Ideas worth spreading

The creativity, innovation and ingenuity languishing in US prisons

1,699,222 views | Brittany K. Barnett • TED Salon: American Family Insurance

The freedom journey doesn't end when someone is released from prison. In many ways, it begins. Attorney and entrepreneur Brittany K. Barnett fights to free people from prison and champions restoring and nurturing the creative ingenuity of justice-impacted people. She shares stories of the innovation languishing in America's prisons -- and a vision for investing in people whose unjust sentences interrupted their dreams to bring great things to the world.

The freedom journey doesn't end when someone is released from prison. In many ways, it begins. Attorney and entrepreneur Brittany K. Barnett fights to free people from prison and champions restoring and nurturing the creative ingenuity of justice-impacted people. She shares stories of the innovation languishing in America's prisons -- and a vision for investing in people whose unjust sentences interrupted their dreams to bring great things to the world.

This talk was presented at a TED Salon event given in partnership with American Family Insurance. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TED Salons.

Donate to the Manifest Freedom Fund to help justice-impacted entrepreneurs thrive.

Donate to the Buried Alive Project to help the fight to free people serving unjust sentences under outdated federal drug laws.

Donate to Girls Embracing Mothers to help empower girls with mothers in prison break the cycle of incarceration to lead successful lives with vision and purpose.

About the speaker

Brittany K. Barnett

Brittany K. Barnett

Attorney, entrepreneur, author

See speaker profile

Brittany K. Barnett is a best-selling author, attorney and entrepreneur who thrives at the intersection of hope, justice and freedom.

Brittany K. Barnett | Crown, 2021 | Book

A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom

Fresh Air | NPR, 2020 | Listen

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Amna Nawaz and Mike Fritz | PBS, 2021 | Watch

"For Girls With Mothers in Prison, a Summer Camp Offers Much-Needed Support"

Sari Horwitz | Washington Post, 2015 | Article

"From a First Arrest to a Life Sentence"

Wesley Bruer and Dianne Gallagher | CNN, 2021 | Article

"This Former Prisoner Had an Unlikely Supporter: the Judge who Sentenced Him"

"Good Morning America", 2021 | Watch

"An Attorney’s Inspiring Mission to Transform the Criminal Legal System"

Ava DuVernay, 2016 | Watch

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About TED Salon

TED Salons welcome an intimate audience for an afternoon or evening of highly-curated TED Talks revolving around a globally relevant theme. A condensed version of a TED flagship conference, they are distinct in their brevity, opportunities for conversation, and heightened interaction between the speaker and audience.

Read more about TED Salons

This talk was presented at a TED Salon event given in partnership with American Family Insurance. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TED Salons.

Donate to the Manifest Freedom Fund to help justice-impacted entrepreneurs thrive.

Donate to the Buried Alive Project to help the fight to free people serving unjust sentences under outdated federal drug laws.

Donate to Girls Embracing Mothers to help empower girls with mothers in prison break the cycle of incarceration to lead successful lives with vision and purpose.