The children bounded off the bus and ran excitedly towards a tall fence topped with razor wire. In the distance, through layers of fencing overlooked by a guard tower, huddled a group of mothers in baggy blue prison-issue clothes, pointing, waving and gasping. Many had not seen their children in over a year.
An annual Mother’s Day event, Get On The Bus, provides free transport for hundreds of children to visit their incarcerated moms at California Institute for Women in Chino, and other state prisons. Sixty percent of parents in state prison report being held over 100 miles from their children, and visits are impossible for many.
California locks up more women than any other state in the U.S. — 11,250 in 2007 – and three quarters are mothers. The children left behind with family or in foster care often feel abandoned and some don’t see their moms for years.
PHOTO BLOG: “Mother’s Day behind bars,” by Lucy Nicholson
This is what prisons do.
“Back on the bus, the children hugged cuddly toy animals they had been given and stared trance-like out of the window at the receding prison fence. A couple of girls curled up in the fetal position under blankets on the seats and fell into a deep sleep. The bus carried them back to Los Angeles to resume serving their own time.”
My two doormen are from Haiti, they’ll be happy to know I visited their embassy
![thedailywhat:
This Is All Kinds Of Wrong of the Day: Even though the Super Bowl was officially the most watched TV program in US history, one person at Lucas Oil Stadium was completely invisible to viewers: Miss Deaf America Rachel Mazique.
Mazique, a representative of the National Association of the Deaf, was invited to sign both the national anthem and “America the Beautiful” as Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, and Blake Shelton belted the words.
Unfortunately, as Mazique was not placed near the singers during the performance, her signing was not shown on television nor, reportedly, on the stadium’s jumbotron.
The University of Texas Ph.D student, who has been an inspiration to many in the deaf community, says she was “very disappointed” at having missed an opportunity “to showcase ‘America the Beautiful’ and the national anthem in ASL on television.”
NAD has launched a petition through change.org demanding an apology from NBC and the NFL.
“I truly hope that this becomes a teachable moment for everyone involved,” Mazique said, “and that American Sign Language renditions of these iconic songs are broadcast in future Super Bowls rather than being a token gesture.”
[dailyherald.]
ASL is such a beautiful language, learning it has definitely let me understand the intricacies of a language that many dismiss as gestures.
Please sign the petition!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz1fxjsnUQ1qzpwi0o1_1280.png)
Ashley.