By Tommy Winfrey
Don “Coach” DeNevi, 76, has been supervising the recreation department at San Quentin since December of 2001, and although he says he loves his job, he can’t live without his art.
“Whenever I go home each day after working with my inmates on crisis after crisis, I paint. I must paint!” exclaimed DeNevi.
Growing up on the south side of Stockton during the 1940s and ’50s, he says he came from a racially diverse group where, “all we cared about is if you could play ball.” But what DeNevi really cared about personally was history.
He took his love of history to College of the Pacific, where he majored in history and minored in art.
At that time, he said he really wasn’t interested in the application of art, only the history of art. In his last semester before he was to receive his ’bachelors degree, he said, he found himself short one art class from graduating.
At the insistence of a school administrator and a desire to graduate, DeNevi said he made his way to the art department and ended up in the only class left open at the time – a watercolor course. “That course changed my life. I’ve been painting ever since,” said DeNevi.
He often paints the landscapes that have dominated his life. He grew up in the Central Valley of California and worked in the prisons in the Salinas Valley before coming to work at San Quentin.“My dad always wanted a grape vineyard; it has something to do with my Italian American heritage,” said DeNevi.
The landscapes DeNevi chooses to paintt come from his imagination, he said. “In my head I have a vision – I’m going to have this kind of landscape, this type of sky, etc., but they never turn out how I imagined.”
He said this leaves him totally unsatisfied with his paintings. “If you’re ever, ever satisfied with what you’ve done, what you’ve achieved, you’re no artist – like my hero Gully Jimson in Joyce Carey’s ‘The Horse’s Mouth’ said, ‘The act of serious, genuine creativity, imagination, indeed the act bordering on genius because no one has ever done what you’ve just got through doing means that you’ve been rolled down a hill in a barrel of broken glass.”’
DeNevi said the act of creation keeps him preoccupied and uncomfortable. “That is the way it should be, though, just like a woman knows the physical pain of childbirth, an artist feels the psychological pain of creation.”
DeNevi uses water-soluble paint in his own unique way; he said he starts by applying piles of paint to 300 pounds of watercolor paper, then washing 99 percent of the paint away in his kitchen sink. The finished paintings take him between four and six weeks to complete.
Although DeNevi acknowledges art will always be part of his life, he said his creativity often pushes him in different directions. He said he has been spending a lot of time writing movie treatments.
Another project he said he will start soon is writing the history of San Quentin. “I expect that this project will take up the next 10 years of my life.”
Creating may be a painful process for DeNevi, but he has found pleasure in the time he spends at San Quentin. “I have been teaching, counseling, an administrator at all levels of education, from Adult Basic Education 1 at both Soledad and Salinas Valley State Prisons to grad students in the Ph.D. programs at U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Santa Cruz for 56 years… [but I] never found any position more personally rewarding than serving as coach at San Quentin.”
DeNevi’s art can be purchased at Stroud and Stroud Gallery in Pacific Grove, which carries six at a time. Prices for his art range between $500 and $800.
Archives for June 2014
Tony Saunders Displays Musical Talents on the Lower Yard
On an evening in April, bassist Tony Saunders, 58, gave a memorable performance for some of the men at San Quentin State Prison. He also discussed music, demonstrated his playing style and talked about his own road to recovery.
A dozen inmates who attend a weekly guitar workshop listened to Saunders play his custom bass and discuss his career playing with greats such as Stevie Wonder.
“He’s probably one of the most eclectic persons I’ve ever been around,” said Saunders of Wonder.
Saunders played songs from his new album/CD, “Appaloosa,” released earlier this year on SFRecords. He produced and recorded the album himself.
During his visit, Saunders gave lessons on bass-playing techniques as he told anecdotes about his life, music and overcoming his struggle with addiction.
Inmate Joe Mason asked Saunders if it was “a hard transition” to go from playing on a four-string bass to a five-string bass.
Saunders smiled and said, “I grew up playing Fender basses,” which are typically four-string instruments. His smile was an indication that the change was not an overnight change.
“Romancing My Life” is one of the many singles Saunders performed for Kurt Huget’s Thursday evening guitar class.
