Richard “Bonaru” Richardson stood in the front yard of an Oakland house, pondering the row of bars that wrapped around the property — knowing that for the first time in more than two decades he could step beyond these bars anytime he wanted.
Just a few weeks before, Richardson was ensconced in the bars and razor wire of San Quentin prison, his home of many years — shaking off the remains of an armed robbery he committed more than 23 years ago. But though his body was trapped in prison, his words and vision had reached thousands of people — as a reporter and then editor of the San Quentin News, the prison’s inmate-run newspaper.
“It was rewarding because I knew we was making a change,” Richardson said, his eyes darting everywhere as if to inhale the outside world.
