by Katie McCabe (Author)
A young reader's adaptation of Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights, the memoir of activist and trailblazer Dovey Johnson Roundtree, by Katie McCabe.
Raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the height of Jim Crow, Dovey Johnson Roundtree felt the sting of inequality at an early age and made a point to speak up for justice. She was one of the first Black women to break the racial and gender barriers in the US Army; a fierce attorney in the segregated courtrooms of Washington, DC; and a minister in the AME church, where women had never before been ordained as clergy. In 1955, Roundtree won a landmark bus desegregation case that eventually helped end "separate but equal" and dismantle Jim Crow laws across the South.
Developed with the full support of the Dovey Johnson Roundtree Educational Trust and adapted from her memoir, this book brings her inspiring, important story and voice to life.
A Junior Library Guild Selection
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Gr 7-10--Dovey Johnson Roundtree (1914-2018), an African American civil rights activist and attorney, learned from an early age that she was "as good as anybody." She observed and absorbed how her mother and her grandmother carried themselves with dignity, served their church and their community, and never let the forces of white supremacy and Jim Crow laws in Charlotte, NC, defeat them. This young readers' edition of Roundtree's inspiring memoir provides context and detailed insight into the historic events in which she took part. The text offers a snapshot of the times in which Roundtree lived and worked, as well as a thorough explanation of the court cases and the constitutional issues that were of critical importance in the dismantling of segregation. There are plenty of inspiring vignettes. For example, Roundtree and her mother moved to Atlanta after Roundtree graduated high school. They were hired as domestic workers for a wealthy family; the wages they earned were put toward Roundtree's tuition at Spelman College. When her mother returned to Charlotte, Roundtree continued to work for the family until they became abusive. She worked very hard for her education and didn't let her circumstances discourage her. An index, a chronology of key civil rights judicial rulings, and suggestions for further reading are included. VERDICT A moving memoir of a true American heroine. Highly recommended for junior high and high school nonfiction collections, and will especially appeal to those with a passion for social justice.--Kelly Kingrey-Edwards, Blinn Junior College, Brenham, TX
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Dovey Johnson Roundtree was an attorney and minister who was one of the first women to be commissioned an Army officer and who helped win a landmark case banning segregation in interstate bus travel. She died in 2018 at the age of 104.
Katie McCabe is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Washingtonian Magazine, Baltimore Magazine, and Reader's Digest, among others. Her National Magazine Award-winning article on black medical legend Vivien Thomas was the basis for the HBO film Something the Lord Made, winner of three Emmys and a 2005 Peabody award. Raissa Figueroa is a children's book illustrator and overall art lover based out of San Diego, California. She loves taking early morning walks through her neighborhood to greet the sun before it rises with her dog, Ghost, to gather inspiration from the beauty of nature that surrounds us. She is also the illustrator of Sophie and the Little Star, written by Amber Hendricks.