“My songs are all about romance,” said Saunders.
Saunders said during his long career he played with the famed Oakland-based gospel group The Hawkins Family and the Love Center Choir for several years during the 1980s.
According to his biography (on Wikipedia), Saunders released his first gospel project, “He Lifted Me Up,” in 2005.
“I put a gospel recording on each one of my recordings,” Saunders said.
A soft gospel song, “What Is This,” is another single with memorable lyrics from Saunders’ “Appaloosa” album.
“If you have it in your heart and soul, it doesn’t lie,” Saunders said. “All of my songs that I’ve written from the heart have done well.”
“Everybody has something to offer in music; even if it’s one note,” Saunders said.
When Saunders solos on the bass he uses many of the old-school thumping and plucking styles from the 1970s, reminiscent of Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Stanley Clark and Louis Johnson.
Huget played guitar, accompanying Saunders on the song “All Blues,” written by Miles Davis.
Saunders said he has worked with many artists over the span of his career, including Buddy Miles and Mitch Mitchell in the Band of Gypsies and some up-and-coming hip-hop performers.
Miles “was a great guy to play with,” said Saunders, adding, “The young rappers I deal with, I try to turn them back on to the music.”
When discussing addiction, Saunders said he has been clean and sober since May 1983 “when my daughter was born. I haven’t done drugs since then.”
Aside from Saunders’ professional career, he plays for Bread and Roses, an organization that takes music to people in places where they would not otherwise have access to live performances.
Romancing his life apparently is something Saunders takes seriously. He said he is getting married for the fourth time next year.
According to Saunders’ biography, he comes from a musical family. His father, Merl, a famous keyboard player, started him out with music at an early age.
“Tony received his first piano lesson from Herbie Hancock,” Wikipedia reported. Sly Stone is among Saunders’ early teachers.
Saunders received a fellowship and graduated from the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Tom Fogerty, the brother of John Fogerty of the group Creedence Clearwater Revival, gave Saunders his first bass. At age 18, he played with Jerry Garcia.
In addition, Saunders has recorded movie scores, corporate videos, commercials, television shows and CDs at his studio Magic Castle.
Alliance CELEBRATES ANNUAL BANQUET
San Quentin’s Protestant Chapel served as an assembly hall for more than 100 invited guests, including community members from the surrounding Bay Area to witness 64 inmates graduate from two prosocial programs.
The inmates graduated from the Social Justice and Anger Management programs taught by Alliance for CHANGE (AFC).
“It’s an eye-opening visit, for those who’ve never set foot in prison,” said Jose Cisneros, San Francisco city treasurer. “We have no idea what it’s like to be in here.”
Inmates and guests being served food
Cisneros said attending the graduation gave him his first opportunity to come inside San Quentin.
“We have no idea what it’s like when good programs are given a chance to reach out and make a difference for folks in prison who are ready to make a change. Hearing directly from prison inmates is powerful.”
AFC curriculum begins before inmates are released from prison. The process continues when the person returns to his community with material and interpersonal support during reentry.
“Whether you are in blue or come from outside these walls, you have come here because you are committed to change,” said inmate Abdur Raheem Thompson, vice-president of AFC. “If we commit to action and that action is committed to healthy community, then it is powerful,”
Mentors of AFC say most of the prison prosocial programs are focused on “self-discovery, accepting responsibility and realizing the necessity for change.” However, AFC expands the process by “asking men to think critically about their role in the community and larger societal structure,” Thompson said. “Action from cognition is the mental process of knowing,” he added.
Kim Richman, Ph.D., president of the board of directors of AFC, said, “The power of change is why I’ve been coming to this prison for 11 years.”
Inmate Byron Hibbert, 58, was found suitable for parole the day before the graduation. He has been incarcerated for 21 years for attempted murder.
After arriving at San Quentin in late 2011, he said he enrolled in a program called The Work. “I learned how to take responsibility for my actions,” Hibbert said. “The program asked provoking questions, and I had to answer by showing how it fits into my life. By doing that, I gained insight into my actions.”
“I will be deported to Jamaica, where my family resides,” Hibbert said. “I have a job as a shipping clerk waiting for me. Alliance for Change taught me how to participate in public affairs, to have a voice in the community and about the different types of social justice.”
