Two stories from Louisiana prisons: A cause for alarm and a pathway toward empowerment
Karen Henderson interviews Beth Schwartzapfel on the findings of a recent ProPublica investigation and Reginald Dwayne Betts on his journey towards founding Freedom Reads.
He went from prison to a MacArthur Fellow. Here's how he's trying to help Louisiana inmates
Troy Barnes, a carpenter who helps build Freedom Libraries, reflects on returning to Louisiana State Penitentiary with the Freedom Reads team to open a Freedom Library.
Is There Such a Thing as Black Thought?
A deep dive into the life and work of Tariq Trotter, and a look into his current project, a musical reimagination of George S. Schuyler’s satirical novel “Black No More.”
Freedom Libraries Open in Two Louisiana Prisons
Freedom Reads opened two Freedom Libraries in Louisiana, one at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and the other at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center.
Nonprofit organization opens Freedom Libraries in two Louisiana prisons
Freedom Reads opened two Freedom Libraries, one at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and the other at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center.
Reginald Dwayne Betts shares stories from his “writing life"
Reginald Dwayne Betts discusses his foreward to “The Sentences That Create Us,” a writing guide for incarcerated people.
Prison to Possibility: With Reginald Dwayne Betts
Michael Steele interviews Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts on his life journey and how he believes Freedom Reads can create true change.
MASS Design Group and Freedom Reads to Install Libraries in 1,000 Prisons Across America
MASS Design Group discusses the design history, features, and intention behind the final form of Freedom Reads’ signature Freedom Libraries.
Books carry inmates beyond the bars
The Christian Science Monitor Editorial Board notes the importance of libraries and books in prisons in the context of the founding of Freedom Reads.
Prison cell thought to be Malcolm X’s has been reinvented as a library for inmates, part of massive new campaign
Freedom Reads is set to open the first Freedom Library at MCI-Norfolk Correctional Facility in Malcolm X’s former cell.
Reginald Dwayne Betts is on a quest to build 1,000 micro-libraries in prisons across the U.S.
A dive into Freedom Reads’ mission, the Freedom Library, and the future of the organization.
Louisiana releases Henry Montgomery, but so many 'juvenile lifers' remain behind bars
Reginald Dwayne Betts writes about the plight of juveniles incarcerated for life sentences, and calls for the parole board to consider parole for more folks as they did for Henry Montgomery.