Category: The Beat Without

-Johnny Rodriguez Affirmations are important to me because of my general purposeful life of meaningful service. Affirmations are important to me to stay steadfast within my short- and long-term goals. I am not perfect to this moment, but I am faithful within my meaningful life even if I fall short at times to stay the course in light of what is out of my control. Affirmations are important to me to affirm the archaic building blocks my loving mother instilled in me. I possibly could have failed to realize or recognize the nurture care I received from my mother, especially

-Shawn Block, Mt. Sterling, ILFace the face of Emmett Till ’til justice finds him wholeFace the wounds that haunt us still restless in his soulThe ballooned orbs where cheeks should beThe bludgeoned smile that we can’t seeLook upon the gruesome marks of Jim Crow’s heavy tollPeer into the casket, gasp at evil’s wicked handPeer into the past at unmasked inhumanity of manThe mangled form that was a boyThe equal rights they can’t destroyLook upon the face that caused the world to take a standHis mother made us look, just look and let the whole world seeShe showed us what they

-Al Cunningham I don’t have to tell you this. You already know that the company you keep, the kind of people you hang out with plays a major role in determining your future. We know that generally, there are exceptions to every rule, but those are few and far between.  It is true that if you lie down with the dogs you will wake up with fleas. If you keep the company of people who thirst for knowledge, eventually that will rub off on you and you will be  better for it. Hang out with people of good character and

-Calvin Edwards, Jefferson Correctional Center in St. Louis, MO Are you hip enough to pimp a hooker from your tablet? Do you have enough game to turn a staff member into a mule? How about being savvy enough to introduce dope into the institution despite all the administration’s efforts to stop you?  Maybe you have enough game to do all of that. You may think you have enough game to get away with murder in here despite all these cameras. But ask yourself this, are you hip enough to run your own legitimate business? Do you have enough game to

-Johnny Rodriguez, CHCF in Stockton, CA The one thing I fear the most right now is not living a meaningful life where I wouldn’t care about what would happen to me, my family, friends, short and long term goals and or with people in general. Especially my future possibilities with someone special that my present could offset preventing me from ever experiencing diverse potential. Life has taught me to understand and to grow in a continuum and be realistic, especially in the face of adversity to persevere and strive for general purposeful well-being to never lose sight. This has taught

-Wendy Fong, Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, CA I became a parent at the age of fifteen. When I became a parent, I wanted to be a good parent. I thought about this for a long time. I realized I wanted to incorporate the values of my father without being too protective.  I did not want to shelter my child too much because I knew being sheltered made me more curious and daring. I knew I did not want to just be my child’s friend because then there was no structure, guidance, or boundaries. I learned this because

-Daniel “Green Eyes” Galindez Jr, Correctional facility, Stockton, CA My name is Daniel “Green Eyes” Galindez from San Jose, CA. I’ve been locked up since the age of seventeen years old. I’m now thirty-one.  I was that at risk youth who was lost to the streets, gang life, criminal ways of thinking, reckless and felt alone. I just want to touch on the topic of domestic violence and some thoughts I have on the matter — to let you know the different forms of DV and to let you know that you are not alone! Reflecting on my life as

-Freddy “Mr. Positivity” Huante Jr, San Quentin State Prison, CA Man, hindsight is 20/20. I think back to my life and crimes. I wish so badly I could go back to the day I met Francisco Flores. I wanted to get money by any means, even though if I didn’t have any kind of knowledge of how, I just needed the money and didn’t care if someone got hurt in the process.  I have so many regrets even before that. I think back even before I helped take a life from another human being. I think about further back, before

-Keith Erickson, Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, CA My Father John Erickson passed away on January 28th, three days before his 73rd birthday. Despite his absence, the memories of my father and childhood fishing trips, have kept my mind and heart afloat. Having spent most of my life incarcerated, I’ll be the first to admit that I’d lost my way in the world. I failed at maintaining the values that he tried so hard to instill in me, and I pushed him away at times the harder he would love me.  The last conversation we had before Cancer stole

-Jason “Jay”, San Quentin State Prison, CA A powerful person I had met is Bill. He comes in with a bunch of guys to play basketball here in SQ, giving back, treating us as equal, as men, showing us that there are people that do care.  If I was a school teacher, I would be a PE teacher. I would teach at a college. I would be mixed with both strict and lenient — just to motivate, push, guide, but also to be a support system.  To me, compliments are just a sign of appreciation and respect. The things I