Delivering Justice: W.W. Law and the Fight for Civil Rights

By James Haskins

Book Overview

A gripping biography of the mail carrier who orchestrated the Great Savannah boycott -- and was instrumental in bringing equality to his community. "Grow up and be somebody," Westley Wallace Law's grandmother encouraged him as a young boy living in poverty in segregated Savannah, Georgia. Determined to make a difference in his community, W.W. Law assisted blacks in registering to vote, joined the NAACP and trained protestors in the use of nonviolent civil disobedience, and, in 1961, led the Great Savannah Boycott. In that famous protest, blacks refused to shop in downtown Savannah. When city leaders finally agreed to declare all of its citizens equal, Savannah became the first city in the south to end racial discrimination. A lifelong mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, W.W. Law saw fostering communication between blacks and whites as a fundamental part of his job. As this affecting, strikingly illustrated biography makes clear, this "unsung hero" delivered far more than the mail to the citizens of the city he loved.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763638803
• ISBN13: 9780763638801
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.2" x 11.7"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A Book Read to My Class for Black History Month

This book was much enjoyed by one of my third grade classes. It gave them the information they needed to help them understand segregation and desegregation in our country's history.

Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children

Westley Wallace Law grew up in Savannah, Georgia, at a time when segregation laws dictated that he drink at separate water fountains and attend a separate school. Westley grew angry that his mom and grandma experienced discriminatory treatment at work and in local stores. He vowed that some day he would become a leader in the black community and also support his mother so she no longer had to work as a domestic in someone else's house. As a young man, Westley took on leadership positions in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He helped African Americans pass tests that were required for voter registration, and he started training local students in non-violent protest methods that were put to the test during the Great Savannah Boycott in 1960. Westley's job as mail carrier proved instrumental in establishing dialogues with people in the white community and cultivating an understanding of the need to end racial segregation. Delivering Justice tells the important story of an unsung hero during the civil rights movement who fought for racial equality and social justice for African Americans. Carefully intertwined in this biographical account are some powerful lessons in economics related to discrimination by race and jobs in the public sector. This excellent book gets high marks for putting the spotlight on an inspiring leader and making his contributions accessible to younger readers.

An Award Winner

This award-winning book is one of the best books I've seen for children, about Civil Rights. I recommend it. Wonderful!