“Every lifer who goes before the board just needs to be transparent,” Hibbert added. “Don’t let the commissioners frustrate you. Keep programming.”
Executive Producer of “Life of the Law” Nancy Mullane said, “This was a wonderful event to get together share and hear stories and see the power of change behind the walls. If only it could be more evident to the outside world.”
“Thank you for letting us come here to break bread with you,” said AFC facilitator Nathaniel Moore. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of programs, but AFC brings individual perspective to the conversation and time commitment. The amount of influence inmates have on free people is extremely powerful. Most of the folks I encounter, the lessons we learn are far more powerful than the lessons you learn from us.”
“There are many who think things are fine the way they are. We still need to bring them in through empathy,” Thompson said, “Empathy to those who do not believe as we do, allow them to understand that we are listening to them. Empathy is a tool that could be used to bring a safer community. AFC allowed me to get to the door and understand the causes that led me to CDCR.”
Guests and inmates broke bread at a brunch consisting of chicken strips, roast beef, macaroni and cheese, salad and vegetarian lasagna prepared by inmate cook John Parratt and his crew.
The Color Guard consisted of the Vietnam Veterans Group of San Quentin: Team Leader Craig R. Johnson; California Flag Bearer Norfleet Stewart; Flag Escort D. Ernest Soltero; and Flag Escort David Tarvan.
Rising
By Raphael Calix
As an angelic force in the world
With everlasting traces of love
The encouragement over bigotry and hatred
We hear you loud and clear, Dear “Maya”
Marching proudly through the old neighborhoods
With filaments into our hearts
Overcoming the blight of racism
We found safety in her bosom
Mute-yet alertly listening to “Maya’s” musing
We continue to absorb all of the love
Driving away the bugaboo’s taunting glare
Here her sing, write and teach at Wakeforest
Living with passion and flair
And attentive to a quietitude within the “Doctor”
Indeed, loving every voice of caged birds crying
Visualizing the sameness in our humanity
Uncompromisingly stern with, say: “Thank You’s”
Never again to sink in pity and victimhood
But to rise high in spirithood for “Maya”
Here, there can be no death, as a destination
For nothing may enter in to erase a legacy
The golden words as foot-prints
Of grace and magnitude of blessings
Duly imparted for all creeds
From our dearly beloved Mother
Esteemed into our souls
As rare as a gift from G-d
To live and rise in hope
Awaiting the rapture of truth
We’ll love and cherish you always
Long Live, Dr. Maya Angelou
Is There Such a Thing As a Good Prison?
Going to prison and getting “educated” and becoming “rehabilitated” is a commendable achievement. However, what we as a society must focus on is confronting those social causes that make prison and its rehabilitative programs necessary in the first place. Society’s goal should not be on making prisons better. It should be about making society better. We should not solely focus on those prison rehabilitative programs that fix the problem while neglecting the causes.
There’s a great deal of talk about the failed and broken prison system. And, in the same breath, we hear stories about how wonderful San Quentin is as the model for rehabilitation. Self-deprecating words such as, “I’m so glad I came to prison. If I hadn’t gotten caught and come to San Quentin, I’d probably be dead.” Does this really justify a need for “good” prisons and mass incarceration? Now don’t misunderstand me, I don’t want to dismiss all the good that has been accomplished by those who have gotten help, made amends and transformed their lives after being filtered through the prison pipeline. I just don’t think we should lose sight of the causal social problem. The problem, like the solution, has both a personal as well as a social dimension, demanding transformation on both levels.
You often hear people say things like, “Well, MY father didn’t have any government assistance and HE made it just fine,” or “Look at someone like Barack Obama; he’s African American, was raised without a father, and he made something of himself. In fact, he became president of the United States. What’s wrong with these young people?” I don’t think it’s fair that we should judge what most people are capable of by comparing them to the accomplishments of an extraordinary few. That applies to prison rehabilitation, too. Just because some people are able to come out of prison transformed against terrible odds doesn’t mean that prisons are good and necessarily helped them do that. Some people will endure any horrific circumstance and find a way to grow. If there is a woman who was raped by her father, and she manages to grow up into a kind, forgiving person able to accomplish much, you wouldn’t say, “Well, maybe being raped by her father was good for her, because look how well she turned out.”
