by Carl
Dear The Beat Within,
My name is Carl. I’m from Richmond, CA and I’m just writing you guys to say thank you for what you’re doing. I like that you guys go to different juvenile halls and county jails to speak to kids and adults like me and others that want to change.
I also wrote you to say whoever wrote the editor’s note is 100% true, and young people know what he is trying to say.
I think there will be change in the world. For example, this rap shhh gets in a lot of young people’s heads. They talk about drugs, sex, killing, dead ones, and stuff like that. I think if there was more people talking out in meetings and stuff that would change street violence, gang violence, killings that’re going on in the world, and it should come to a stop.
Every day someone’s mom is crying, another innocent bystander gone, another black person gone, another person in prison. It’s sad. I’m fourteen years old, I seen this happen a lot of times. I pray in my cell every night for better days, but it seems to never come.
The reason I wrote you is because I would like to change and it’s a lot of young people like me that want to change, but someone has to start speaking up ‘cause this is crazy that someone loses their life over some stuff they don’t even own, no matter how long you stayed in some dirty apartments.
No one should have to lose their life over nothing. Just like the “B” word no one likes that word and if you from the hood, you was taught to never let anyone disrespect you or call you that word. But it’s crazy how people can take someone’s life over a word.
I got to go in my cell but thank you guys, please write back.