Greetings to our readers and writers of The Beat Within! We’re back with another double issue (25.31/32) of thoughtful, profound, and resilient writing from our youth (and our elders) across the country, amidst still rising cases of COVID-19 and the necessary re-structuring of a society rooted in social and racial injustice. We can’t tell you enough how urgently your voices are needed, particularly now, more than ever. YOU are the voices of our future, and the histories that each one of you carry are shaping our present, are informing our future.
In today’s editorial note we’re highlighting the reflections of two of our student interns from Urban High School of San Francisco. Last school year, they were working to transcribe writing that comes to us from adult institutions to publish in our Beat Without (BWO) section. Continuing their work through the Shelter In Place Order, our student interns show so much dedication and passion in their work with us, and we love to hear about the ways The Beat has touched their lives. For Henry, he thinks back on particular letters of love and appreciation that have spoken deeply to him and has caught a glimpse of the powerful voices caught up in the system. In Jack’s piece, we see how the popular media shapes our collective narrative of incarcerated individuals, and the way The Beat speaks back to this narrative. Let’s give it up for Henry and Jack, and please enjoy this latest issue of The Beat Within! We wish peace, good health, and love to you and all of the people you hold close.
See Past The Portrayal
Transcribing literature for The Beat Within was an eye opening experience for me. I’ve grown up in a very sheltered environment and my only exposure to people who are incarcerated and the criminal justice system was through the media and what I saw on television. I’ve grown up being told people who have been incarcerated are “bad†people. Working for The Beat has really helped me see past the media’s false portrayal of the criminal justice system and people who are/have been incarcerated.  Through this experience I have read beautiful and heart-warming poetry and well thought essays.
I remember one collection particularly well. It was a letter written by a current inmate from Ohio. It included a poem and a letter. The poem was a beautiful love poem written to the author’s partner. The letter explained how the author’s partner had since passed away, but also explained his gratitude to The Beat for giving him a voice and an outlet to express himself.
This was a constant theme through many of the pieces I read and transcribed. It has become evident that the current criminal justice system is silencing the intellectual and inspiring voices of people who are incarcerated. Seeing this has given me a huge appreciation for The Beat and their work to make these voices heard.
-Henry, Urban High School, San Francisco, CA
Who Deserves A Voice?
Since a young age, I have heard stories about my uncle’s life as a detective in the New York City Police Department. In the 1980s, he found cocaine stashes worth millions. In the 90s, he saw people shot in front of him as an undercover cop, and in the early 2000s, he took down gang leaders in the Bronx. Each story was more intense, bloody, and horrifying than the last. And with every new detail, I continued to lose sympathy for those who committed these crimes. To me, the criminals in my uncle’s accounts did not deserve to be heard. All I knew was that these people needed to be locked up for their wrongs, as I was left to ponder – why are some people so cruel?
In addition to the narrative of my uncle, my idea of our Criminal Justice System was limited to TV. As a teenager, I became enveloped by the storylines of Criminal Minds, Law and Order, and NYPD Blue. These programs fascinated me. They also made me think that all criminals were inherently brutish in behavior and thought, which further drew a wedge of morality between myself and the incarcerated individual. However, after partnering with the Beat Within, I learned there are things the producers avoided when addressing the criminal justice narrative. For one, these programs rarely discuss the impacts racial discrimination has had on our prison system. The backstory of the criminals, in the television programs, is also lightly touched on, which inhibits those watching from understanding the perpetrator’s motivation for committing their crime. And while anyone’s crime is unjustifiable, the writers for the Beat Within taught me that it is vital to remember the root causes of incarceration. Some people incarcerated are products of their childhood. Many incarcerated individuals, like Marylin Sanderson and Shakur Ross, did not have the privilege to live in a safe environment. Others also lack a loving family, which is why many resorted to criminal activity to feel complete.
In unearthing these narratives during my partnership with the Beat Within, I started each letter to continue to challenge my original assumptions. Through this exercise, I began to see those incarcerated as individuals rather than their crime. And while I still recognize the significance of my uncle’s work and stories informing my opinion of some people, the Beat Within has made me a more nuanced thinker when discussing these subjects. Instead of thinking, “why are these people so cruel?†I began to think: “what systems caused some inmates to carry out their crimes?†My new inquiry, manifested by delving into the letters, made me understand how privileged I am to have an education, to be able to go to college, and to only know about incarceration from a detective’s extreme accounts and a fictional setting. In short, the writers within The Beat Within have taught me the importance of recognizing my privilege and considering how one’s status can shape the inequities that perpetuate who commit crimes and get incarcerated in the United States.
Today, in recognizing my positionality, I have taken the words of inmates as a way of continuing to remind myself to re-examine who deserves a voice. After I typed the inmates’ letters, I became further nourished by the messages of growth and sincerity that lie within the inmates’ writing. Their words have taught me that many people within the confines of San Quentin are not hardened criminals, but regular citizens, looking to cultivate and celebrate forgiveness, self-worth, and personal growth. And by reading and writing the inmates’ profound stories from ‘inside,’ I, too, am evolving. I appreciate my uncle’s work and still enjoy my shows, but I also know, to understand the full scope of incarceration, I have to look further. Now, after working with The Beat Within, I hope I can use the voices of those incarcerated to foster the much-needed conversation around incarceration and those who inhabit this institution. I want to help my friends and family to broaden their horizons so that we can all do our part to help revolutionize the American justice system.
-Jack, Urban High School, San Francisco
All right friends, thank you for taking the moment to read our latest editorial note, as it sets the tone of what awaits you – the mighty powerful voices of our many participants, young and old. We truly appreciate you having this latest publication in your hands, as you are about to embark on this mighty double issue of writing and art from the inside and beyond. There is plenty of strong writings and thoughtful pieces to hopefully inspire you to either take a look at your life and think about the way you are living your life, or to inspire you to pick up a pencil and grab a piece of paper and write a piece for an upcoming issue. Please know, our door is always open for you writers and artists, so we hope you have the courage and strength to write what is really going on inside you or how you see the world today. We hope you have the willpower to be a part of history, as you share your truths on how you see the world today and your place in it.
A big thank you to our writers, artists, facilitators, friends, partners, allies, and all you who play a role in our success. We could not do this work without you. The Beat Within is truly a team effort! Much love and respect to you all. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if we can be of support or if you simply want to drop us a line and let us know how you are doing. We’d love to hear from you, we care.
This issue goes out to all our friends on the inside, especially those inside San Quentin State Prison, who are truly navigating around the COVID-19. We send you our love and respect. Take care, be well and wear a mask!