Shannon Battle

A native Washingtonian, Shannon Battle grew up in Northeast DC’s Langston Terrace neighborhood, at a time when DC was devastated by an opioid crisis. At the age of seventeen, Shannon was charged as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. After serving over twenty years of his life behind bars, Shannon was given another chance at freedom by way of DC’s 2016 Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA). When he came home, Shannon began working with Free Minds as the Congressman John Lewis Fellow where he used the transformative power of poetry and storytelling to mentor and awaken DC youths and adults in the criminal legal system to new possibilities for their future. After his fellowship ended, Shannon became the Free Minds Advocacy & Leadership Development Specialist, where he bridges returning individuals with leadership and advocacy opportunities in the community.