My name is Alexis Martin, and I’m the executive director of Freedom to Grow. Our work grew from Solitary Gardens, founded by my collaborator Jackie Sumble, which creates garden beds in the footprints of six-by-nine-foot solitary cells—spaces where men like Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox, and Robert King spent decades. These gardens honor resilience and creativity, offering a space for reflection, connection, and growth—both for those inside and for volunteers. Each garden transforms confinement into life.
At Freedom to Grow, I oversee operations, development, and programs like our Museum for Abolition and Beyond. We document histories of resistance, learn from those impacted by incarceration, and imagine alternatives to punitive systems. Through gardens, workshops, and archives, we connect communities to people who have been imprisoned, amplifying voices too often silenced. Volunteers and incarcerated individuals collaborate, exchanging knowledge, care, and hope.
I’m inspired daily by the people around me—the organizers, formerly incarcerated individuals shaping the gardens, and community members like Miss Laverne Thompson, who generously share their wisdom. In New Orleans, I’ve seen the power of mutual aid and connection: neighbors, friends, and volunteers stepping in to nurture, teach, and sustain each other.
To me, being American means recognizing the harm in our systems, especially incarceration, and taking responsibility to disrupt them. It means using our freedom to support, uplift, and heal one another. The work we do through Freedom to Grow embodies that spirit—creating space for growth, justice, and community, and showing that transformation is always possible.
At Freedom to Grow, I oversee operations, development, and programs like our Museum for Abolition and Beyond. We document histories of resistance, learn from those impacted by incarceration, and imagine alternatives to punitive systems. Through gardens, workshops, and archives, we connect communities to people who have been imprisoned, amplifying voices too often silenced. Volunteers and incarcerated individuals collaborate, exchanging knowledge, care, and hope.
I’m inspired daily by the people around me—the organizers, formerly incarcerated individuals shaping the gardens, and community members like Miss Laverne Thompson, who generously share their wisdom. In New Orleans, I’ve seen the power of mutual aid and connection: neighbors, friends, and volunteers stepping in to nurture, teach, and sustain each other.
To me, being American means recognizing the harm in our systems, especially incarceration, and taking responsibility to disrupt them. It means using our freedom to support, uplift, and heal one another. The work we do through Freedom to Grow embodies that spirit—creating space for growth, justice, and community, and showing that transformation is always possible.
