Free Minds Book Club
OUR MISSION
Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop uses the literary arts, workforce development, and violence prevention to connect incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youths and adults to their voices, their purpose, and the wider community. Our vision is that every Free Minds member is able to access the necessary opportunities, inspiration, and support to write new chapters in their lives.
Project Updates & News
About Free Minds Book Club
In 1996, Co-Founder Kelli Taylor was working as a journalist when she received a letter from Glen McGinnis, a young man on Texas’ death row. At that time, Glen had been incarcerated for more than five years for a crime committed when he was 17 years old. In response, Kelli produced a television documentary about Glen and other juveniles on death row in America. After the program aired, she continued to correspond with Glen over the next four years and ultimately participated in his remarkable journey of personal and educational growth. Glen’s execution in 2000 was a catalyst for action.
In 2002, Free Minds began as a bi-weekly program for teenagers incarcerated as adults in the DC Jail. Over the years, Free Minds has expanded its services to include book clubs and writing workshops with youths and adults at the DC Jail and juvenile detention facility. These programs include a long-distance Prison Book Club Program, a member-led publication called the Free Minds Connect, and a Reentry Book Club and Job Readiness Program. Reentry Book Club members also co-facilitate our violence prevention project, On the Same Page, using poetry and personal storytelling to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of youth incarceration.
“Before I came to Free Minds, I knew how to read, but until I read and talked about the books you brought me, I didn’t know how much I could love it. Now, I may be locked down for 24 hours a day, but if I have books, I can take my mind to another place, and see new ways of living. ”
“When I first met Free Minds, I was just shut down. It was a relief to get out of my cell and Free Minds had a positive vibe. But my reading skills were terrible. I was so scared to read in front of people, thinking I wouldn’t be able to pronounce a word.”
“To see you guys still finding ways to work in these times, feels like a lighthouse shining in the distance, through the thick fog, across the ocean, in a dark night. Remember the musicians solemnly playing the instruments as the Titanic sank? That’s the feeling that I get. Courage in the face of fear.”
“Books changed me. They took me to other places. When I read, I wasn’t in prison anymore. I was wherever that book was taking place and I loved it.”