Freedom Reads

Freedom Reads' September Newsletter dropped today! ?? Hear from Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts, Esq., and read new blogs from Freedom Reads Communications Manager Steven and Library Coordinator David ?? Plus, learn about our latest Freedom Library openings ?? https://lnkd.in/eVhwG2pM

?? A big thank you to Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni's Room bookstore in Philadelphia (and our other partner bookstores!) for supporting our Readers for Freedom Reads campaign ?? Freedom Reads' mission is to inspire and confront what prison does to the spirit. We bring beautiful, handcrafted bookcases into prisons, transforming cellblocks into Freedom Libraries. Are you a bookstore owner or librarian interested in supporting Freedom Reads? ?? Reach out to [email protected], and we'll send you a standing poster for your store / library to spread the word!

This week, the Freedom Reads team is opening 21 Freedom Libraries at the California Institution for Men in Chino ?? Plus, yesterday, Freedom Reads hosted a film screening of Titus Kaphar’s "Exhibiting Forgiveness," which premiered at Sundance Film Festival this January, for an audience in the prison. The screening was the first of Kaphar’s yet-to-be released film in a prison ?? As Titus Kaphar said, "[Freedom Reads brings] the creative manifestations of artists to a place where creativity and hope are so desperately needed. This film, 'Exhibiting Forgiveness,' is rooted in the same ideas of creativity and hope....It feels good to have a film in the theaters, but it feels important to have this film playing at the California Institution for Men." Read more ?? https://lnkd.in/etZpBSXt

"...freedom is more than just the physical release from confinement—it’s the ability to build a future, one book, one conversation, and one act of kindness at a time." Freedom Reads Communications Manager Steven Parkhurst reflects on recent Freedom Library openings in three Connecticut prisons on the blog ?? https://lnkd.in/eczj4Zsk

Happy #NationalBookMonth from Freedom Reads ?? At Freedom Reads, we believe that books are essential when you want to imagine a new life for yourself. That's why our vision is a Freedom Library in every cellblock in every prison in America. Learn more ?? https://freedomreads.org/ ?? Karen Pearson, Freedom Library at Woodbourne Correctional Facility in New York

The Freedom Reads team is excited to welcome Alelur "Alex" Duran, Gara LaMarche, Steven Levitt, Scott Semple, and Bryan Stevenson to our Board of Directors! As Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts, Esq. said, "We are extremely fortunate to have such talent onboard to help guide Freedom Reads as we work to achieve our vision of a Freedom Library in every cellblock in every adult and youth prison in the nation.” ?? https://lnkd.in/eAg5xWv3

"I was in the cell, and the first thought was, what will I be when I get out of prison? ... I said I'm gonna be a writer. Up until that point, I had never once considered being a writer. The promise of what literature might offer became the very center of my life." This past weekend, Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts, Esq. was awarded the Library of Virginia's honorary Patron of Letters degree ?? Congratulations to Dwayne and the other 2024 award recipients and honorees! ?? credit: Jay Paul and Stephen Salpukas

This month, thanks to generous support from CHEFA (Connecticut Health & Educational Facilities Authority) and Connecticut Senators Blumenthal and Murphy, Freedom Reads is opening 42 Freedom Libraries across three Connecticut prisons ?? Yesterday, the Freedom Reads team opened seven Freedom Libraries at Cybulski Community Reintegration Center, where several Freedom Reads team members served time. As Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts, Esq. said, "All of our Freedom Library openings are special, but the openings this month strike me as especially meaningful for our team members who are bringing inspiring literature to cellblocks they once called home." With this month's openings, Freedom Reads will have opened 392 Freedom Libraries across 43 adult and youth prisons in 12 states ? https://lnkd.in/gpEizEeP

What a night! Thank you to all who celebrated with us at Saturday night’s Virginia Literary Awards. Congratulations to the winners and finalists, as well as to honorary Patron of Letters degree recipients?Reginald Dwayne Betts — a poet, lawyer and the founder of Freedom Reads — and bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker Adriana Trigiani. The 2024 Virginia Literary Awards winners: NONFICTION AWARD:?Elizabeth R. Varon?| “Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South” FICTION AWARD:?Angie Kim?| “Happiness Falls” POETRY AWARD:?Janine Joseph?| “Decade of the Brain: Poems” CHILDREN’S LITERATURE:?Kwame Alexander?| “An American Story” PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD FOR NONFICTION:?Sheila Johnson?| “Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph” PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD FOR FICTION:?Martin Clark?| “The Plinko Bounce” ART IN LITERATURE: THE MARY LYNN KOTZ AWARD:?Katy Hessel?| “The Story of Art Without Men”?(presented with the?Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) Presented by?Dominion Energy?and supported by Carole and Marcus Weinstein, the celebration was hosted again this year by?Adriana Trigiani. #books?#readVA?#VaLitAwards?#literature?#VaAuthors?#fiction?#nonfiction?#poetry?#childrensliterature #booklovers?#thisisLVA Reginald Dwayne Betts, Esq. Freedom Reads Kwame Alexander Dominion Energy Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

We're honoring National Hispanic Heritage Month with "How We Are Made" by Ada Limón ?? Limón is the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, and the first Latina to hold that title. Limón's "Bright Dead Things: Poems" is available in Freedom Libraries in dozens of prisons across the country. #HispanicHeritageMonth #HispanicHeritageMonth2024