By Dalton Greene | Communications Intern
Here at Free Minds, we often speak of the “Free Minds family,” or the network of mutual care and support that members build among themselves and our staff and supporters. This sense of connectedness is the throughline for all of our programming, and especially for our Prison Book Club. Our members have continued to bring their creativity and vision to cultivating a sense of community through their writings and engagements with literature; this network is a valuable link to the outside while members are incarcerated.
Family Ties: The Latest Connect
The idea of the Free Minds family is especially relevant in light of our most recent edition of the Free Minds Connect, which centers on the theme “Ancestors.” The Connect, a magazine written by and for our members featuring poetry, articles, and book discussions, prompts members to think through new themes with edition. In contemplating the importance of ancestors, legacy, and family (both biological and chosen), members powerfully expressed connections between the past and the present, and they shared what family connections have meant to them. In just one example of this, Free Minds friend Michele shares how members of her family spanning generations stepped in to help her through her incarceration: as she says, “you can’t put a price on” the value of such relationships.
For a sampling of some more of these reflections, check out two of the poems featured in our “Ancestors” issue:
The Voice of My Ancestors by RS
You were special from birth
Someone created from earth
As ashes to ashes, from dust to dust
To infinity and beyond, utopia or bust
When in doubt, never worry or be afraid
We are always with you in spades
Life can be tough, a lot to learn
Keep going forward
What you advance, you earn
You have the blood of nobility
Honor and praise go with your name
To be well-known and achieve great fame
Never forget where you from
How you got from here to there
You always pull thru
And no matter “que pasa”
“Nunca te olvide para mejorar la raza”
Ancestors by AEC
Filled with the blood of my ancestors I push forward
with no fear…
blessed with a resilience passed down... the
impossible persevered
hearts as heavy as the impacts made against all odds
1000 generations worth of scars, I take pride in my suffering
all diamonds were first coal—I’m the greatest
grandson of King – whose gift couldn't be controlled—
more royal than anything –
Ancestors who bled out our future while their past
threatened the present –
reduce the Queens to peasants – but royalty’s in her DNA
Again she will rise, filled with the blood of her Ancestors
Books Across the Miles: long-distance prison book club
In our most recent update, we shared that members would be reading Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan, the story of an enslaved boy in Barbados who escapes his enslaver and journeys toward freedom with the help of a newfound ally and his fantastical flying machine. The novel spans the globe and offers an image of two people bridging seemingly-impossible divides to support one another’s liberation, and our members had a range of responses to the work. Here are a few of the reactions and reflections they shared with us:
"Washington Black stood out to me. It has me constantly reflecting on treating the people around me better. The book was good because it showed a story of two people from different walks in life being able to connect and become true friends. When Wash and Christopher realize Wash’s life is in danger, they flee together instead of parting ways. This stood out to me because Christopher could’ve just left Wash to his fate and continued to live his great life. People these days will quickly abandon you at the sign of trouble so to read this story of togetherness was refreshing." - DP
Reflecting on the protagonist’s determination to capture everything about his hometown in his memory so he can draw it later, FM member RB wrote about a memory that he would like to capture:
"This is both sad (because it happened while in prison) and a great memory: It was family day [at the facility], and there I sat with my mother, my son (who was also locked up), and his mother, surrounded by other families. Although I was in jail, I felt free. And it was one of the best days of my life. As my son was born shortly after my incarceration, I’ve never been free with him. I’ve never sat at a table and ate with him as a family. I had never taken a picture with him, his mother, and I together. There was music, food, dancing. Just a beautiful vibe. And I’ll cherish this day/time forever." - RB
Our upcoming Books Across the Miles book, selected by our members, is Creatures of Passage, by Morowa Yejidé. This book is a family saga haunted by the past, but one that points toward a healing, restorative future. It grapples with some of the big themes of ancestry and kinship that we have been discussing lately, and we’re excited to see the robust conversations it sparks among our book club members. Check back soon for updates!
On the Same Page: community support for incarcerated poets
Our On the Same Page public education and peacebuilding program uses poetry and storytelling to connect community members in DC with our incarcerated and formerly incarcerated members. Volunteers attend our On the Same Page: Write Night events, where they hear from formerly incarcerated poets and read and respond to poetry written by our incarcerated members, in a mutual exchange of creative support.
In June, we were thrilled to host an in-person Write Night with over 100 community members. One of our Poet Ambassadors, Antoine, used a poem he wrote to share how important the poetry feedback we gathered to provide was while he was incarcerated: “Seeing I am not alone encouraged me to stay strong / Not in a hallway, but in a room of poets is where I belong.”
In addition to this Write Night, as the academic year has started back up, our On the Same Page programming has brought in students at DC area universities to learn about the work we do at Free Minds. In the last few weeks, participants in Georgetown University’s First-Year Orientation to Community Involvement and George Washington University’s Welcome Day of Service have attended sessions where they have heard from Poet Ambassadors, provided poetry feedback, and prepared completed poems to be mailed to incarcerated writers in facilities across the country. We were pleased to see these members of the DC community, both new and returning, fired up about supporting our work and passionate about engaging during their time in college.
We look forward to continuing our efforts to cultivate these supportive communities with our members, all of which has been made possible by the generous support of our donors!
Links:
By Makenna Lindsay | Communications Intern
By Sofia Dean | Community Engagement Coordinator
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