An incredible and inspiring story of how Dhat Stone High Tech Learning Academy, a computer coding program for urban youth of color was created by two California prisoners in Lancaster prison. Their journey began with being imprisoned with life sentences, leading to their transformation and redemption, to their struggle to obtain an education in computer programming in order to prepare themselves for a job in the Digital Economy if they are released back to society. Thousands of prisoners in California and prisoners across the U.S., are being released back into society without sufficient computer literacy skills to gain a decent job in the 21st Century Digital Economy. In an effort to help teach prisoners computer coding inside prison, the two prisoners helped to create a technology education movement in Southern and Northern California in low income communities to prepare youth of color to become tomorrow's leaders, innovators, and tech trailblazers. Their narrative addresses issues of ending mass incarceration of African Americans and Latinos, a prisoners right to computer literacy, economic inequality, inclusion and diversity of the technology industry, and the creation of tech revolutions in the urban cities of America. This book will give the reader a much needed antidote to ending mass incarceration of Black and Latino youth.
Darrell D. Williams is a California state prisoner serving a Life Without the Possibility of Parole sentence for a murder/robbery in 1984. He has now been incarcerated for 34 years. He is the co-creator of Let Us Code, a computer literacy program that introduces computer programming to other prisoners at Lancaster State Prison. Williams is also the co-founder of Dhat Stone High Tech Learning Academy and the annual We Are Code Virtual Reality Hackathon, held in both Southern and Northern California. Dhat Stone Academy was honored with a Certificate of Recognition by California Assemblymember Mike Gipson of the 64th District for its dedication and commitment to education and technology for students throughout the State of California.