The San Quentin Media Project (SQMP) began in 2007, born in the minds of six men incarcerated in San Quentin and bound by the desire to create positive and impactful media. Their goal, and the goal of SQMP, is to promote emotional intelligence by weaving positive life lessons into media that can teach youth and young adults that positive choices lead to positive outcomes.

SQMP has engaged a two-pronged approach:

• Media as a means of transformation: In creating video content, participants get the chance to explore their own life stories and better understand their pasts.
• Media as a means for employment: Participants are given media production skills, making them employable in a business whose emphasis on talent over credentials make it ideal for people who are formerly incarcerated.

SQMP produced media is distributed through San Quentin CCTV, YouTube, youth development programs, and beginning in 2011 through an SQMP channel on Explore.org. Graduates and participants of the program are supported by internships, ongoing media classes, bridges to education and jobs, and scholarships as they are released from prison.