We should be mindful that there are societal forces at play influencing our lack of community. Human interactions are being interrupted and eroded due to an array of factors, including chronic addiction to drugs and technology. These social factors destroy human relationships and alienate us from any sense of responsibility. People see the one side: Criminals lack care for their impact on others, are selfish and are willing to be destructive or greedy without considering the effect on society. But there is not an equivalent recognition of the values in society that promote such a mindset. Valuing human life, valuing honesty, looking out for others—those need to be woven into the core fabric of our vision as a nation in order for them to be lived out by most people most of the time.
Even Death Has a Heart
In a story of historical fiction that takes the fatality of 40 million people, uses it metaphorically and then goes on to say, “even death has a heart,” could its readers find empathy for its narrator who reflects on life apathetically?
After grasping the fact that death is the omnipresence in The Book Thief, reading it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster in the course of its wartime setting. In describing impending doom, Death said, “They would all smile at the beauty of destruction,” adding, “No one had served the Fuehrer better than I.”
Markus Zusak creates The Book Thief through characters who come to realize that death is inescapable while living in Nazi Germany.
The story is a invariable rummage through Liesel Meminger’s life — her stepmother, Rosa Uberman, a strict but loving mama; her stepfather, Hans, who kept hold of his values throughout the story, Rudy Stiner, her best friend, and Max Vandenberg, the one she plays “stand over man” to.
Zusak peers into the everyday life of the Ubermans, doing their best to portray the blissfulness of a close-knit family during the unimaginably worst of times.
As the plot of The Book Thief unfolds, one cannot avoid the stark contrast between the kindnesses of the Uberman family versus societal pressure to exact evil upon innocent neighbors and friends. This German family did not buy into the social norms emblematic of Germany during Jewish oppression.
Hans overlooked the advantages of joining the Nazi party, even though it would have protected his family from rebuke and criticism. Although Hans did eventually join the Nazi party, he simply could not buy into its racist ideology and hate Jews, as his government ordered all Germans to do. Max was his friend, and Liesel lovingly protected Max at all costs.
Even though the Ubermans’ lives had changed in the most significant way when they decided to hide Max, they had to pretend to live normally. Zusak wrote, “Imagine being slapped in the face and acting as if nothing had happened, then think of doing that day after day. That is what it is like hiding a Jew.”
However, Max could not avoid the inevitable. He lingers in the Ubermans’ basement. “The Jewish rat, back in his hole,” writes Zusak.
When Hans was sent to war, Max lamented to Hans the dilemma of being sent to Stalingrad. Hans came back with, “It could be worse. I could be you.” Nevertheless, each day Max lived a basement life, he sought to touch the sky. He kept his head up.
As an example, Max painted all of the pages of “Mien Kampf” white and wrote a story about the “stand-over man.”
Understanding what a “stand-over man” is in relation to a teenaged book thief who is complicit in hiding a Jew became an important plot element in The Book Thief. It allows readers to identify with individuals who would make heroic efforts in support of the powerless, and identify the importance of uplifting the most downtrodden in society, or appreciate the value of giving help to someone living a dismal life.
When the storyline delves into Liesel’s collection of books through thievery, it is unavoidable to notice Zusak’s sly interjection of social criticisms. A maturing plot through protagonist Liesel’s childlike voice opens the door in a belief that collective growth is inevitable and reconciliation between the forces of good and evil are to be expected.
Zusak inventories plight in a way that although disaster is anticipated, it is still poignant when read. Examples are found in the chapter The Long Walk to Dachau, as Hans “would perfect the art of forgetting” while the chapter The Bombing of Munich describes the night as “long with reading and bombing.” At one point Zusak even describes fear as “shiny.”
In The Book Thief, Death tells us there are many ways to dissect the living and scrutinize how we humans, as Death refers to people, treat each other.
