Judge Greg Mathis

Judge Greg Mathis is a national figure known for his advocacy campaigns for urban youth and equal justice. His inspirational life story of a street youth who rose from jail to judge has provided hope to millions who watch him on the Emmy® nominated, award-winning television court show "Judge Mathis" each day.

Mathis's public service career began in college where he led Free South Africa and voter registration campaigns on campus, while also working nights at McDonald's as a swing manager. After graduating from college in 1983, he joined the staff of Detroit City Councilman Clyde Cleveland and continued to work as an advocate for equal justice, currently serving as the chairman of Reverend Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH. Mathis is also a national board member of both the NAACP and the Morehouse School of Medicine.

In his efforts to reach out to youth and ex-offenders both in and outside of the courtroom, Mathis opened the Mathis Community Center in his hometown of Detroit and has assisted thousands of youth through his non-profit agency Young Adults Asserting Themselves (Y.A.A.T.), which provides career, business start-up, and job opportunities, as well as job training and college enrollment assistance. Furthermore, he provides legal advice on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” and on his website, AskJudgeMathis.com, and is the author of the book "Inner City Miracle."

In 2009, in honor of his years of work and commitment to his hometown of Detroit, the city named one of the streets, Mathis Avenue, after him. The street is part of a new housing development, which replaced the housing projects he grew up in. Mathis has received numerous awards and keys to the city from government officials and is the recipient of honorary doctorates from both Florida A&M University and Eastern Michigan University. He has been recognized for his efforts by numerous newspapers, magazines, and television networks. He has appeared on such shows as "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "The Today Show," "Larry King Live," and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."