As a kid, poet Reginald Dwayne Betts loved books and developed an early fascination of speed reading. He couldn’t afford formal lessons, so he checked out a book on the subject from his local library instead – the last book he borrowed before going to prison.
But it planted a seed.
At just 16 years old, Betts and a friend made the tragic choice to carjack a stranger at gunpoint. After his arrest, he confessed and accepted responsibility, serving nearly nine years behind bars.
During those long, isolating years, reading became his lifeline. Fellow inmates devised a makeshift pulley system out of torn bedsheets to share books, and Betts devoured every page he could to expose himself to ideas in the outside world.
Through literature, he broadened his mind beyond the prison walls and used writing as a means to reflect on his past and understand the path that had led him there.
Betts believes that we read not only to discover what lies beyond our immediate surroundings, but also to understand ourselves more deeply. “Books offer a map to becoming that’s hard to imagine without one,” he says. They don’t just teach – they nurture hope and possibility.
They plant seeds for transformation.
Today, at 45 and a Yale Law School graduate, Betts has come full circle. To share the escape and inspiration books provided him, he founded Freedom Reads in 2020 – a nonprofit dedicated to building libraries in prisons.
These libraries, containing 500 thoughtfully selected fiction and nonfiction titles displayed on beautiful, handmade wooden shelves, stand in stark contrast to the cold plastic and steel of prison life. Their uniquely curved, low design invites conversation and connection as inmates browse, turning reading into a communal experience.
What’s even more meaningful is that formerly incarcerated individuals craft the shelves, providing valuable jobs and a pathway to meaningful reintegration. The pride these builders feel in supporting the mission is evident in every library they help create.
So far, Freedom Reads has installed over 600 libraries in 60 adult and youth correctional facilities nationwide.
Despite initial skepticism, wardens note that inmates treat the libraries with respect and care, cherishing the privilege they represent. Residents carefully mark borrowed books on pieces of paper, ensuring each is returned safely – a testament to the libraries’ value in their lives.
The goal is simple but profound: to spark transformative experiences for those behind bars and for those returning home.
Betts knows firsthand how books can open minds and shift perspectives. He also hears from inmates and their families about how it’s “changed their perspective about the world.” One mother even shared that her son “had a light in his voice that he hadn’t had in years because of the interaction that he had with the Freedom Library” and Betts and his team.
Freedom Reads understands that when you want to imagine a new future, books are essential. They open doors to possibilities, showing people what they can become.
And sometimes, planting just one little seed is all it takes to make transformative change happen. One word, one action, one person at a time.
Meet Betts and see the Freedom Reads libraries in action!
Please share this post and remember: YOU MATTER! Even the smallest words and actions can be the catalyst someone else needs at just the right moment.
