News

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:…

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…

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…

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…

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…

This event is sold out. Join our mailing list to learn about other events in the future.

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…

“Free Minds, just with books, poetry, and expressing myself, they saved my life. Not from harm or death, but from giving up.” – Andre

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:…

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…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

Make your gift count. Support Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop on Thursday for Do More 24, a special day of giving. This year, we…

By Jess Lawson, Free Minds intern On Thursday, March 26, students, poets, professors, and social justice advocates alike gathered for a night of celebration and…

By Jess Lawson, Free Minds intern Congratulations to Anthony, David M., David T., Josh, Ricardo, and Tavon, who recently graduated from the Free Minds Job…

Join us on Monday, April 20, from 7-8:30 pm at the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital for an evening of poetry and community…

You’re Invited! Join us on Monday, March 30, for a workshop on teaching therapeutic writing for youth, led by Richard Gold of the award-winning Pongo…