Celebrating March Forth with Freedom Reads
Photo Credit: Jonna Algarin Mojica.
On March 4th, we joined Justice Collaboratory member Reginald Dwayne Betts in celebration of Freedom Reads, the organization he founded to empower people through literature to confront what prison does to the spirit.
The National Building Museum event in Washington, DC featured a performance excerpt of by Dwayne, as well as readings from Freedom Reads Literary Ambassadors – Honorée Fanonne Jeffers and Jason Reynolds.
We also got a sneak peek at the hand-carved wooden library shelves and the 500 carefully chosen books that Freedom Reads is installing in prisons across the country.
March 4th marks the day that Betts was released from prison. Reflecting on his experience as a teenager in incarceration, Betts said of his cell mates, “There was an expectation that we can all exceed whatever people predicted upon our lives.”
Freedom Reads has already installed six libraries in prisons across the country with the goal of eventually installing them in 1,000 prisons. With every installation, Freedom Reads is raising expectations and delivering hope through literature.
Check out this video to learn more about Freedom Reads.