Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights (English Edition)

“It is on the shoulders of people like Dovey Johnson Roundtree that we stand today. She has clearly demonstrated that even in the face of enormous challenges, an unblinking belief in equality and justice will spur real change.” —Michelle Obama

Legendary African American civil rights attorney Dovey Johnson Roundtree recounts her trailblazing life in this inspiring, beautifully told story that shows how one remarkable woman changed history, and how urgent it is to continue her work today. From the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, to the segregated courtrooms of the nation’s capital, from the male stronghold of the army to the pulpits of churches–where women had waited for years for the right to minister–Dovey Johnson Roundtree sought justice. As one of the first women to be commissioned as an army officer in World War II, Dovey Roundtree broke down gender and color barriers in the United States military. Then, at a time when African American attorneys had to leave the courthouses to use the bathrooms, Roundtree took on Washington’s white legal establishment and prevailed, winning a 1955 bus desegregation case that would help to dismantle the practice of “separate but equal.” And later in life, she led the vanguard of women ordained to the ministry in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1961, merging her law practice with her ministry to fight for families and children being destroyed by urban violence.

A book for everyone interested in civil rights and women’s history, as well for fans of Hidden Figures and My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Dovey Johnson Roundtree passed away in 2018 at the age of 104. Her groundbreaking story endures, and will be soon be a feature film as well.