Dovey Johnson Roundtree facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dovey Johnson Roundtree
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Roundtree pictured in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1994
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Dovey Mae Johnson
April 17, 1914 |
| Died | May 21, 2018 (aged 104) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Spelman College Howard University School of Law |
| Occupation | Civil rights and criminal defense lawyer, minister, Army veteran |
| Years active | 1951–1996 |
| Known for | Co-Counsel for the petitioner in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company (64 MCC 769 (1955) First black member of DC Women's Bar American Bar Association 2000 Margaret Brent Award winner |
| Spouse(s) | William Roundtree (1946-1947; divorced) |
Dovey Mae Johnson Roundtree (April 17, 1914 – May 21, 2018) was an amazing African-American civil rights activist, minister, and lawyer. She made history in 1955 with a big win in a case about bus segregation. This case, called Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company, helped end the "separate but equal" rule for buses traveling between states.
Her work was so important that Robert F. Kennedy, a powerful government official, used her case in 1961. He did this to make sure Jim Crow laws (rules that kept Black and white people separate) were stopped in public transportation.
Dovey Roundtree was mentored by Mary McLeod Bethune, a famous Black activist and educator. Bethune chose her to be among the first African-American women officers in the Army during World War II. In 1961, Dovey also became one of the first women to become a full minister in her church. She broke another barrier in 1962 by joining the all-white Women's Bar of the District of Columbia. This opened doors for other minority women in law.
Later, she helped start a law firm in Washington, D.C. and worked to help the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the National Council of Negro Women. She even inspired a TV show character and received a major award from the American Bar Association.
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Early Life and Big Dreams
Dovey Mae Johnson was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was the second of four daughters. Her father worked as a printer, and her mother was a seamstress. After her father passed away in 1919, Dovey, her mother, and sisters moved in with her grandmother, Rachel Bryant Graham.
Her grandmother, Rachel, was a strong woman who had a big impact on Charlotte's Black community. She was friends with Mary McLeod Bethune, who traveled a lot to help Black women. Bethune's vision inspired Dovey to study hard and overcome poverty. Dovey dreamed of becoming a doctor and worked her way through Spelman College from 1934 to 1938, during the tough times of the Great Depression.
In 1941, when World War II was starting, Dovey asked Bethune for help finding a job. Bethune chose her to be one of the first 40 African-American women to train as officers in the new Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.
Serving in the Army
Dovey Roundtree bravely spoke out against the unfair treatment she faced in the Army. The Army was strictly segregated, meaning Black and white soldiers were kept separate. Even while recruiting other African-American women, she faced racism.
In 1943, while in uniform, she was forced off a bus in Miami. She had to give up her seat to a white Marine and was threatened with arrest. Despite this, she kept recruiting. She brought so many African-American women into the Army that it helped set the stage for a non-segregated Army. This happened four years before President Harry S. Truman officially ended military segregation in 1948.
A Career in Law
After the war, Dovey Roundtree started working with A. Philip Randolph, a Black labor leader. This work led her to meet Pauli Murray, a passionate civil rights activist and lawyer. Murray believed that law was the best way to make big social changes.
Inspired by Murray, Dovey enrolled at Howard University School of Law in 1947. She was one of only five women in her class. From 1947 to 1950, she studied how to fight school segregation. Her professors, including Thurgood Marshall, were working on cases that led to the famous Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. This decision said that separate schools for Black and white children were illegal.
Ending Bus Segregation
In 1952, Dovey Roundtree and her law partner, Julius Winfield Robertson, took on a bus segregation case that would become very important. It was called Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company (1955). The case started when a Black Army private named Sarah Louise Keys was forced to give up her seat on a bus in North Carolina to a white Marine.
Dovey Roundtree's own experiences with bus segregation during her Army service made this case very personal. She felt like she was looking in a mirror. The case challenged whether a private bus company could force Jim Crow laws on Black passengers traveling between states.
When a lower court dismissed the case, Roundtree and Robertson took it to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). This was a federal group that made rules for travel between states. At first, their complaint was rejected. But Dovey Roundtree reached out to a powerful Congressman, Adam Clayton Powell. He helped them get a new hearing with the full ICC.
In their new arguments, they used the U.S. Constitution and the ideas from the Brown v. Board decision. On November 7, 1955, the ICC made a historic ruling. For the first time, it banned "separate but equal" rules for buses traveling across state lines. This was a huge step forward!
Even though the Keys case was a big win, its impact wasn't fully felt right away. It wasn't until 1961, during the Freedom Riders' protests, that things changed. The Freedom Riders were people who rode buses into the South to challenge segregation. When violence broke out, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy stepped in. He told the ICC to enforce its own ruling from 1955. Finally, in September 1961, the ICC made segregation in interstate travel permanently illegal.
Working in Washington, D.C.
While fighting for civil rights across the country, Dovey Roundtree and Julius Robertson also helped Black clients in Washington, D.C. At that time, Black lawyers and clients faced many challenges in court. But Roundtree and Robertson bravely represented Black clients and won important cases. They helped Black clients get fair treatment and won large amounts of money in accident cases.
When Julius Robertson suddenly passed away in 1961, Dovey Roundtree became a sole lawyer. This was tough because female lawyers, especially Black women, were not always taken seriously. But Dovey found strength in her faith. She had just become a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in November 1961. She went on to build a very successful law practice on her own for nine years. In 1970, she started a new law firm.
In 1962, she broke another barrier. She was nominated to join the all-white Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia. Many members were against her joining. But thanks to attorney Joyce Hens Green, who insisted on a full vote, Dovey Roundtree became the first Black member of the Women's Bar.
Later Life and Legacy
Dovey Johnson Roundtree lived a long and impactful life. She turned 100 in April 2014 and passed away in May 2018 at the age of 104.
In her later years, Dovey combined her work as a minister with her legal practice. She focused on helping families and children, especially in tough neighborhoods. She believed that children were in danger from violence and family problems. She continued to speak out for children's welfare even after she retired from law in 1996.
Awards and Recognition
Dovey Roundtree received many awards and honors for her amazing work. These included:
- The 1995 Distinguished Alumna Award from the Howard Law Alumni.
- The 2000 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award from the American Bar Association.
- The 2011 Janet B. Reno Torchbearer Award from the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia, the group she helped integrate.
Her autobiography, first called Justice Older than the Law, won an award in 2009. It was re-released in 2019 as Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights. Her story also inspired two children's books: Mighty Justice (for middle schoolers) and We Wait for the Sun (a picture book).
First Lady Michelle Obama praised Dovey Roundtree in a letter in 2009. She said that we stand on the shoulders of people like Dovey Johnson Roundtree, who helped create a better future.
Lasting Impact
Dovey Johnson Roundtree's legacy continues to inspire.
- In 2011, a scholarship fund was created in her name at Spelman College.
- After her death in 2018, the Women's Bar of D.C. created "The Dovey Roundtree Rule." This rule helps law firms hire more minority women for leadership roles.
- In 2013, a building for seniors in Washington D.C. was named "The Roundtree Residences" in her honor.
- In 2020, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife donated a large sum to Spelman College. Part of this money funded a scholarship named after Dovey Johnson Roundtree.
