Holidays have an interesting way of bringing people together, whether it be family or extending generosity to a stranger. This Easter proved to be no different. Atlanta native, rapper, T.I took some time during this Easter holiday to help bail out nonviolent offenders in Georgia.
The initiative originally kicked off with New Birth Missionary Baptist Church located in Lithonia, Georgia. Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant is highly impactful in his community and has become a well-known social justice activist. The church has an Outreach to the Incarcerated program in which they fulfill the Biblical Mandate of Ministry to those in Prison.
A “Bail Out” program was designed to give deserving men and women a second chance. The program targets four counties in Georgia: DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Rockdale and also aids in job readiness. This program began as a local challenge within the congregation with $40,000 being the target. The challenge grew momentum and quickly became a much larger movement and brought in $120,000 to assist in providing an olive branch for offenders.
“Just for finding the courage to start their life again is worthy of giving God glory,” said New Birth’s pastor, Dr. Jamal Bryant.
“I could not be prouder of my New Birth family for answering the call and affirming that everyone deserves a second chance. I could think of no better way to celebrate the resurrection of Christ than to provide these young men and women with an opportunity reunite with their families, resurrect their lives and get back on the right path,” Dr. Bryant. “We are working to dynamically and dramatically change these individuals’ lives by providing complete wraparound services during an eight-week support program.”
The group of inmates made up of nonviolent and mostly first time offenders. A total of 23 people were freed. Seven women and 16 men got bailed out just in time to enjoy the holiday with friends and family.
The initiative utilizes donations to assist with the launching of college savings accounts for the children of those bailed out. Beloved southerner T.I. and Scrapp Deleon of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta both were listed as partners.
T.I. has been frequently outspoken on matters of criminal justice reform.
Source: Ethan Miller / Getty
