Skip to main content
Introducing

Rahsaan, 50

Incarcerated:
N/A
Housed:
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center
Located in
San Quentin, California
A man in a blue shirt smiles and raises his hands in a joyful gesture outdoors.
September 27, 2021July 6th, 20251 min read

The hardest part is that I can’t restore the past.

I smile an awful lot for a person in prison. I stay positive and happy despite being sentenced to 55 years of misery. However, my smile is also the “tears of a clown.” I have to laugh to keep from crying over all the pain my choices have caused.

All I can do is my best to help others be happy, to heal, to enjoy the part of the glass that is full and that all starts with a big bright smile.

Filmmaker Ken Burns and inmate Rahsaan "New York" Thomas share a joyful moment outdoors at San Quentin State Prison, with a film crew filming the interaction.
Two men, one in blue scrubs and another in a sweater, stand together smiling in an indoor facility.
Stephen Curry, wearing a Warriors t-shirt and holding a basketball, talks with an inmate in a prison yard.
A man in a blue shirt smiles and raises his hands in a joyful gesture outdoors.
Two men stand in front of a banner for the San Quentin C.A.R.E.S. AVON Breast Cancer Walk, featuring a pink ribbon and silhouettes of walkers.

Tags:

📬

These stories arrive by mail.

Every month, a physical envelope arrives at your door, postmarked from San Quentin Village, California. Inside, you will find original artwork, writing, and recipes from real contributors, along with a personal letter from me, Diane Kahn, founder of Humans of San Quentin, about the people who made them. You read it. You keep it.

Every piece comes from someone serving a sentence. Every piece reminds you they are so much more than that.

📬 Join the Mail Club

Leave a Reply

Receive more inspiring stories and news from incarcerated people around the world.