This memoir is alternately inspiring and disquieting, as the author relates her childhood with her formidable grandmother, her school years being mentored by other great women, including Mary McLeod Bethune, her groundbreaking work in the military during WWII, and her
…more career as a civil rights lawyer and later minister, always giving credit to those that helped her. She fought against Jim Crow her entire life, and was one of two lawyers who eventually won the landmark case "Sarah Keys v. Carolina Bus Company", ending Jim Crow practices on bus routes in the South. I had never heard of Ms. Roundtree prior to reading this book, which is a great shame considering that I'm a lawyer myself. She experienced and fought misogyny and racism throughout her life, persevering despite periods of ill health and great grief. Ms. Roundtree took on some truly interesting cases, including the successful defense of a man accused of killing a Washington socialite (it was later revealed that the woman had been JFK's mistress), and the representation of a man in a divorce matter who later killed his ex-wife and a doctor and shot others in a jealous rage. While I had studied "Brown v. Board of Education" in law school, never have I read such an inspiring description of the impact of the Supreme Court's ruling on the lives of black Americans. There are certain great people who pave the way for others and make life better for many and Ms. Roundtree is one of those people. And, boy, can she write! Katie McCabe is the co-author and the two have created an important work that has relevance to today's events. One cannot read this book without thinking of the racism still prevalent, including the white supremacist march in Virginia in 2018 and the countless other indignities and crimes against people of color. (My reading copy lacks the foreword by Tayari Jones, who wrote "An American Marriage" - I'm really looking forward to reading that when the book is published!) Highly recommended. (less)
