Greetings to our Beat Within community near and far! We’re proud to present our latest issue to you, full of amazing work from incarcerated youth and adults across the country.
This issue’s editorial note is brought to you by two of our interns from Urban High School of San Francisco, Justin and Marco! Through Justin’s reflection, we learn how his internship with us was able to expand and clarify a lot of what he’s known about the justice system while growing up. With Marco, we’re let in on the ways that he identified with many of the writers he encountered on the theme and goal of self-improvement.
Please join us in welcoming Justin and Marco to the pages of The Beat!
More than Meets the Eye
Before working with The Beat Within, I had very little knowledge about the justice system or incarcerated individuals. In elementary and middle school, I mostly only learned the basics of these justice systems and maybe the names of a couple of justice systems around the area. The main idea that I learned from school and the media was that anything that had to do with the justice system or incarcerated individuals was negative, and that this was something that you should definitely avoid.
As a result, I decided to volunteer at The Beat to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of this topic. After volunteering with The Beat, I can definitely say that I was able to go into more depth and learn more about these systems and the incarcerated individuals like I originally hoped. Whenever I got a new packet every week, the different pieces of writing really opened my eyes to the inner thoughts and feelings of incarcerated individuals.
I learned that there was definitely more than meets the eye with people as I read through and typed the reflective and thought-provoking pieces of writing. However, I also noticed that each person had their own type of writing style.
For example, one piece that stood out to me was a piece of poetry that talked about how one person viewed their life. In this piece, the writer used literary devices such as repetition of what he thought his life was like, ending each stanza with a reflective question, and incorporating rhyme for the end of line.
In the beginning of the poem, the writer talks about how tough his life is with everything that has happened to him. But, as the poem progresses, these ideas turn into hope and perseverance, even if the writer is doubtful and worried about the outcome. This ending of the poem really stood out to me.
This poem really helped me learn not just about the experiences in justice systems but also how difficult it must be to go through all of these difficult situations and then later have a veil of doubt about what will come next. Before reading this, I never really thought of what would happen to incarcerated people after they were released, but this poem revealed to me that it was not an easy task, requiring a lot of mental perseverance.
Therefore, this was one of the aspects that I most enjoyed when working with The Beat. Whether it was learning more about the thoughts and feelings of incarcerated people or their favorite Halloween memory, I really appreciated learning more about the stories of those who are not widely known.
Another piece of work that stood out to me was when the writer talks about how the book To Kill a Mockingbird introduced the mindset of knowing that the way they act affects the people around them. As someone who has read the book myself in the past, I had not thought of this book in the way of changing my mindset on life. As a result, I found it interesting how much a piece of literature can affect a person.
Overall, I think that I was able to get what I wanted from volunteering with The Beat, and I hope to share my experiences with this program with others in the future.
-Justin, Urban High School of San Francisco
A Transformative and Impactful Experience
Coming into this internship, I was aware of the existence of the prison industrial complex, and the inequality that it perpetuates. While I did have an awareness and understanding of this subject, I feel like I was in some ways emotionally detached from this topic since I didn’t personally know anyone who was incarcerated.
That’s why I believe that The Beat Within was such an eye-opening experience. Being able to read excerpts and stories that describe incarcerated life humanizes the problem and has helped me realize just how many youths are incarcerated in California. As someone who lives in San Francisco, I feel that I in some ways live in a bubble, isolated from the rest of California.
To be honest, I don’t think the topic of incarcerated youth has popped up more than a couple times in my daily life in SF. It’s just something that isn’t really talked about, many people just aren’t very aware of it.
This fact has in some ways piqued my curiosity and drive to learn more. It has made me ask questions — why aren’t more people aware or knowledgeable of youth incarceration? As someone who is interested in political science and our governmental systems, I’m also interested in looking at this situation from a structural standpoint; comparing youth incarceration rates in different countries, making connections between race, education, wealth, location, and their effects on youth incarceration rates.
Frankly, the hardest part of this project was writing the responses to the excerpts. I initially had a very hard time figuring out what to say, since I was often self-conscious and worried that what I was saying may sound judgmental. Over time, I realized the key to writing the reflections is to be myself. To write down what comes to mind: my opinions, thoughts, beliefs after reading their excerpts.
I was very appreciative and impressed by the bravery incarcerated youth have shown by opening up about their feelings, their beliefs, their stories, even their lives. I believe that this bravery is what makes The Beat Within such a powerful publication and organization. I was moved by their stories, and felt privileged to be able to help them share their stories with the world.
As someone who is very focused on always bettering myself, I resonated with a lot with excerpts relating to self-improvement. The excerpt that highlights this the most to me was, “Mindset, the Key to Betterment” by Christopher. Through the excerpt, I was able to relate to how challenging it is to stay driven and consistent when striving for self-improvement. I also love how Christopher highlighted the important role your mindset plays in self-improvement.
One of the big takeaways that I learned from this internship was how limited incarcerated people’s freedom of speech is. After reading about this topic in many excerpts, I decided to do my own independent research.
I found that while prisons are required by law to allow for free speech and regular communication with the outside world, many incarcerated individuals refuse this right as a way of punishing certain incarcerated individuals. This is especially dangerous since it can cut off incarcerated individuals from important support systems such as family and friends. On top of that, communication with the outside world allows the public a means of oversight over conditions inside these closed facilities.
Overall, I’ve greatly enjoyed my time interning with The Beat Within, and I’m looking forward to continuing this work in the coming weeks. I just want to say a great thank you to The Beat Within, and the incarcerated youth who have made this a transformative and impactful experience.
-Marco, Urban High School of San Francisco
We appreciate you, Justin and Marco, for the time and dedication you put into making The Beat happen! We hope you both keep in touch with us as you move forward in your future — The Beat will always have room for your reflections and experiences!
Additionally, we love to hear from all of our Beat community members, incarcerated and free. If you’d like to contribute a story, a poem, a reflection, or just a friendly “hello,” we encourage you to reach out to us!
Thank you, readers and writers, for trusting us with your voice and your truth, and we hope you enjoy this latest publication of The Beat Within. Onward and upward!