Published by Connections Guidance Center, San Francisco, 1970
The Connections Guidance Center was established in San Francisco in 1969 by and for prisoners and their families and served as an information exchange center, provided transportation (to San Quentin, San Bruno, Santa Rita, Vacaville, and Soledad), housing and legal aid, disseminated information to the general public around prison conditions, and protected inmates from exploitative practices by the penal administration. A 1970 profile of the organization in the "San Francisco Examiner" provides the best history of the short-lived group and its staff of mostly "prison widows" who ran the day-to-day operations. The organization's newsletter played an important role in disseminating information to supporters and prisoner families and was issued from 1970-73. This collection consists of 12 issues of the group's eponymous newsletter, including Vol. 1, No. 5 (August 31, 1970), Vol. 1, No. 7 (December 4, 1970), Vol. 1, No. 8 (January 20, 1971), Vol. 1, No. 9 (March 3, 1970), Vol. 1, No. 10 (April 20, 1971), Vol. 1, No. 11 (June 19, 1971); Vol. 2, No. 1 (July 15, 1971), Vol. 2, No. 3 (October 13, 1971), Vol. 2, No. 4 (December 13, 1971), Vol. 2, No. 5 (February 16, 1972), Vol. 2, No. 6 (March 31, 1972), and Vol. 2, No. 7 (April 24, 1972). All issues mimeographed on 11" x 8 ½" sheets of colored stock, pagination runs from 2-6 p. A near fine run. Also included is a publication titled, Thy Brothers' Keeper, which is an interview with a black man about his experiences as a corrections officer (mimeographed, two corner-stapled leaves) and a reprint of an article, "Using Racism at San Quentin," that originally appeared in Ramparts (mimeographed, four corner-stapled leaves).