FCC Order Limits Cost of Inmate Collect Calls
Prison Policy Initiative: ‘The Commission needs to hear from us that this is a critical next step’
Prisoners are able to make less expensive out-of-state collect telephone calls, thanks to an order by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The FCC order limits the cost of interstate, collect telephone calls made from jails and prisons.
The ruling “marks the first definitive action from the FCC to control the broken prison and jail telephone industry,” said Peter Wagner, executive director of Prison Policy Initiative.
“We absolutely agree that in-state rates must be regulated as well…”
Beginning Feb.11, calls home made by inmates from prison or jail no longer cost families as much as $17. These new rules will help to improve how the prison telephone market operates, Wagner commented.
According to PPI, the FCC is soliciting comments from the public related to “expanding the scope and operation of their order.”
The American Civil Liberties Union is also sponsoring a petition to spur more action by the FCC to regulate in-state calls, which account for the majority of inmate phone traffic in the United States, according to The Nation magazine.
“We absolutely agree that in-state rates must be regulated as well. The FCC has opened up a new comment period to get public input on regulating in-state rates,” said Leah Sakala, policy analyst for PPI.
The FCC has also announced Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking the public’s input on the possibility of other regulations. The FCC indicated it wants to make certain fees for jail and prison telephone calls will be “just, reasonable, and cost-based,” PPI reported.
The FCC order sets a maximum rate of 21 cents per minute for debit and prepaid calls, and 25 cents for collect calls.
Wagner said, “The two largest prison phone companies, Securus and Global Tel Link, filed petitions to delay implementation” of the order.
“The commission needs to hear from us that this is a critical next step” in regulating the way telephone companies do business, said Sakala, referring to regulation of in-state rates.
Prisoners’ Survey Reveals Unique Ways to Keep Healthy
When you think of prison, thoughts of listless inmates wasting away in cells come to mind. However, wellness is alive in the most unusual place, San Quentin State Prison. According to an informal survey, 75 percent of prisoners in the prison’s West Block participated in some form of wellness activity.
The survey revealed that 37 percent walked three miles or more per week. Thirty-five percent of the participant did pushups, 30 percent meditated and 25 percent did bar work. Eleven people did yoga at least once a week, and four participated in Qi Gong and Tai Chi.
Wellness is defined as a person’s overall well-being. It is a balance of mind, body and spirit. Retroflection, which is also known as meditation, is the observation of the self, a technique Daoists use to accomplish balance. It is called “returning the light.” Daoists turn the light of their awareness back upon themselves, watching their own watching and observing their observations. Once viewed from within, Daoists can separate themselves from their issues simply by letting go of them. “Daoists calm the mind in meditation through deliberate forgetting and relaxation,” says Daoist teacher He Feng Dao Shi.
Qi Gong and Tai Chi are meditation and relaxation techniques used by the Chinese as traditional medicine for at least 4,000 years.
Like Qi Gong, other ancient Chinese internal healing techniques can be “described as a way for working with life energy. It may be practiced daily with the aim of health maintenance and disease prevention,” says Harry Croft, M.D.
Internal healing techniques are intended to be harmonious with the natural rhythms of time and season. They are based on the concept of Ying and Yang, which involves meditating, cleaning, strengthening/recharging, circulating and dispersing Qi.
According to Ryan Abbott, M.D., evidence from randomized controlled trials suggests that Tai Chi and Qi Gong improve physical and mental well-being. Studies show:
Severe knee osteoarthritis pain was reduced and mood and physical functioning improved more than with standard stretching exercises.
Quality of life and the functioning capacity of women with breast cancer improved, while it declined in control groups that only received supportive therapy.
Parkinson’s disease and stroke patients showed an improvement in balance and ability to walk. Blood level of B-type natriuretic protein, an indicator of heart failure, also improved.
Duration and quality of sleep significantly improved.
Brain volume increased, memory and thinking scores improved.
“Daoists calm the mind in meditation through deliberate forgetting and relaxation”
According to the San Quentin Medical Department, there has been an increase in problems with high blood pressure, chronic pain and obesity. If used consistently, Qi Gong and Tai Chi could answer and improve the physical and mental health of many prisoners.
