For three years, a San Quentin Rehabilitation Center administrator has organized a potluck to celebrate Black History Month.
To learn more, Inside CDCR caught up with Correctional Health Services Administrator II Bev Allison.
Allison began working at San Quentin in June 1994.
While organizing the potluck is one way to raise awareness, she believes it’s important to honor the culture all year long.
“I was blessed to watch my mom prepare her dishes,” she said. “To this day, I am the only one out of all of my siblings to know how to make sweet potatoes pies.”
When she’s not working at San Quentin, she enjoys going to rhythm and blues brunches, spending time with her grandsons, and hanging out with family and friends.
Meet Bev Allison, Correctional Health Services Administrator II
What inspired you to launch the Black History Month potluck luncheon?
What inspired me was thinking about Black history and the culture, coming together to celebrate with soul food and community. So, I organized (the potluck) and everyone brought dishes we were raised on in different areas of the country.
Are there any specific cultural celebratory elements you incorporate?
For food, there are several dishes such as turkey and dressing, barbecue, macaroni and cheese, turkey wings, candied yams, greens, cornbread and black-eyed peas. For desserts, it’s banana pudding, German chocolate cake, 7-Up cake, pound cake. We play ‘60s and ‘70s soul music. We hang different pictures on the walls showing important people in Black history. Of course, we also include current icons like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama.
How do you celebrate Black history throughout the year?
Showing my grandkids the culture, raising them with elements from how I was raised. I show my older grandsons how to prepare soul food. I have always had staff from diverse backgrounds working for me. So, I make sure they gain the tools and knowledge they need to feel valued and move forward in their careers, as I have.
Story by Don Chaddock, Inside CDCR editor
Office of Public and Employee Communications
Photo by E. Hollander, Senior Psychologist – Specialist
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center
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