Inner City Miracle
By Greg Mathis with Blair S. Walker 

     No-nonsense TV judge Greg Mathis has lead an interesting life. Sure he's brash, but he's real. If you watch his program, you know he very often alludes to his childhood, but to get a deeper understanding, you should read Inner City Miracle.

     The youngest of four children, Greg was an oxymoron: a contradiction between what his mother wanted him to be and what he wanted to be. A student who excelled in class work, he was arguably was the meanest bully in school. Teachers struggled with him; he had great grades but a horrible attitude. His idols were gangsters, pimps, and drug dealers, the malcontents of society who always had money and loved to flash it. Growing up poor, he naturally found the lure of money enticing. His older brothers weren't role models for they, too, aspired to greatness with little regard to the law.

     His mother was the family backbone. She ruled with tough love, often kicking out her older sons until they could prove they were worthy of returning to the fold.
Ironically, Greg always strived to please his mother. His good grades, his weekly attendance in church services, his participation in church activities, all made his other side unbelievable. His mother wanted all her children to succeed, but there came a point when she even had to call the police on Greg, which became the turning point in this troubled young man's life.

     As he has publicly said on many occasions, the system that sentences so many youth to prison is the same system that helped him become the person that he is today. A defining change came when he was incarcerated and had visiting time with his mother. She told him that she was dying and that he needed to do something else with his life. From that point forward, he began a lifestyle that would make his mother proud. The judge sentenced him to get a GED and get a job or he would be back in jail and he grabbed the chance. He didn't stop there, going on to college, working in city government, managing election campaigns for Jesse Jackson. He married, went to law school, and sued for the right to practice law in spite of his criminal background. His mother had already died, and saw none of this, but he believes that she's with him and still motivating him today.

     Inner City Miracle is an inspirational story, that should be required reading for those in juvenile detention. The message is that there is hope in spite of circumstances if you are motivated. Judge Greg Mathis is proof.