Justice is what love looks like in public.

– Cornel West

“Being in these situations for a quarter of a century let me know what I’m made of. I’m not invincible. I’m a mere man of flesh and blood. But let me tell you something: if we wanted to, me and my family, my friends, we could go through this struggle again. We’re built like that. And everybody is. That’s what we want to tell everybody. You are wonderfully made. You just don’t know it. It took twenty-five years and a natural life sentence in prison for me to figure out that I was wonderfully made. How can I help you figure that out without the stick across your head? Please help me figure that out. ‘Cause everybody don’t survive the stick across the head. They just don’t.”

– William “Mecca” Elmore

Prison From the Inside Out is both a book and an act of trust: A black man from New Jersey and a white woman from New York meet in a workshop at a North Carolina prison. They decide they have something to tell the world about incarceration, self-esteem, personal growth, survival, and the power of trust. Together they have created this book.