According to Abbott, “Mind-body practices tend to be less costly and cause fewer side effects, and they can enhance the effectiveness of prescription drugs to reduce the necessary doses.”
Santa Clara County Expresses Concern About Security and Health Care After Realignment
Realignment has Santa Clara County officials concerned about security and health care improvements in its jails, reports Correctional News.
Realignment is the state’s response to a federal order for California to cap its prisons to levels where adequate health care could be delivered to its inmates. One component is keeping low-level offenders in county jails instead of sending them to a state prison.
An assessment made last November placed the county’s jail population at just over 4,000 inmates, nearly 700 of which were diverted from state facilities as part of the realignment plan. “Acts of violence against facility staff have increased noticeably since Realignment, up from 10 over a six-month period in 2012 to 17 in the same time frame in 2013,” Correctional News reported. In addition, the report says there is an increase in gang activity, which caused jailers to keep rival gangs separated.
There is an older population entering the jail system, according to the report—increasing the need for medical attention to chronic illnesses.
Adding to the problems in the jails is as more inmates are shifted to its system, the number of high-security inmate rises. According to the report, the number of high-security inmates is 43 percent higher than just over a year ago, including a 30 percent increase in inmates convicted of murder.
Jail staff is also tasked with “managing a sharp increase in aging and mentally ill inmates,” Correctional News shows. “Roughly 25 percent more inmates are requiring daily medication to manage their various conditions.”
In 1997, Abel Esparza, 60, was convicted in Santa Clara County Superior Court under the Three-Strikes law. He was sentence to 25 years to life.
Last November, California voters changed the law so that three-strikers who were convicted of non-serious, non-violent, non-sexual felonies could ask the court for a reduced sentence.
Esparza qualified for a re-sentencing hearing and was brought to Santa Clara County jail to await his court appearance.
Esparza said the jail conditions were “terrible. It resembled CDCR, before Plata and Coleman.”
The Plata v. Brown and Coleman v. Brown are the lawsuits where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that CDCR’s health care and mental health services are inadequate, thus violating the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.
Esparza said, “I could hardly wait to return back to San Quentin, because the jail has highly increased in gang activities.”
Correctional News reports that the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors approved the allocation of $500,000 — made available through a state trust — for an assessment that “will review the jails’ current capabilities and future needs.”
Federal Study Encourages Early Intervention To Curb Youth Deliquency
‘Children are exposed to violence every day in their homes, schools and communities’
Juvenile delinquency and victimization is widespread among youth aged 10-17, and early intervention is needed to cope with the problem, a federal study reports.
The report examined four categories of juvenile delinquency and victimization:
Those who were primarily delinquents and not victims
Those who were primarily victims and not delinquents
Those who were both delinquents and victims
And, those who were neither victims nor delinquents
Juvenile delinquents are sometimes victims too, but not always, according to the U.S. Department of Justice: National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (www.ojp.usdoj.gov).
“Children are exposed to violence every day in their homes, schools and communities,” according to the report. “… Such exposure can cause them significant physical, mental and emotional harm with long-term effects that can last well into adulthood.”
When juveniles are both delinquents and victims, they show a higher rate of victimization than juveniles who are primarily victims, the study concluded. Girls who are both delinquent and victims experience a particularly high level of sexual victimization, data showed.
In addition, juveniles who are both delinquent and victims demonstrate more delinquency than the primarily delinquent groups. Improving strategies for identifying and helping this group of children are an obvious priority, according to the study.
Juveniles who are both delinquents and victims receive less social support and experience larger rates of unhealthy parenting, according to the report. They are subject to more life adversities and mental health issues than juveniles who are primarily victims or delinquents, the study found.
The disparities in victimization are not attributed to socioeconomic status, ethnicity, family structure, disability status, school performance, and physical features, the study reported.
Researchers point to early intervention as a good place to start fixing the disparity and suggest an emphasis on components that decrease sexual aggression and harassment. Intervention should occur before the fifth grade when pubertal changes in girls occur, the report states.
Juveniles’ transitions to high school are another problem-area as the report noted that there is less supervision and more independence for high school students than middle school students. The result is that the high school experience may expose juveniles who are both delinquent and victims to older delinquent role models.