In a maximum security prison the hardest of prisoners couldn’t stop crying.
Black tuxedos, corsages, red carpet and lots of tears graced the chapel-turned-ballroom of San
Quentin Rehabilitation Center this past April, along with unforgettable moments for the families of those being held.
Seventeen incarcerated fathers were given a chance to attend the prison’s first Parenting Prom, where their daughters joined them for an experience that is not typically afforded to others within the system. Many of these fathers have missed years, if not decades, of their daughters’ lives and important milestones, like first words, first days of school, and graduation. For one day they got the initiate a core memory with their girls.
The dance was arranged by The People in Blue, a stakeholder coalition with the goal of reducing the state of California’s over-reliance on prisons and other such institutions through “creating, assisting, encouraging, and advocating for programs and spaces that produce healing within California’s prisons and institutions.” Through their mission, they seek to make California Governor Gavin Newsom’s California Model for enhanced public safety and successful reintegration successful.
The event was inspired by the documentary, ‘Daughters,’ which was released in 2024 and shown at the San Quentin Film Festival. It follows the story of “Four young girls preparing for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail.”
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s Parenting Prom is just one of many efforts to facilitate healthy healing for those incarcerated and their families to make reassimilation into society smoother, as well as to promote a healthier prison culture.
Events like these provide meaningful memories, as they form stronger bonds instead of the estrangement that cripples families dealing with incarceration.