Since San Quentin Prison was first built in 1852, its oldest laundry room has moved to many different locations.
Housing mostly rugged outlaws, rouge cowboys and thieving gold miners, the laundry room was probably not a top priority. In fact, back in the day, prisoners were responsible for making and washing their own clothes. The first industrialized Singer motor sewing machines emerged in 1910 and probably made their way to San Quentin shortly after.
“In the last 25 years, the laundry room has moved it’s location at least four times,” said staff worker Gary Sae. “In 1989, for example, it was located on the main yard next door to the mini canteen. Today, that building houses educational classes, perhaps hobby and San Quentin’s media center. The laundry room was so spacious and fully equipped, back then, that we washed our own blues, whites and bedding.”
A few years later, the laundry room was move to another small location on the West Block yard and, as of May 13, moved to the old mini canteen space on the Lower Yard.
“The new Laundry procedures and location are much more efficient,” said Sae.
Laundry room workers including Charles Tatum, inmate worker An Dao, and the general population all have mixed feelings about the recent changes that took place on May 17.
“It used to be that H-Unit, at one time, had their own clothing room and clothing cards,” Sae said. “Sometimes (during) the old way, the inmate could be without his clothing issue for two weeks up to a month if he was moving from dorm to dorm. Now all clothes and clothing cards are centralized where we could track who got what and when.”
“Now it’s much better. We are more efficient,” he concluded.
“Another advantage we can change our white sheets, towels and pillow cases each week” said Tatum. “And new arrivals can come at anytime,” added Dao.
“However, on the third week of each month, we exchanged everything including blues that’s damaged, too small etc. The schedule remains the same at top” said Doa.
“All PIA, kitchen, and porter workers get boots when they present work ducats. There are no half shoe sizes,” Doa added.
“The tennis shoes are issued to all inmates except for noted workers,” said Sea.
For laundry bags, there is a three-day turn around for any kind of lining that goes out, according to laundry staff.
“Try not getting upset, because everything will be alright,” said inmate Shawn Garth. “The laundry staff and workers will take care of you.”
The laundry schedules are as follows:
Mondays – New Arrivals Only
Tuesdays – North Block Only
Wednesdays – West Block & Donner Only
Thursdays – H-Unit Only
Fridays – PIA Workers Only
San Quentin Muslims Celebrate Ramadan
An Islamic scholar stressed the importance and benefits of fasting during the month of Ramadan for San Quentin’s Muslim community.
“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed before you; that you may learn self restraint,” said Shaykh Atik Pathan, a short, Indian-born scholar and Hafiz – a person who memorized the nearly 7,000 verses of the Holy Qur’an 2:185.
“The human soul has two faculties,” he said during his Jummah – Friday Kutbah (speach). “The first faculty is Daring, Initiating. The second faculty is Restraint. All depend upon the first faculty, and all prohibitions depends upon the second faculty. The first human and prophet – Adam, (upon be peace), was tested with the second faculty of restraint,” he stated referring to the story of Adam and Eve, (peace be upon them), approaching the forbidden tree. “So fasting strengthens our faculty of self restraint,” he said.
Ramadan, which literately means intensive heat, is the month in which the Holy Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, over 1,400 years ago.
The ocean of fasting hungry faces in the crowded Interfaith Chapel included many nonMuslim participants. This year Ramadan fasting without food or water covered 16.5 hours each day for 30 days.
“260 are still fasting” as of July 19, said San Quentin Muslim Chaplain Imam Kawsar Hossain.
One non-Muslim from H-Unit said he joined the fasting “to learn discipline.” A North Block inmate said “to stop watching so much TV.” Yet another said “to loose some weight.”
A newly Shahaditain Muslim from West Block, Abdul Waqib, quoted the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who said: “Whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger, performs the prayer and observes fasting during the month of Ramadan, then it will be a promise binding upon Allah to admit him (or her) to Paradise.” (Hadith -Shahih al burkari 4/2790)
Ramadan notes the time when Allah through the angel Gabriel revealed the Qur’an as detailed in Chapter 96, verses one through fi ve. Three times the angel commanded “Iqra,” which means read. “But I cannot read,” replied the Prophet (pbuh) twice. The third time the angel instructed: “Read in the name of your Lord, who created all that exists. Who has created man from a clot of blood. Read and your Lord is Most Generous. Who has taught by the pen. He has taught man which he knew not.”
Problems in Classrooms Could Lead to Incarceration in Prison
Suspensions and expulsions from schools create a “schoolto-prison pipeline,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Such policies and practices disproportionally affect those of color, according to the ACLU.
“The ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ refers to the policies and practices that push our nation’s schoolchildren, especially our most at-risk children, out of classrooms and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This pipeline reflects the prioritization of incarceration over education,” the ACLU report states.
“One out of every three black boys in Oakland’s public school system was suspended during the 2010-2011 academic year for bad behavior,” according to Oakland Tribune columnist Tammerlin Drummond.
Drummond said that to find out the details that lead youngsters away from school and into the criminal justice system, “just ask the men at San Quentin.”
The San Quentin News did just that. Here are some responses: Donavan Norwood said he was suspended from Calvin Simmons Jr. High School for “playing in the rain,” and the San Quentin inmate admits it was not the first time. Simmons also said he was suspended “plenty of times for fighting and coming to class late.”
Many prisoners who read about the racial disparities had the same response: “No surprise.”
Some of the men had tearful memories of their experiences with school discipline.
A Los Angeles man, Paul Davenport, said not being able to talk to anyone about his mother’s death caused him to act out in school. His misbehaving was treated with a spanking by a teacher and vice principal. He said it was the beginning of his fighting days. “Eventually I dropped out of school,” Davenport said.
Todd Jones said he was once suspended for throwing a basketball at a sea gull. He said he was only trying to run the bird off so he could play basketball. Jones said he was on probation at the time of the suspension.
The incident led to a violation of his probation, so he was sent to juvenile hall. After that, “I became acclimated to 150th” (the location of the Alameda County’s juvenile hall lock-up in San Leandro, on 150th Avenue), said Jones.
“I quit going to Oakland High school after becoming a target, after being expelled for disobedience,” said Norwood.
“Life is a test and you get your final grade when you die,” said one prisoner who wishes to remain anonymous. “Imagine if God was as cruel as some of these unsympathetic teachers who don’t consider some students have to duck bullets just to attend class,” he said.
“I was expelled by choice,” said Al McInnis, a 21-year-old Oakland native. “I was deliberately being disobedient at Low Junior High. I wanted to hang in the street.”
Dropping out of school led him to prison, he said. “A solution to the problem is to bring ex-cons to the youth, and have us talk to them.”
“Instead of flooding our communities with guns and drugs, we need to invest in new books,” said one prisoner.
“Teach the teacher how to give a damn enough to ask what’s wrong before resorting to expulsion,” said another.
–Kevin D. Sawyer contributed to this story