By Darrion J. Beckles | Communications Intern
Here at Free Minds, we believe in the healing power of creativity, literacy, and community. In our Prison Book Club this past quarter, we have put this belief into action by distributing books to our members located in 110 facilities across the country, providing them valuable feedback and encouragement on their creative writing, publishing a quarterly magazine featuring their art and poetry, and continuing to support and facilitate their artistry in any way we can. With the continued support of allies like you, our Prison Book Club members will continue to build community and write new futures into existence. Thank you for all of your support!
The Future: The Latest Connect
The Connect, our magazine written by and for our members and distributed to over a hundred jails and prisons across the country, is looking ahead to the future in the latest issue. In this issue, members shared their visions for the future and how they stayed future-focused during their incarceration, discussed afrofuturism and indigenous futurism, and (of course) shared impactful poetry written by our incarcerated poets.
One such poem is “My Future Vision” by MG:
My Future Vision
By MG
I have hopes and dreams for a future where all of the next generation
Are free from the bondage that threatens to deplete them,
Drugs and crime
I want to know that I no longer have to worry about if my children will
Fall victim to an overdose or die in a gun battle
Where a stray bullet claimed their lives
I have dreams of seeing a community take part in raising its youth
As one family, where the divide caused by melanin of the skin, or the
Lack thereof, play no part in how people are treated or classified
My dreams are of a future where all that are living can safely, happily
Plan for their future without the worries of their lives being cut short
Where they can dare to be great while chasing their aspirations
Equality and justice will only come about when we as a people realize that we are more alike than we are different
That together we can accomplish any and everything
We put our minds to
In order to achieve this, we need to start by reaching out to the parents
Children are our most prized possession
And we must treat them as the precious gems they are
Through the parents, we can raise them to embrace all cultures and creeds
Show them that the meaning of life is to love
The strongest emotion on the planet
We must show them that life is more precious
Than any amount of money
And it is the greatest feeling in the world
If we take this first step, we will conquer all of the injustices
That are prevalent today
Books Across the Miles
Since our last report, the Prison Book Club continues to strengthen connections through literacy. As part of our Books Across the Miles program, we send out books three times a year to over a hundred prisons across the country. Members vote on which books to read through a ballot, and we provide them with discussion questions in the Connect magazine, inspiring them to critically think and reflect on the reading. These responses are then shared in the Connect.
This past quarter, members have been discussing The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Maryland Governor Wes Moore. This memoir explores two men of the same name who were raised in similar environments but whose paths diverged.
When asked about the similarities and differences between the two men named Wes Moore, Free Minds member ER answered: “The Other Wes Moore highlights the point that we all have more in common than we perceive. It also reveals that outcomes for the youth hinge on support systems and decision making. Depending on which fork in the road one takes, they can either end up a governor or a lifer.”
We thank you for your continued support of Books Across the Miles! You make it possible for our members to grow through literacy!
The Kennedy Center | March Write Night
On March 21, 2025, Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, in partnership with The Second Look Project, co-hosted an installment of our Write Night initiative called Poetry and Art as Liberation: A Night of Hope and Resilience at the Kennedy Center’s REACH campus. The evening spotlighted the incredible creative talents of currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, featuring spoken word performances, original artwork, and poetry that moved and inspired all in attendance.
Attendees had the opportunity to engage directly with the art—and the artists—offering messages of encouragement and solidarity, including written messages that will be mailed to the incarcerated poets and artists. The event fostered deep connection and reflection, reinforcing the healing and transformative power of creative expression.
The evening was covered by local media, including Washington’s 7 News, which interviewed a Free Minds co-founder and one of the featured performers, further amplifying the event’s message of hope, resilience, and the importance of second chances.
We are grateful for your continued support, which makes events like this possible. Together, we are creating space for healing, dignity, and justice through the arts.
Free Minds Member Hosts His Own Write Night
Our Write Nights—in which community volunteers connect with incarcerated writers by reading and responding to their poetry—are so engaging and powerful that they inspire our incarcerated members to start their own!
Kevin, an incarcerated Free Minds member, started his own spinoff Write Night sessions—and we’re all for it. We mail him poetry written by members from jails and prisons across the country, and he gathers fellow members at his facility to read and write feedback.
We love to see our members do their part in spreading the healing power of writing.
Thank you for all of your support for our incarcerated readers and writers!
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