by Dortell Wiliams, California State Prison, Los Angeles County Clad in a carrot-orange, one-piece jumpsuit and karate shoes three sizes too big, a pair of beefy correctional officers escorted me through a labyrinth of walkways and other fate-sealing gates until we reached the prison yard. When the prison gate slammed behind me, rudely shattering the a.m. silence that stills the night, there was a finality of tone with it that was unique from my previous three years of pre-trial detainment in the infamous Los Angeles County jail. Green grass carpeted sections of the small stadium-sized yard, dotted with obstinate dirt
Continue ReadingYear: 2020
Sacramento to Louisiana and Back
by KA, Sacramento My name is KA. I am seventeen years old and I have five brothers and no sisters. Growing up I didn’t have what you call an easy life. I was born in Kaiser Hospital in South Sacramento, CA. I don’t know exactly where I went after I was born but I know when I was real young my mom was having trouble financially and that led to my mom, brother, and I being homeless for a while. We were sleeping basically anywhere we could. Sometimes we would try to sleep at relatives’ houses, cars and basically anywhere
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Volume 25.33/34
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 25.33/34
Greetings Beat lovers! It is always an honor to share the love through the pages of this amazingly one of a kind publication of writing and art from the inside and beyond, which we know and cherish as The Beat Within. We hope you all reading this are doing well? We hope you are taking the necessary precautions to staying healthy and safe? You can count on us to do our part. It is hard to believe it has been nearly six months since we were ordered to wear a mask and shelter in place. The time is truly flying
Continue ReadingPride is Given to Me by Me
Hopeful, San Mateo There’re different types of laws. Not all of them are physical. Mental laws can be broken. One’s mind is capable of achieving impossible feats. Physicals laws are not something I want to write about. It kills someone who deserves to die. Prison shouldn’t be within arm’s reach since the founding fathers made sure cracks can be manipulated. This issue does not excite me. I would change everything. I’ll let kids run around with plasma rifles if it was possible. Just change all the laws I ain’t really got a favorite. Redwood City is where I’m from. It’s
Continue ReadingTo Change The Past Is To Alter The Future
by F, Sacramento If I could go back and undo one action in my lifetime, it would be what lead me to come to the Sacramento Youth County Facility. Running away has always been something I was good at. I would pretend as if I was going to school only to go to the park and plan my next step. The sad part was I would always return one way or another, but not this time. My day started like any other normal persons. I woke up, showered, went to my kitchen to get breakfast made for me and my
Continue ReadingSolutions
by Christopher, The Last of a Dying Breed“ Walton, Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, Milton, Florida We extend our appreciation to all who have joined the community against the behavior of a bad cop, Derek Chauvin. Besides the continuation of adding to the litany of names of men and women who have been killed, maimed, and injured excessively by active and retired law enforcement officers in America, there is another sinister problem lurking among the ranks of law enforcement officers and their Blue Wall of Silence… domestic violence. Both of them need to be excised from police departments in America. No,
Continue ReadingWords Of Comfort
by Johnny Rodriguez, Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, CA Past my ABC’s, additions, multiplications, divisions and subtractions has truly blessed me because of having to mature out of man-made hardship that was beyond my control, mothers, families, and communities where we turned a crisis into an opportunity. Seeking understanding and wisdom liberated me from diverse forms of misconceptions, especially overcoming over-positive and negative to hone sane judgement. In light of been robbed from my mother, family and living potential my true identity and vision of short and long term goals are being manifested. It’s somewhat similar to what COVID-19 has
Continue ReadingAddiction: On The Inside Looking Out
by Adam Meyers, Correctional Facility in Moose Lake, Minnesota Hello. My name is Adam Meyer and I was encouraged by my mother to share this insert with the public, because she knew I had something to share that could touch the hearts of many. All my life, I have been very occupied in caring for people as a whole. I do not judge people, because I don’t like to be judged. There are a lot of things I don’t like when it comes to people getting hurt, or when they struggle and suffer from their own personal choices. I was
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NICJR partners with The Beat Within for a Special Visions of Reform Issue!
Welcome, Beat readers and writers, far and wide! This special issue comes at a truly remarkable time for our community. Amidst the global pandemic and shelter-in-place orders that have been defining the social and economic aspects of our lives, we’re also experiencing an incredible political moment, inescapable on every front. Right now, our country, states, cities, and schools deeply consider what it means to live in an anti-racist society, one that each of us feels just and equitable being a part of. Since January 2020, we’ve been working to compile and publish the outstanding submissions we’ve received in response to
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