Free Minds Book Club – Empowerment
I turned on C-Span2 Book-TV, and there they were. Men dressed in orange discussing a book they’d read – a book club. I was awestruck. It was happening at a jail. This was my introduction to Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop. Written in the heading of their website is: Empowering young inmates to write new chapters in their lives. Visiting and exploring the site will impact your feelings on the privilege of reading. Congressman John Lewis is among its strongest advocates. What a great discovery!
Members of the Free Minds Book Club, thank you for the UHURU (Freedom) postcard. When I read it, the word that came to my mind: profound. I love having it in my collection. 🙂
~Anita~
About Free Minds Book Club
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How did you choose the name of your book club?
We are called Free Minds because even if your body is locked up, through books and writing, your mind can always be free!
Names and number of members:
There are 11 members in this group at the DC Jail. Their names are: Jonas, Rod, Jamal, Tay, Arsenio, Manuel, Jerard, Antoine, Jovan, Leonard, and John. We provide services and books by mail even after they transfer to serve time in federal prison – Lifetime membership!
In addition to this group, there are other members that total 1,200.
Age range:
16 – 69 (This group is on the younger side.)
Genders:
mostly men
Date of first meeting:
November 30, 2002
Meeting schedule and place:
Every Thursday on the GED unit at DC Jail.
Book selection method:
Recommendations and book ballots
Most popular book:
So many! Recently, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Currently reading:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas