On October 18, 1972, Benjamin F. Chavis and nine other black activists were convicted of having incited race riots in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1971. They were sentenced to a combined total of 282 years in prison. Nearly a decade and millions of dollars later, that conviction was over-turned and the Wilmington Ten were freed. The case has become a landmark in the struggle for civil rights in this country. Amnesty International declared the Wilmington Ten political prisoners in the U.S.A.During his years of confinement in various North Carolina prisons, Chavis knew that he had to maintain his faith in God, in God"s people, and in their collective will and yearning to be free. He decided to capture his prison prayers and experiences in the form of psalms. The psalms were written as a testament that the descendants of African slaves were able to survive centuries of oppression because of an irrepressible faith in the God of justice and freedom....