Welcome to the CCWF Paper Trail
Have you ever seen an issue of the San Quentin News and wondered why San Quentin Rehabilitation Center has a newspaper and Central California Women’s Facility doesn’t? Or wished you could find out more about a recent court decision or a policy that was enacted and aren’t sure where to look? Or wondered about the experiences of those who have gone before you at CCWF about how to prepare for the board, or how to get into college, or how to be a better parent, or generally how to thrive in an environment that is so often hostile to human flourishing? Or wanted to be able to share your experiences and opinions with those around you? Or just wished that the residents at CCWF had a louder voice?
For these reasons and more, CCWF needs its own newspaper. And that’s why we’re here. CCWF Paper Trail is a brand-new monthly newspaper written by those incarcerated at CCWF—the largest women’s prison in the world—for other residents and the staff at the institution.
We understand the need because our editorial board is made up of community members and leaders who have served a cumulative total of 104 years inside, most right here at CCWF. That’s Amber Bray, editor-in-chief; Kanoa Harris-Pendang, managing editor; Sagal Sadiq, features editor; Delina Williams, news editor; Nora Igova, art & layout designer and Diana Lovejoy, journalism guild chairperson.
We are joined by other CCWF leaders—members of inmate leisure time activity groups and individuals who are passionate about writing and serving our community—who signed up for the inaugural CCWF journalism guild training: Unique Bishop, Brenda Bowers, Joanna Gomez, Jamie Harrison, Megan Hogg, Elizebeth Lozano, Tomiekia Johnson, Christine Loyd, Mychal Macias, Chappinette Martin, Heather Miller, Otilia Pineda, Kristin Rossum, Ohuafi Simaima and Coleen Torres. Chances are good you’ll see their names appearing as contributing or staff writers and photographers in future issues.
Together, we will showcase and represent the people who live and work at CCWF. We plan to motivate, inspire, encourage change, provide hope and share our lived experience. We also seek to highlight changes within these walls, bring awareness to the wider world about what happens here, our accomplishments and our struggles.
Our goal is to represent all communities, cultures and subcultures within the institution. We want to show that CCWF residents care about giving back to society and utilize restorative justice principles to do so.
Because CCWF Paper Trail is a journalistic endeavor, we aspire to do all the things we’ve outlined with fairness and integrity, as objectively as possible. Our work is guided by the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, which calls on writers to “to seek the truth and report it, to minimize harm, to act independently and to be accountable and transparent.” The tools of journalism are important to a community, for reporting on events and for providing commentary on issues. We’re going to lean into our responsibility to provide information to everyone at CCWF who wants to hear it, since individuals at CCWF may have been overlooked in the past.
Collectively, we have some lofty ideas for the types of stories we want to offer our readers. There are scheduled events at CCWF we want to cover. There are people, places and issues we want to feature in longer stories. We plan to give tips and explain policies. We want this paper to contain news you can use, that helps meet the needs of the population. We will make space for your commentary too.
In order for us to do the best job for you, our readers, we request that you submit feedback to us. Critique us so we can serve you better. If you like something we’ve done, share that. If you have an idea for a story, let us know. If you disagree with a story that has been published, write a letter to the editor to talk about that. You can find the submission guidelines in this issue, on page 2. We want to create the best possible newspaper we can in order to represent all of us to the best of our ability. We see this as a two-way street and welcome your feedback and input.
Moving forward, if you are interested in the possibility of joining our team, there is a pathway for that. Future journalism guild classes will be offered within the media center to train interested individuals to become contributors. If writing or reporting seems interesting to you, we hope you will join us in order to continue the legacy we’re in the process of creating! Contact one of our editorial board members for more information.
You can read CCWF Paper Trail in a few different ways. The newspaper will run as a print insert in the San Quentin News. You can also read a digital version on the tablets through the Edovo app. Free-world readers can check out our website at www.ccwfpapertrail.org and follow our work on social media.
This is an exciting and historic moment for CCWF and for California—the first time incarcerated women have an official voice. Join us on our path to shine a light on our community.
