09/29/2026
At 16, Reginald Dwayne Betts was sentenced to nine years in prison. He turned to books to hold onto his sanity and came to believe that “you find what you look for,” even in the toughest places.
Today, Betts is a lawyer, poet, and founder of Freedom Libraries, bringing books into prisons across the country and helping pass hope from one person to another.
His story speaks to something we see through our work at RTA: creating space for people in prison to discover possibility, build connections, and imagine what comes next.
Watch Betts’ powerful TED Talk and hear his story for yourself.
https://www.ted.com/talks/reginald_dwayne_betts_why_i_m_building_libraries_inside_prisons
