Freedom Reads
Project Title
For general support
Date
Sep. 11, 2025
Duration
24 months
Description
Founded in 2020, Freedom Reads is the only organization in the nation dedicated to transforming the culture and conditions of incarceration through literature to meaningfully elevate the dignity of the millions of people in this country impacted by the criminal legal system. Its signature initiative—the Freedom Library—places a 500-book collection in an elegant, handcrafted hardwood bookcase directly inside prison cellblocks, fostering reflection and conversation. Since its launch, Freedom Reads has installed 478 Freedom Libraries in forty-eight prisons across twelve states, providing access to over 268,000 books. Over the next two years, and with Corporation support, Freedom Reads will scale its efforts, sustain infrastructure growth, and reach 4,000 more incarcerated individuals through forty new libraries to be formally designated as Carnegie Freedom Libraries.