"A valuable contribution to the literature on the civil rights movement and the ongoing fight against white supremacy."
―The Washington Post

"Excellent debut...readers will be struck by how many of the issues involved-voter suppression, public funding for private schools, racial inequalities in the criminal justice system-are still being legislated today."
―Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"A seminal work of impeccable scholarship."
―Library Journal, starred review

Telling the Stories that Matter

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Interviewing Gary Duncan on a shrimp boat near the mouth of the Mississippi River. (photo: Nancy Buirski)
Matthew Van Meter works to amplify the voices of people whose stories have been ignored, suppressed, or silenced. 

​As a journalist, he writes deeply reported narratives about the experiences of people who are too often overlooked: incarcerated people, activists, civil rights workers, and the radical lawyers who assist them.

As assistant director of Shakespeare in Prison, he has worked with hundreds of incarcerated men and women, helping foster a space where they are empowered to reconnect with their own humanity and that of others.
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Performing in King Lear at Parnall Correctional Facility in Jackson, Mich. (photo: Chuk Nowak)