Author Tiffany Jackson Visits Free Minds Book Club at New Beginnings
Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop launched its book club at New Beginnings Youth Development Center in Fall 2018. A residential treatment facility for…
Free Minds on PBS: The Great American Read
This fall, Free Minds members made history! Free Minds was featured in a nationally televised program, PBS’s The Great American Read.
Author and Poetry Slam Champion Elizabeth Acevedo Visits Free Minds Book Club at the DC Jail
The author and self-proclaimed spoken word artist Elizabeth Acevedo, who is no stranger to titles (National Poetry Slam Champion and author of New York Times…
Best-Selling Author Jason Reynolds Speaks to Youth at the DC Jail
We cannot be what we cannot see. – Jason Reynolds, New York Times best-selling author What would be your first purchase if you signed a…
Free Minds Celebrates Congressman John Lewis Fellowship
On July 17, Free Minds staff, Poet Ambassadors, and friends gathered at Pepco Edison Place Gallery to celebrate the new Free Minds Congressman John Lewis…
Free Minds staff on the Atlantic’s “The Art of Re-Entry” panel for Justice in America!
Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop was invited to amplify our members’ voices at the Atlantic’s “Justice in America” event in May. Grateful for…
All the World’s a Stage: Shakespearean actors bring theater to the DC Jail
“Hope!” “Tears!” “Pain!” These are just some of the words shouted out by more than 20 orange-clad men crowded onto the floor of a tiny…
David Barclay Moore Speaks to DC Jail Book Club
Before David Barclay Moore, author of his debut young adult novel Stars Beneath Our Feet, even got a chance to introduce himself, he was peppered…
Free Minds Goes to Philadelphia
In October, the Free Minds team (staff and Poet Ambassadors Terrell, Roderick, and Nokomis) hit the road to participate in a conference in Philadelphia, PA,…
Baltimore Author D. Watkins Speaks to DC Jail Book Club
On a Thursday afternoon at the DC Jail, a group of men arranged chairs in a circle on the floor of the unit, surrounded on…
Authors Coe Booth and Patricia McCormick Share Their Stories at the DC Jail
By Mbachur Mbenga This spring, teenagers in our Book Club at the DC Jail had the incredible opportunity to learn from two talented and generous…
Free Minds Wins Renewal Award
In 2017, Free Minds was honored to receive the Renewal Award for Ingenuity from the Atlantic and Allstate. Free Minds was one of five winners…
Former Child Soldier Emmanuel Jal Visits Free Minds Reentry Book Club
“When you are in a poor environment, you go into survival mode. Like me, you’ve all been to hell. But you came back!” Emmanuel Jal,…
Free Minds at AWP Writer’s Conference
By Aubry Ellison, Free Minds Intern Every year, the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) offers the largest literary conference in the nation with…
A Classroom Full of Hope
Guest post by Karen Lausa, Executive Director of Words Beyond Bars and Friend of Free Minds We pulled into the parking lot of the M.V.…
Tacenda Literary Magazine Publishes Free Minds Poets
Now my hours feel longer, I’m just trying 2 make it 2 another spring That means goodbye winter, my days are getting warmer I’m getting…
First Free Minds College-Level Course Behind Bars
In 2015, Free Minds launched a pilot course in African American Literature for a new project called Free Minds University, a non-accredited correspondence course for…
Free Minds visits Reach Incorporated and Encounter the Gospel of Life
On two separate days in July, Free Minds shared its message of hope with groups of eager young students from Reach Incorporated and Encounter the Gospel…
Author and Activist Tony Lewis Inspires and Empowers at the DC Jail
22 16- and 17-year-old boys sat transfixed as author, advocate, and community activist Tony Lewis, Jr., told them the story of his journey that could…
DoMore24: Support the Free Minds Job Readiness and Personal Skill Building Apprenticeship
Free Minds offers a month-long paid Job Readiness and Personal Skill Building Apprenticeship for young men returning from jail or prison. The Apprenticeship is a…