-YM, Albuquerque I had a few teachers in my life. My first teachers were my mom and dad. They always showed me right from wrong, and how to treat the people you love or respect. They also taught me how to love. I appreciate them a lot for that. My other teachers have been my big brothers. My first big brother is my blood. We have the same mom. I’m not gonna say his name because he wouldn’t want me to, but he taught me how to be a man, he and my dad did. He taught me to stand
Continue ReadingWhat We Deserve
-Gabriel, Santa Cruz I deserve to be home with my family. So far, I’ve been trying my absolute best, but I keep finding myself in situations. I just wanna move on with life and move on with probation. I’m sad to see myself back here. I was doing so good, almost off probation. I wish I woulda thought about my actions before doing what I did. If I do get released, I wanna engage in sports to keep me occupied with my day and I just wanna prove I can do good and successfully get off probation. I wish I
Continue ReadingMy CGA Experience as a Facilitator: Taking the Mask Off
-Hugo, California Health Care Facility in Stockton, CA During my thirty plus years of incarceration, I made a life changing decision in 2013 when I joined CGA’s Correspondence/Prep Program, while being housed in the SHU Program at Pelican Bay State Prison. In the first assignments that I received, I quickly realized that CGA was attacking the conditioning and beliefs that have been instilled in me through this lifestyle. For so many years I have been tricked into believing that gangsters don’t snitch, nor do they divulge any information revolving their constitution. Knowing from an early age that joining a gang
Continue ReadingA Safe Space to Dwell
-André, California Medical Facility, Vacaville, CA “Darkness cannot drive away darkness, only light can do that.” Martin Luther King Jr. The longer I live, the more I understand this quote. Most of my life, I have been fighting hate with hate, violence with violence, tit for tat, etc. That pattern and cycle of dealing with the “darkness” has never produced the desired outcome I was looking for. Being in prison, most people believe the only way to survive is to adopt the long-lasting culture already in place. That norm only produces racist, antisocial, cruel, uneducated, criminal minded, emotionally broken individuals.
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Volume 30.05/06
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 30.05/06
Greetings to our Beat Within readers and writers near and far. We’re grateful to have you with us, and we’re honored to be part of your journey. The writing we encounter on a daily basis at The Beat challenges us to think critically and dream big, and we celebrate your thoughts, experiences, and opinions in each and every magazine. For this issue, we’re welcoming back Michael Kroll, AKA Einstein, to our editorial section. If you’ve been with us for a while, chances are you know Michael, as he’s been hosting workshops in juvenile detention facilities, community centers, and high schools
Continue ReadingNothing Wrong with Difference
-David, Sonoma I’ve always been different from all of my classmates or my peers. I’ve been called different for a lot of things, whether it was because of my childhood or the things I do or how I do them, and even what I’ve been through. The way I talk is a big one. I have been around a lot of “hoodlums” and I talk a lot of slag. I talk a little bit different, as people have told me a few times. I’ve had a lot of traumas as a young minority. Hung around different people my whole life,
Continue ReadingI’m Still Here
-JP, Albuquerque I will never forget how to choose loved ones over someone you’ve fallen in love with. It was April fifteenth, 2023, when I had fallen madly in love with this one boy. It felt like a dream come true, it was only a slight talk on the dance floor before he asked to dance. I felt like a princess, and how he called me “beautiful like the night sky.” He was always complimenting me until one cold night we were out, took a couple of drinks, and like the wise say, “drunk words are sober thoughts.” Oh my,
Continue ReadingBeing Different
-André, California Medical Facility in Vacaville, CA I believe (know) we are all different (unique) in our own way. Even with that, I never fit in in the spaces I dwelled all the time. I grew up having friends in different groups. I had friends who were thugs. Others who were nerds. Some who were jocks, etc. Since I was a combination of them all, I never fit comfortably or fully in. The thugs thought I was uppity or bougie, the nerds thought I was too aggressive, the jocks thought I wasn’t focused enough on the sport, etc. This left
Continue ReadingGrowing Up in Foster Care
-Freddy, San Quentin State Prison, CA As a kid growing up and hearing stories from other classmates and seeing their family show up and cheer them on, I thought I was completely different. It made me sad to not be normal as I saw my classmates and friends. Growing up in foster care, I had to make up stories to sound normal in front of my peers. I finally got a family member to show up for something I did in a positive way. It felt good to see my cousin see me dancing and having fun in a good
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