The Office of Historical Corrections

The Alcatraz prison is a symbolic representation of Cecilia’s family history. As she moves to her new home in Oakland overlooking the water, she can see the prison from her window, a constant reminder that reflects the way generational trauma persists through generations. Nonetheless, the trauma is not acute for Cecilia. Just as she is separated from her family’s past—Papa was her mother’s grandfather, and the history happened long before she was born—she is separated from the prison. She sees it daily but does little to engage with it, just as she does little to engage with her history other than supporting her mother in her appeals.

Anne’s obsession with clearing her Papa’s name is an example of Manifestations of Grief. Because she left for college and Papa died by suicide while home alone, she carries grief and guilt at his death. To grapple with it, she has become obsessed with fighting his appeal, allowing it to consume her life to the point that she tracks the exact amount that is owed. While the context is different—Papa is white—Anne’s fight evokes conversations about reparations and institutional silence in the face of past wrongs. Many argue that the debt owed to the families of enslaved Black Americans is incalculable, but Evans creates a scenario where the debt has a concrete number because Papa was denied benefits afforded to other veterans. This also reflects the reality of Black Americans who were denied GI Bill benefits after World War II, deepening racial inequality on the home front. Papa’s being denied $227,035.87 reflects the reality of institutional disenfranchisement; he was denied the opportunity others received to build generational wealth. Like countless Black American families, there is no justice to be had—the Supreme Court decides that Anne’s case is not worth pursuing, leaving wealth and justice lost forever.

As such, “Alcatraz” meditates on how to heal and move forward when justice remains out of reach. For Anne, this means catharsis; when she comes face to face with Alcatraz—a physical representation of her family’s history—she breaks down and grieves for the loss of her Papa. This also allows for a moment of connection with Nancy, another past trauma with which she is finally forced to reckon. As children, Anne faced racism within her own family as the only Black child. The prison allows for a moment of vulnerability between the two cousins. Although Nancy was a small child, she describes to Anne her feelings about her mother’s refusal to interact with Anne: “[I]t took me years to understand why my mother reacted to you the way she did, and when I did, I was ashamed, but I was still her daughter” (110). Nancy acknowledges her mother’s prejudice as well as her own inability to come to Anne later in life to fix their relationship. At Alcatraz, Nancy is the one who is there to comfort Anne, temporarily bridging the gap that was formed in their childhood and creating the opportunity for healing. While their friendship doesn’t last, because Anne believes Nancy is “boring,” reconciling this past harm gives Anne closure and allows her to move forward with her life.