Friendly Signs, a 2024 Atlanta Film Festival pick, is the story of Tommy Wickerd's struggle to start a sign language cla | dG1fTExTLWtSenNwMW8
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Short filmTranscript
00:00We've been told the deaf community is coming.
00:05So I made these booklets up for the officers.
00:07Yeah, that's alarm, alarm down and get animated, it's a very animated language.
00:18Last time I saw my brother, he came in on a visit, contact visit, there was a CO yelling
00:23at him, take your shoes off, take his belt off, and he didn't understand because he was
00:28deaf.
00:29I haven't seen him in 10 years because of that.
00:32Most of the deaf people who use sign language were sort of warehoused in this remote Central
00:35Valley prison.
00:36In the last two years, there's been at least eight homicides and three of them were deaf
00:41or hard of hearing.
00:42They needed to be given the opportunity to move to a prison with more program opportunities
00:46and that was San Quentin.
00:48Imagine going to another country and not speaking that language, how's that going to feel?
00:52That's what it's going to be like when you come to San Quentin.
00:58I'm not letting my brother down because I'm in prison, I know he's out there and there's
01:01a lot I could do as a brother.
01:07I have to focus on what's right here, right now.