From Dragonfly: Racial Diversity

Okay, in all the media about prisons, they show a separation between the races... in the lunchroom, in the cells, everywhere. Well, at least at Carswell, women's prisons are slightly different. Here, there is so much racial diversity - and everyone finds that we are living, eating, and "playing" together.

For example, I was just at breakfast and four Latina women sat down with me. I do not know them, but there were four open seats, and they needed seats. That is the ultimate factor in the chow hall - where is there an open seat. This place is so overcrowded, that you could stand with your tray for a while scoping down a table of people who are nearly finished, in order to sit down once they are done. Race does not matter on where we eat in the chow hall. At the same time, friendships/relationships do matter. If people are planning to eat together, they will hold seats or a table to accommodate them all. We all do it at times and it is a generally accepted practice. It is not a practice to keep specific people away, just a practice to ensure there's a seat for your friend(s) or girlfriend.

Speaking of girlfriends, interracial couples occur all the time. Most people who do the dating thing, here, are with people of their same race, but not all. Many people seem to "date" people of racial differences. You will see an African American woman dating a Caucasian woman, a Native American woman dating a Latino woman, etc. In fact, some people "play" the dating game here in a way that they have SEVERAL girlfriends - and they are of all different racial backgrounds. Friendships are of the same variety. While most people tend to hang out with people from similar backgrounds, those backgrounds are more about personality than race. Those who "ruled the streets" tend to hang out together. The "white-collar" offenders tend to spend time together. The "drug lords" hang out together. The "junkies" hang out together. The people taking GED courses tend to hang out together. Well, you get the idea.

In our assigned rooms, it is a requirement that every room be racially diverse. For example, my room has one African American woman, a Native American woman, a Caucasian Christian woman, and me. Some rooms have two Caucasian women and two Latina women. It's all different - but no rooms are all of any racial background.

The same is true on outdoor rec teams. For example, the softball teams must be racially diverse or cannot play. Same with the volleyball, soccer, or anything else they have.

There are activities exclusively for specific religions, but anyone can register as that religion. The Native Americans have a weekly "sweat" and smoke traditional tobacco. There are different "services" for different racial groups. Today, there will be a "gospel showcase." The Jews have Tuesday afternoon Torah study, Friday night candle lighting, and special events for holidays. There is similar for Muslims, Catholics, etc.

The one thing that is displayed as majority rules - is any form of Christianity. I had written about how Christmas is huge here, and every unit decks out for the holiday, there are special Christmas treats, and even prayer in the units. I didn't end up posting it, because I didn't like how I wrote it. However, as a member of a minority religion, I am used to Christmas being such a prominent holiday. The holidays are so hard for so many people, at least the strong majority of people here will feel that they have a piece of normalcy during that time of the year.

So, overall, racial background does not really matter, except for one thing... there is racism. I hear slurs out of people's mouths ALL the time. It is overwhelming and horrifying to see people I thought were "cool" use such derogatory terms. There's homophobia at the same level too, which surprises me, given the vast majority of people are at least "gay for the stay." But the racism hits me hard. I've worked most my life helping break down the barriers between racial groups - conducting diversity training, promoting open and safe environments, etc. Here, though, the racism is everywhere and between all groups (just not between all people). I speak up against it when I can - but it is not always safe to do so. Some people are just mean or rude. I am not going to change them - especially in prison. They have built up this hatred on the streets, in their general upbringing, and/or between gang fights. I do my best to avoid these issues. In fact, I am likely more liberal than most people here. This surprised me - I had thought that people who were pushing drugs would likely be liberal, but I'm among predominantly Republicans and people who enjoy Fox news. I'm a CNN watcher. Sometimes, we get into interesting conversations, mostly people just don't talk politics.

So, as a Caucasian, 40-something, Jewish, liberal woman, I fit right in among the vast diversity of this place.