Libert is executive director and co-founder of Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, a nonprofit that helps young inmates in the D.C. Jail by giving them books, holding book club meetings, encouraging them to write stories and poetry, and helping them adjust to life after being released. The group’s website is www.freemindsbookclub.org. What are some of the most popular books?
I think they’re all popular. The ones that relate to their lives are the most, like “Makes Me Wanna Holler” by Nathan McCall, “Manchild in the Promised Land” by Claude Brown and “A Place to Stand” by Jimmy Santiaga Baca. They love the Blueford series.
How does the group work?
We only work with youth charged as adults. The goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation. Once you’re in the adult system, it’s much less so — the reason we focus on that group is because they don’t have as much access to programming. … National studies show 90 percent [are arrested again] within a year.
Is there a different recidivism rate for people in Free Minds?
Our current rate is 32 percent. Most are probation violations, so it’s not a new charge and they’re not violent. The key is to have some type of transformation.
Does everyone read the same book every month?
They vote democratically. We’ll come up with five or six titles, and it’s called a book ballot. … You have to respect the vote. We used to do it by show of hands, but they got into bad fistfights. So now we do secret ballot.
How can people get involved?
They can give us money! The big thing is, go to the writing blog and comment. We post the poems anonymously. Just leaving a comment, a line that says keep writing, this poem was great, is a huge boost to these kids; they feel like people care about them and they can care about themselves and they can change.
Betsy Woodruff
