Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingYear: 2018
Be A Game Changer
by Michael Arreygue Cesar Chavez. The co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, once said that “students must have initiative, they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves and be free.” Upon reading this quote and reflecting on my life, how much society has changed, not only do students, but we as people, must always take initiative. Students taking initiative can be seen today, as it has been seen in history. One must always take initiative not only to create change, but to build up one’s character, self-esteem, and motivate all those similarly
Continue ReadingAD’s Story
by AD When I was growing up in Antioch I thought I had my life figured out I was just a kid in the ghetto Playing football and going to school Until at seven I got sent to a foster home That’s when my life started to change I started building up anger and depression I was with my foster parents for two years Then I went home thinking it was ok But I started acting up in school, at home, and in the neighborhood The at the age of nine I got sent to another foster home This time
Continue Reading21 Plus Years in Alameda County!
Greetings friends! On Thursday, May 3, 2018 The Beat Within celebrated 21 years of service in Alameda County at the Main Oakland Public Library// Oakland Public Library TeenZone. A valued and long time partner. Thank you, Lana Adlawan and Peggy Simmons. We are also grateful to the Akonadi Foundation for their generous support in our 21 plus years of community work in Oakland/ Alameda County. The celebration was incredible, from the numerous speakers and readers, which included our keynote speaker, David Muhammad, Executive Director, National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, who gave us a beautiful snapshot of his journey from
Continue ReadingVOLUME 23.21/22
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingDear Beat Readers
by Johnny C. Perez On November 20th, 1991, I was a gang member. At around 9:33pm that night I was riding a moped. I didn’t give much thought to how dangerous it was for me to be out at that time of night. The past two years, two gang associates had been murdered, and many more shot. I wasn’t thinking about that. I was a sixteen years old having fun. In the blink of an eye, there was a blazer in front of me with a person half way out the passenger window shooting at me. I was hit in
Continue ReadingNot Understood
by Im People don’t understand why I am a felon. It’s because of my past, how I grew up, my environment, childhood problems, which led to gangs and being out in the streets and not being home. At home, there was always arguing and commotion going on. Never stopping, always going on. People just think I could be doing better, that I have a lot of potential, but they don’t understand where I come from. I do have a lot of potential for the things I believe in, which is the movement of my people on the streets. I believe
Continue ReadingVOLUME 23.19/20
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingDear Society
by Hayden Coming to terms with fate is a difficult task. With it comes a sense of hopelessness—that fate cannot be changed. Succumbing to fate is an even more intense mental battle. Stubborn people don’t succumb easily. I guess I’m one of those people. I will not stop fighting with Arizona, even if I fall. I can’t prescribe an easy solution to my own issues, so I have no choice but to fight. There are too many lives at stake. I can’t stand by and watch people suffer, especially youth. Defeat can’t stop me from living for the movement for
Continue ReadingTo The Children
by Genaro Patterson Hello Future, yes you, every child who resides in the juvenile detention center, you are the future and the world is depending on you to help make it a better place than what it was when you first came. You might not realize it, but your existence could have a drastic change on how we live here on earth. You could be the next miracle doctor, the next senator, the president, the next Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or James Patterson, the best fiction writer in the business. Now is the time to make your change, to take
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