Justice Older Than the Law: The Life of Dovey Johnson Roundtree

Justice Older Than The Law is just that - a compelling story about a woman who came of age during a turbulent time in our country's history. Dovey, with the help of Katie McCabe, shows us how important struggle is to people of conscience. Her courage is an inspiration, and her brand of courage and persistence is the very root of what law and religion or spirituality do their best to teach us. I am grateful to have been introduced to this strong woman of faith, who had a dedication to her country, and a reliance on what she knows to be just and right, that would serve us all well now.

This book invites the reader to share intimate details, not just of Dovey's life, but also of an era and a culture that she experienced-- outside of our own experience. The text offers a rare intensity in portrayal that could only come out of the author Katie McCabe's many years spent accompanying Dovey on her rounds.

Justice Older Than The Law: The Life of Dovey Johnson Roundtree by Katie McCabe and Dovey Johnson Roundtree is an excellent read. Told in the first person, the story focuses on the life of Charlotte native Dovey Johnson Roundtree, a pioneer in securing civil rights for both women and blacks. Those looking for role models to inspire young people today should make sure this book gets in the hands of our schools and libraries. Despite her many personal achievements (an officer in the Women's Army Corps; a Howard University law school graduate, a practicing attorney in D.C, a minister), Dovey dwells on those who gave her the means to cope with the trials and challenges of her life, beginning and ending with her grandmother, Charlottean Rachel Bryant Graham. Inspired by her grandmother, whose feet were broken by a white man who tried to take advantage of her in her youth, and by other mentors including her Spelman College professor, Mary Mae Neptune, Dovey Johnson Roundtree defies the racial and gender stereotypes and barriers of her day to become an attorney noted for taking on "lost causes." As a law student at Howard University, Dovey sat in on practice sessions with Thurgood Marshall and her own professor James Madison Nabrit, Jr., as they strategised to end the "lie" of Plessy v. Ferguson, the decision that affirmed segregation and crushed the hearts and minds of generations of black children in the South. The behind the scenes look at pivotal civil rights cases, including Brown V. Board of Education and her own case in Sarah Keys V. Carolina, is told with emphasis on the human cost of segregated transportationthe systems and school systems. Credit goes to Dovey's writing partner Katie McCabe who tells Dovey's story with a journalist's expertise for narrative and human detail. The title of the book implies that law can't resolve all the problems of life. This book doesn't try to sugarcoat Dovey's own failed marriage and the shortcomings of those she loved. Education, the law, the ministry cannot correct all of society's ills, especially the disturbing violence against children by children in her beloved communities of Washington D.C. and Charlotte. In later life, she studies to become a minister in an effort to more completely comfort those who come to her for help. Finding hope in the story of her grandmother to whom she dedicates the book, Dovey makes a case for a cure in patient, persevering and persistent love.

When a good friend of mine recommended that I read "Justice Older Than the Law," I wondered who Dovey Johnson Roundtree was and why she merited a book about her life. After all, I had lived in the Deep South for 19 years and had never heard of her. That was my misfortune. After reading the book, written by Katie McCabe after years of research and interviews, I have concluded that Ms. Roundtree should be a household name like Rosa Parks. Roundtree was at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement before it was even recognized as a movement. She blazed trails for African Americans and women in the United States military, in the legal profession, and in the ministry. She suffered discrimination and cruelty at every turn, but persevered largely because of the influence of other strong women in her life, starting with her grandmother. Although the majority of the book deals with the '40's, '50's, and '60's, Roundtree (through McCabe) has a profound message for the families and children today in communities across the country that are plagued by teen violence. McCabe has captured Roundtree's voice perfectly. If I hadn't read the book jacket and seen McCabe's name, I would have thought that Roundtree had written an autobiography. If you like true stories of strong women who have helped shape history, this book is for you. Eleanor Roosevelt, Thurgood Marshall, Mary McLeod Bethune, and even Ben Bradlee have all played a part in Roundtree's life, and what a life it has been.

I've thought for years that Dovey Roundtree deserved to have her story told, and now - through the graceful writing of Katie McCabe - it has been. From the first few pages to the last, the reader is drawn in by the courage and perseverance of a remarkable woman who played a key part in the history of the civil rights movement. Roundtree never gave up pushing back against poverty, racism, and the resistance of those who would deny a black woman a future in the law. There is no sense of duty reading this book; it is not a homework assignment. McCabe's narrative skills pull one in as seductively as a novel. I hope it will be read particularly by young people who will find themselves - if they do - lifting their heads at the end of the book, saying "So THAT'S the way it was." A story of an American century told through the life of one brave woman. I highly recommend it.