup of coffee. I knew how to do that from watching and learning from him all those years. Helped him bathe. Helped him back and forth when needed to go to restroom, outside, couch, bed, etc. So it was a long hard journey especially through the last months of his life; In hospital after he fell and broke his hip in restroom. Went from hospital to a rehabilitation/aka. Nursing home. I stayed with him night and day. Then on the evening of May 20, 2013 around 8:30om only a couple hours after I had left; I received a call and was told my grandfather had passed away.
So me at the age of 29 the man who raised me at 85 years old my grandfather was like no he was my father basically. Was gone but will always be in my memories and live in my heart. It was very important for me to write this because he was my caregiver; from kid to adult. Favorite memories was when he took me fishing at lake. He had baited my line for me and I learned from what I saw him do. After I caught my 1st fish I was hooked. Lol. In conclusion he was definitely the most influential man (my papa) in my life. He meant the world to me as I did him.
Brice Hulsey:
A son
Army man
Husband
Father
Grandfather
A lot more titles could and probably were given. I love you papa forever in my heart and soul.
Love your grandson (Shaun) Henry Lyle.
Here are the links to our April 12th conversation with C Jay Tarwater -- it is divided into two parts because we lost our internet connection during our chat!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y6vVR1y7BzVDJa_0ksyipp8uD-FXR2Kk/view
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YS96K_TrEgY3aRtYO1bIqkozFPpkhBQQ/view
February 1st, 2023: Q+A with our friends at Phillips State Prison
What are your living accommodations like in prison?
Shane: Find a roommate, take one quarter of your garage, put your bed in the corner, put their bed on top, wrap a bunch of used cotton balls in plastic and use it as a mat, put your toilet at the foot of your bed, take everything you own and put it in a 6 square foot box on the wall, move your shower to the other side of the house, share that shower with 50-120 people, put a little desk on the wall with no chair, and voila!
Don’t get me wrong, some places are worse than others. At least there’s cable and school here. Some programs have computers with no internet access. And people can order commissary if their families can afford it.
Tomas: We live in a dorm with twenty five cells, two man per cell. Each cell is about 8 by 12 feet. We have a common area with three tvs. We have a small room with about ten computers.
November 10th, 2022: Q+A with our friends at Phillips State Prison
What do you find to be the most unexpected obstacle in raising awareness about the role of education in preventing recidivism?
Tomas: The biggest obstacle is that society doesn’t want to talk about prisons unless someone in their direct family is in it. Society thinks, “I will never make a mistake and end up in prison”, but its more common than people think. The stigmas of felons, make society think we are deserving of oppression.
Shane: How little the average person knows about the reality of the situation. People tend to repeat the narratives they hear, regardless if they are accurate or not.
How is your mental health while in prison?
Tomas: Initially, my mental health was not good, with years of hard work I started to understand certain things. But not everyone has the same perspective, I’ve seen people lose themselves. Ultimately, its up the incarcerated person to decide, will I let go or will I fight to live.
Shane: This is a long complex answer. That being said, I believe I was able to work on some of the mental health issues that led me to prison, while exacerbating others, and simultaneously developing new ones. I imagine being released is going to be a lot like when I came back from Iraq. It was very difficult to readjust to a society that doesn’t actually welcome you. You might think that the US welcomes home combat vets with open arms, yet, as a whole, it does not. I can only imagine how hard things will be when I get out as a felon.
What one thing do you find the most harmful/bad about the prison system during your experience with it?
Declaration: Stripping away my humanity
Shane: The effect it has on your health, holistically. Concrete, steel, and poor nutrition take a toll on your physical health. Isolation, psychological trauma, lack of meaning and purpose, and lack of interpersonal relationships with non-incarcerated people negatively affects you psychologically. And being kept in a box long-term just wears down your soul. No living creature was meant to be confined in small spaces for years.
Did your typical day at prison always look the same? If so, could you please describe it? If not, could you talk about how your typical day changed throughout the decades?
Eduardo: In this place there is no stable peace of mind. Many times a day we are distracted by the prison events. For example, when I'm doing my homework at any time of the day an officer might scream "get ready for inspection." I quickly put all my books and notes away and wait for inspection. We wait and wait but the inspectors don't show up. The day is over and my motivation is gone.
Tomas: For the most part yes, but the good thing is I try to fill my day with things to do. My typical day starts at 6am when I start to get ready for school. Right after, I go to my detail job at the maintenance shop. After that I go back to my housing unit where we have an event called “structure” Mon-thurs. Everyday there are different knowledge classes you can take, like on Thursdays you can take Spanish class, I’m the professor lol. We also have intro to computers, health and wellness class and others. After that we can workout out, read, homework, or just watch tv and relax.
Members- We'd love to get some more questions from you! Text me or Browning with any questions you'd want to ask our friends at Phillips State!
-Maggie Harvey, CHPI Co-Founder and Vice President
October 27, 2022: General Body Meeting
At this meeting, we discussed our thoughts on Angela Davis's book "Are Prisons Obsolete." We had great discourse and enjoyed food that our president Browning provided for us! Thank you to everyone who came spent their Thursday evening with us!
-Maggie Harvey, CHPI Co-Founder and Vice President
October 14th, 2022: Education Bake Sale on Campus
Our group had a great time baking and selling treats on Clemson's campus on Friday! Many members of our organization came out to donate products and even to help sell them. We created and printed flyers with some fast facts about mass incarceration in order to further educate our student body as they enjoyed cookies, brownies, and more. We almost sold completely out of products and loved being able to speak about the prison industrial complex and debate prison reform ideas with our peers!
-Maggie Harvey, CHPI Co-Founder and Vice President
October 13th, 2022: Guest Speaker C Jay Tarwater
On October 13th, we welcomed Mr. C Jay Tarwater to our meeting via Zoom! He was an incredible resource, telling our members about life in incarceration, the birth of the prison industrial complex, his views on prison reform, and more. It was such an honor to have him and we can't wait to continue working with him in the future!
-Maggie Harvey, CHPI Co-Founder and Vice President
September 29th, 2022: Guest Speakers Trinity and Delaney visited our meeting!
On September 29th, we were glad to have guest speakers Delaney Wallace and Trinity Perry join us via Zoom. They answered questions about their current paths in their respective graduate programs, their time in Dr. Paxton-Wilson's original Creative Inquiry, and what they believe will be the future of prison reform. Thank you, Delaney and Trinity!
-Maggie Harvey, CHPI Co-Founder and Vice President
September 20th, 2022: Welcome to our blog and new website!
Hello, everyone! Welcome to our new website. We hope this site will not only provide more information for members of our organization, but can also be used to spread opportunities of education to other students, faculty, or citizens.
Thank you for visiting and we hope you enjoy your time!
-Maggie Harvey, CHPI Co-Founder and Vice President