Psalms from Prison

Book excerpt: Originally published in 1983 after the convictions of the Wilmington Ten were overturned, Psalms from Prison was updated and re-released in 1994. Now in its third edition, this update to Psalms from Prison includes autobiographical reflections from Benjamin Chavis about the unjust imprisonment of the Wilmington Ten and the struggle for equal rights. On October 18, 1972, Benjamin Chavis and nine others (the famous Wilmington Ten) were wrongly convicted of having incited race riots. Chavis spent four years in jail—and it was in the flames of that injustice that these psalms were forged. The deep and abiding faith that sustains Chavis today can be found in these powerful prayers, now accompanied by autobiographical reflections in this third edition. Chavis’ psalms spoke to the issues of the African American struggle then . . . and they speak to those same issues today.