Excerpt from Mighty Justice by Dovey Johnson Roundtree , Katie McCabe , plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Ms. Roundtree believed that the route to justice was through the courts. Along with her colleagues she argued cases on behalf of scores of African American citizens who opposed segregation. Most Americans will understand the import of Brown v. Board, argued by the great Thurgood Marshall, toppling Plessy v. Ferguson and ending segregation in public schools. But few people know of the countless other cases tried by lawyers like Ms. Roundtree who were barely paid. They lost more cases than they won. But when they were triumphant, their cases made small cracks in the barrier that separated African Americans from their civil rights. This is not the story of well-dressed, fast-talking lawyers seated in rich leather chairs. This is a story about lawyers as laborers, serving the people.

Ms. Roundtree was exceptional, but she was not an exception. All her life she was surrounded by those who shared her commitment and values—from her grandmother, who insisted that she go to college, to Mae Neptune, the professor at Spelman College who helped Dovey pay for her education. Even as a young woman, she forged relationships with Mary McLeod Bethune and A. Philip Randolph, titans of American history. She saw herself as a member of a mighty army, understanding that she was a participant in a steady movement of dissent that spanned generations.

In addition to its historical significance, Mighty Justice is a pleasure to read. When speaking of one of her clients, Ms. Roundtree invokes the "surety I believe that God gives to persons who are telling the truth." I will assert here that she expresses herself with the music God gives to the same. Whether she is remembering the Southern lilt of her grandmother's voice or the ruin of a man wrongfully imprisoned, or even her own longing for love and family, Ms. Roundtree speaks with conviction and eloquence. But more than that, she approaches the story of her own life with the passion of one who is called to witness.

Like its author, Mighty Justice is many things at once. It is a call to arms for those who refuse to allow the nation to be dragged back into the dark days of segregation and blatant injustice. It is a how-to guide for those already performing freedom work. For those who are tired and discouraged, it is a rousing reminder that change will come for those who are persistent. For those who know little about the route from the hard-won battles to end American apartheid, in your hand is an education. But for us all, it is, as Dovey Johnson Roundtree spells out in the final chapter of this remarkable life story: Healing the Brokenness.


Tayari Jones
Atlanta, Georgia


Tayari Jones is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel An American Marriage and three previous novels, including Silver Sparrow. A winner of numerous literary awards, she is Professor of Creative Writing at Emory University. Like Dovey Johnson Roundtree, she is an alumna of Spelman College.

Excerpted from Mighty Justice by Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Katie McCabe . Copyright © 2019 by Dovey Johnson Roundtree and Katie McCabe . Excerpted by permission of Algonquin Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.