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…
Read More →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…
Read More →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…
Read More →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…
Read More →We Can Be the Change: Writing Solutions to Violence
Free Minds, PEN/Faulkner, and Shout Mouse Press presented a poetry reading and discussion on an innovative tool to end violence.
Read More →Historic Visit: Congressman, Civil Rights Icon John Lewis Speaks to Book Club at DC Jail
Congressman John Lewis and his Policy Advisor and co-author Andrew Aydin visited the juvenile unit at the DC Jail to discuss their graphic novel March:…
Read More →“We Can Be the Change” Featured on Harris’s Heroes!
The Free Minds “We Can Be the Change: Working to End Violence in Our City” event was a tremendous success, and was featured on ABC7/WJLA-TV’s…
Read More →Award-Winning All American Boys Authors Discuss Racism and Police Brutality
Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely met with the eager young readers in the Book Club to discuss All American Boys, the young adult novel they co-authored about…
Read More →George Pelecanos and Stephen Kinigopoulos Share Short Film with the Book Club
DC author George Pelecanos and filmmaker Stephen Kinigopoulos, who met on the set of HBO’s The Wire, visited the Book Club at the DC Jail…
Read More →We Can Be the Change: Free Minds Honors Lives Lost to Violence
On Thursday, January 14, Free Minds members, staff, family, and friends gathered to recognize the lives lost to violence in Washington, DC, and to pledge…
Read More →WE CAN BE THE CHANGE: Working to End Violence in Our City
This event is sold out. Join our mailing list to learn about other events in the future.
Read More →Free Minds Wins Library of Congress Best Practices Award
On October 27th, Executive Director Tara Libert accepted the “Best Practices in Literacy” Award from the Library of Congress, and joined other honored literacy organizations…
Read More →Free Minds Launches “The Untold Story of the Real Me” with Poetry, Music, and Tears
“Free Minds, just with books, poetry, and expressing myself, they saved my life. Not from harm or death, but from giving up.” – Andre
Read More →Poetry from Prison: #10000JournalsForHope
Watch this video by Sojourners Magazine about Free Minds member Rafael whose poem “Peace” is in our literary journal, The Untold Story of the Real Me:…
Read More →Share the Untold Story of Incarcerated Youth
Our Oct. 17th launch party sold out, but you can still help us share the voices of incarcerated youth, and hear some of those voices…
Read More →The Untold Story: Young Voices from Prison
Join us on Saturday, October 17th, for a very special event celebrating the launch of our newest literary journal, The Untold Story of the Real…
Read More →Our City, Our Voices
By Jess Lawson, Communications and Outreach Coordinator This June, Free Minds had the great pleasure of participating in a collaborative music and poetry event as…
Read More →Free Minds Wins Aspen Ideas Award to Take Write Night National
The Aspen Institute honored Free Minds with the $25,000 Aspen Ideas Award to replicate our poetry program connecting individuals with outside community members nation-wide.
Read More →Expressive Poetry Network Launched with Pongo Teen Writing
We were honored to host Richard Gold, founder and director of the Pongo Teen Writing Project, for a series of events aimed at sharing techniques…
Read More →You’re Invited! Our Voices Musical Performance
Our City Festival Our Voices (Live Performance) Curated By: Chris Ousley & Free Minds Date: June 7, 2015 Time: 3-5 pm Location: Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library’s Great Hall…
Read More →