Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this latest issue.
Continue ReadingMonth: February 2016
Black Butterfly
by Emile DeWeaver I’ve heard that students do not drop out of school, they’re “pushed outâ€. I don’t like that phrase, “pushed outâ€, because it’s an oversimpli cation of a very complicated process. Before today, I would’ve said that no one pushed me out of school; I ran as hard as I could to get away from getting up every morning at 5:00 a.m. to drag myself to a classroom to listen to the enemy talk about things that didn’t matter to me. Then, I thought about a book I read by Andy Andrews called The Butter y Effect. It’s
Continue ReadingSomeone to Hear
by Chino Them days are over, mobbing around in gee rides, getting at females. Now, I sit in a cell watching my shadow, been down nine months and got a lot more to go. Two months until my birthday, then I will be the big eighteen. I see memorized in my mind, it’s a blur. Seems like it was yesterday chilling with my boys. As I sit here and face maybe, twenty- ve to life, got me thinking who was really there. If I would have stuck to school and sports things would have ended up different. I still can’t believe
Continue ReadingTHE BEAT WITHIN/JJIE
Dear colleagues and friends, Today our partners over at the JJIE (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange), based out of Kennesaw, GA, a national website that is the only publication/site covering juvenile justice and related issues nationally on a consistent, daily basis, picked up and is featuring a piece by a new Beat writer, Mathew Edwards. Mathew is a participant in The Beat Within’s monthly writing workshop inside San Quentin State Prison. He writes about “Addicted to the Street Life,” and what lead him to serving a life sentence as a teenager. Addicted to the Street Life http://jjie.org/addicted-to-the-street-life/181643/ If you want to read other fabulous
Continue ReadingWho Knew I Would Make It This Far
by Mathew Edwards Welcome ladies, gentlemen, faculty members, and fellow graduates. I’m honored to be here amongst so many believers who became graduate achievers… Have you ever reminisced on you journey through the hands of time? To think who knew I would make it this far? Who knew I would survive the struggle and still achieve? It’s amazing what you can do if you believe… Who knew this graduation would feature me, A celebration for all of us to see. Even in the midst of negativity and despair, We stare, at men worthy of being praised, Chins raised, eyes blaze,
Continue ReadingNever Giving Up
by Elizabeth Today at this very moment, Tuesday I feel so low, so sad. I don’t know what to think anymore. I’m stuck in Juvenile Hall just thinking about where did I go wrong? I feel so bad hurting the people I love so much. I just want to talk to them tell them how sorry I was and never meant to hurt them at all. What hurts me the most is when I look back at that court room I see them all, I see him. How could he be so strong and still smile at me? I love
Continue Reading
VOLUME 21.03/04
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this latest issue.
Continue ReadingTHE BEAT WITHIN/JJIE
Greetings! We are thrilled to inform you that our young contributor, Byron, who participates in our weekly writing workshops inside juvenile hall, wrote a powerful testimony about the turning point in his young life. Well, his heartbreaking and moving story was picked up today, and is the featured on The Crime Report website. The Crime Report is based in New York City. http://www.thecrimereport.org/ http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-criminal-justice/2016-01-beat-within We encourage you to give a read and share with your community. Thanks for all you support!
Continue Reading