From the archives: Author and activist Reginald Dwayne Betts on the power of books
Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts speaks about the work of Freedom Reads and the power of books to confront what prison does to the spirit.
‘Our Access Point to the Humanity We Cannot Touch’
Reginald Dwayne Betts, Freedom Reads Founder & CEO, participated in the ALA’s discussion on the extensive book ban happening in the American carceral system.
Luis J. Rodriguez, Reginald Dwayne Betts among winners of L.A. Times Book Prizes
Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts won the Innovator’s Award for his work advocating for increased access to books, writers, and performing artists in prison.
This road to redemption began with a poetry book slipped under a prison cell door
Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts details the origin of Freedom Reads, which began with a book of poetry.
Freedom Library exhibit highlights Reginald Dwayne Betts' work bringing books inside prisons
Here and Now interviews Freedom Reads Founder & CEO Reginald Dwayne Betts on the design and function of the Freedom Library, featured at a National Building Museum exhibit.
'Freedom Libraries' aim to transform prisons 500 books at a time
Freedom Reads’ signature Freedom Library is featured at the National Building Museum’s “Justice is Beauty” exhibit.
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.