Happy 25th Anniversary to the one and only, The Beat Within! What a benchmark! What an amazing journey! We have definitely learned plenty from those early days back in the 1990s, to where we are today, September 2021. We are humbled and full of gratitude for this trek we have been on. From the early days, when San Francisco, the mothership, was where we were birthed the magazine, as the youth shared their feelings on the death of Tupac Shakur, to where we are today in nearly 25 + sites. We are touched and very proud to be on this journey together.
What a story we have! We were just asked from a longtime friend and colleague of The Beat, when will we write our book, well, good question… Our story must be told, but as the tiny non-profit that we are, the book will be on hold. Our mission, since day one, to focus the service of our workshops and publication before anything else. Staying true and committed to giving our writers and artists this one-of-a-kind platform to teach, share, create, and inspire through writing and art. Making sure the publication comes out every two weeks and by doing so, we stay consistent with our workshops each week, running over 100 workshops a week in all sites, and putting out 50 issues of the publication every year.
There is plenty of THANKS to go around, from our amazing colleagues of yesteryear, to those doing the good work today. We can’t thank you enough for believing in our mission and embracing this precious opportunity to connect with our young writers and assist in their story telling. We also cannot thank you writers enough. Wow, the courageous work you all put in to what you share amazes us in every issue. We have learned so much from you, and this goes way back in our infancy when it was writers such as Pure Dragon, 007, JRoc, The Black Messiah and so many-many others, who were lighting up our pages from their respected juvenile halls, and inspiring others, from their peers to those who simply read their work in the pages of The Beat. This is still the case today, when you current writers, such as Ty, Jesus, Dahmarii, Gucc, Lumont, JW, Montana, Elias, and so many other amazing writers from their respected counties, such as Sonoma, Marin, Sacramento, Alameda, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Missoula Montana, just to name a few.
The idea that we all are teaching one another by taking on the weekly prompts and writing our truths is not only helping ourselves, but the many who read your work too. How cool is that? How cool is it that what you write today, will reach out 3,000 miles away? If it’s students from various high schools or colleges around the country, or those who unfortunately find themselves in state or federal penitentiaries.
Yes, here we are embracing 25 years! The little engine that could! Love and respect to you all for playing the important role that you play, be it a counselor or teacher in juvenile hall, or a funder and collaborator/partner who supports our work, to our elders who write with the goal to give back and teach our youth that there is a better path than the road to the adult correctional system. With that said, how can we not acknowledge, Michael Mackey, Dortell Williams, Jesse Ayers, Q Paige, Netwerk, Tariq Jahad, Andrew Gonzalez, Arnoldo Juarez, Leo Cardez, Keith Erickson and Efren Bullard to name a few of the numerous writers and artists who take it upon themselves to share some wisdom with us readers. Thank you.
Since you may be wondering what is instore for The Beat this 25th year, well we definitely plan to celebrate the best we can, as we navigate around the COVID pandemic and the various social limitations. We are looking forward to creating special issues around COVID, a women’s issue, a special community issue, a couple special county focused issues, a big writing and art contest with even bigger payouts to the winners. Zoom events, and hopefully, a concert with great music, readings and tasty food for all. We’ll keep you all posted.
Much love to you all for being a part of this incredible journey. The Beat Within is a community effort and we can’t thank you enough for the commitment you put forth towards yourself and the many readers of this one-of-a-kind magazine that has been touching lives since September of 1996, when our youth shared their feelings about the death of Tupac Shakur.
25 years later we celebrate the great work! Thank you all for being a part of this ride up to this point. Brace yourself, the next chapter is now upon us, and we are as ready as ever! We hope you will enjoy this anniversary issue as much as we have, especially the powerful testimony featured on page XX. Time to close this note, the same way we started it, with love and respect, HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY BEAT!
Now allow us to past the keyboard to the man who usually man’s the editorial note, OT!
We would like to welcome you Readers to the 25th Anniversary of the one and only The Beat Within. That’s right folks. It’s The Beat’s Birthday. The Beat Within was originally formed the week after 2pac’s death as Mr. Inocencio, already a social worker and youth advocate for the youth inside the YGC came up with the idea of giving the youth locked up inside Juvenile Hall a voice for the world to hear.
My name is OT, reporting direct and live from you know where? Managua, Nicaragua folks! First off, I want to start off by saying happy birthday to the founder and brains of the operation. Happy Birthday D! First off let me go ahead and let you know that I’m proud of you, for all of your accomplishments. Also, I’m extremely proud of you for coming up with the idea of just how important it is for our youth to be heard, and not just our youth, but those that eventually turned into adults and had to move on to the adult system.
I cannot stress the importance and the fact that the justice system, both for adults and youth, has a shortage of programs for those that are trying to better themselves. See I’ve been both through the juvenile system and adult system and I know first hand just how much there is a shortage of advocates.
When one is locked up, there is a lot of time of loneliness, a lot of time to reflect, but most importantly there are very few programs that are available for us to actually rehabilitate. Not only are there a lack of programs, but there are a lack of mentors. Young people need to see people from their communities who have confronted the same type of struggles and obstacles back inside those institutions as examples that they too can make it.
We need members of our communities going back to their roots and giving back to the next generation that comes after them. Just as those legendary figures from our past history marched for their rights, brought inequality, racism and sacrificed their time, effort and lives so that we could live a better way of life, we need everyone in our community to do their part.
Life is not just about YOU, or just your immediate family and friends. There is a whole other group of people that may need your positive shine, positive reinforcements or encouraging words, or even just an ear to listen to what the next person is going through.
When I got out of juvenile hall, I volunteered at The Beat Within for two weeks, because I needed a job or a volunteer job so I could be released on furlough from the county ranch. After two weeks, Arlene Mitri (shout out), which was my supervisor at the time, asked me if I would like to be on the payroll for seven dollars an hour. I was like yeah!!!
At The Beat I met some of the original editors and some great people: Mi Viejo, Michael Kroll, which is a person I look up to and admire. I met Donna Hunter, another passionate person motivated to make a change in our community. I met Matt Melamed, another special person that used to come to Hillcrest. I met Will, Alan Martinez, Sandy Close, Mario Navarro, Allegra Harrison, Albert Felipe, Fredia Underwood, RIP Kevin, and there are too many more to name.
The Beat Within consisted of people from many walks of life, from different communities, different neighborhoods, all to come together in a hate-free environment to talk about issues that really matter in our lives. 25 years later, here we are today, going strong, doing workshops in person at some sites, and online at others, since COVID-19 has wreaked havoc upon communities worldwide. Your voices need to be heard. You all need to know that your stories, your experiences, and your truths hold power!
Thank you, big D! Happy birthday my brotha with all the love and respect in the world. It took a special man to create this special program. I am proud to be a part of this movement! One love to everybody and let’s keep pushing all together and marching to the beat of the same drum, for justice, peace for our communities, and equal opportunities to succeed!