Multiple voices, once silenced behind prison walls, now echo through the halls of Richmond’s Main Library.

The newly opened exhibition “Virginia Needs a Second Chance” turns the spotlight on prison justice advocates and the former inmates who’ve defied societal expectations, rebuilding their lives and giving back to their communities in profound ways.

The exhibition is part of a monthlong multimedia project created by the ACLU of Virginia and eight people who’ve been impacted by the state’s prison system through either incarceration or advocacy.

The goal for the exhibition: to change the perception and narratives around the currently and formerly incarcerated in Virginia, and enable them to reintegrate into society more easily. For those featured in the exhibit, the opportunity and the work done up to this point were deeply rewarding.

“The collaboration and the coming together and becoming a family over this process is a beautiful thing,” Shawn Barksdale said.

A native of Halifax County, Barksdale was incarcerated for 14 years and has spent the last nine years since his release building on the GED, college courses and trade certificates he earned or began behind bars. This includes creating the screen-printing business Press 4 Time Tees, the Ten Minutes of Truth podcast and the Boots on the Ground mentorship.

Barksdale serves as one of the eight “storytellers” from across Virginia featured in the exhibit, alongside Angela White, Taj Mahon-Haft, Rodney Hunter, Angel DeJesus, Chenoa Young, Amber Bowman and Paulettra James.

Over 60 people visited the exhibition during its opening, which featured videos and black and white photography of the storytellers, alongside art created inside and outside the prison system by the incarcerated.

“To me, the storytelling phase is to help us know each other,” said Hunter, who is the pastor of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church and a prison justice and reform advocate. “Then we can see that these are just people who need help, just like all of us have needed help at some point in our lives. To me, this is what this is all about.”

A major focus for the opening evening was exploring the value of second chances, from the social impact to the economic benefits of allowing the incarcerated to grow and build new lives compared to keeping them in prison. A panel discussion between ACLU-VA members and some of the storytellers furthered this topic.

Storytellers emphasized the impact advocacy can have on the incarcerated, the methods to ensure more humane policy by changing how people think, and the need for those who’ve experienced incarceration to be part of improving the prison and re-entry systems.

The exhibition continues through Sept. 30. Three related events are scheduled for the month. The Richmond Public Library will host a Community Engagement Day on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 11 a.m. and a Youth Engagement Day on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m.