The San Quentin Rehabilitation Center raised the bar for the California Model another notch in May with a first-ever graduation for more than two-dozen residents who completed the Concrete Rose truck driver training.
The graduates each worked 192 hours during the 32-week training course, and the culmination of their work received recognition by an all-star line up of prison administrators, family, residents, and guests from the outside, including Brooke Jenkins, District Attorney of San Francisco.
“This is my first graduation in my whole life,” said Joe Hickman, a resident incarcerated for 14 years. “I love the program. It’s giving us opportunities.”
Ron Broomfield, CDCR Director of Adult Institutions, spoke to the event by means of a pre-recorded video. He said programs such as this one created opportunity. To the graduates, he said, “I wish you nothing but the best of success for the future,” and he congratulated the program’s founders, the father-daughter duo Vincent and Autumn O’Bannon.
Concrete Rose co-founder and CEO Autumn O’Bannon drove big rigs for 13 years. She started the program O’Bannon, a San Quentin resident.
“We are very delighted for the support received from the administration,” said Autumn O’Bannon. She told the audience that San Quentin and the CDCR believed in the program.
“It’s one thing to start a program,” said Chance Andes, San Quentin’s acting warden. “It’s another thing to make it successful.” He said the father-daughter O’Bannon team’s “story is amazing,” adding, “I’m so proud of you all.”
A short video featured Vincent O’Bannon and explained Concrete Rose’s evolution from concept to rehabilitation program.
Gerardo Corona, 37, had never driven a truck. Incarcerated for five-and-a-half years, he arrived at San Quentin from the prison in Susanville. He said the fresh start at San Quentin meant an opportunity for him.
“I have uncles and cousins that drive trucks,” said Corona. “It’s easy work, but a big responsibility.”
“This is fantastic,” said Oak Smith, SQRC chief deputy warden. “We had no idea how this was going to work,” but he recognized that “we had people with vision.”
“We’re changing the game,” said Lieutenant G. Berry, SQRC public information officer. She thanked and commended this first cohort of future truck drivers and encouraged them to get out word about the program. “Right now, we are under the leadership of individuals who want to see you guys win.”
Resident John Gearhart brought 35 years of trucking experience and knowledge to the program. He reminded everyone at the graduation of something obvious but seemingly overlooked. “Everything in this room — a trucker brought that,” he said. “When I think of the other places I could be spending my sentence, San Quentin is the place,” said Gearhart.
Vincent O’Bannon served as the event’s emcee. He said he felt reticent about the role he played with Concrete Rose. “My role is behind the scenes,” he said. “My role is to create space.”
Keynote speaker Brooke Jenkins removed her prosecutor’s hat and spoke directly to the residents. She delivered her speech in the style of a closing argument — outside the courtroom.
“Our mistakes don’t define us,” said Jenkins. She then discussed the ways in which some people arrived in prison: lack of hope; environments that would not foster hope; communities with little resources; and conditions that would not promote success.
“I know they call me the tough-on-crime DA,” said Jenkins. “I have to be tough. We have a lot of issues out there.” She reminded the audience, “Public safety means no crime.”
Jenkins talked about the role of government. “We are responsible for providing hope,” she said. “We, as a system, have to give people the opportunity to make the right choices.” To the graduates, she said, “You are the proof of success.” Offering a dictionary definition of the word Redemption, she said: “Atoning for faults or mistakes, the action of regaining something.” She said the graduates atoned and took action.
No major news outlets covered the graduation and Jenkins noticed the absence. “I’m sad the media didn’t show up,” she said. “I’m upset they didn’t come. I know they were invited. We get coverage when a crime is committed, but what about when people redeem themselves?”
“I can’t believe I’m up here,” said Alonzo Jackson, who thanked the O’Bannons for Concrete Rose. He said that at age 13, he had left home and had chosen acceptance through gangs. “I didn’t even know what hope was,” he said. “Two decades later, I found myself at San Quentin and had that ‘Aha’ moment.”
After the speeches, the moment came for the graduates to take the stage. A band of incarcerated musicians filled the Protestant chapel with the sound of the graduation classic “Pomp and Circumstance.” The graduates wore red sashes as they as they received their certificates. Starting from the back row, the graduates accepted congratulations and had their pictures taken.
Toward the end, Vincent O’Bannon underscored the point of rehabilitation. “We didn’t just end up here (on the stage),” he said. “We’ve taken a lot of self-help groups. Our past is not who we are. You guys were committed, dedicated, and it shows.”
Trucking training has not reached the end of the road at San Quentin, a point made clear by Autumn O’Bannon. She told future truckers who would want to enroll in the Concrete Rose program, “I’m looking forward to the next cohort.”
