Results by title
101 books match the query 'Social Activists' and 2 start with v
Valiant Vel
Vel Phillips and the Fight for Fairness and EqualityJerrianne Hayslett
Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2025
A New York Public Library Best Book of 2025
An illustrated biography of groundbreaking civil rights activist Vel Phillips for young readers
Fair housing advocate, civil rights champion, and civic leader Vel Phillips spent her life breaking barriers and fighting for justice for all people. As the first Black woman on the Milwaukee Common Council, Wisconsin’s first Black judge, and the first Black woman to win statewide office when she was elected secretary of state of Wisconsin, Phillips left a lasting legacy that has inspired generations to continue the fight for justice and equality.
Valiant Vel depicts Phillips’s captivating story for young readers in middle and high school—from her childhood experiences facing racial discrimination, to achieving her dream of becoming a lawyer, to her long career in politics and civil rights. In the 1960s, Phillips spearheaded a campaign to advocate for fair housing in Milwaukee, joining forces with the NAACP Youth Council and marching alongside other activists in the face of violent opposition. In 1968, Phillips’s persistence paid off when the Milwaukee Common Council passed a fair housing ordinance.
Beautifully illustrated with historic photographs and original artwork by Milwaukee artist Aaron Boyd, Valiant Vel makes an excellent addition to young readers’ bookshelves at school and at home. With an afterword by Phillips’s son, Michael, a glossary of terms, and sources for further research, this book provides a thorough look at an inspirational activist who dedicated her life to making the world a better place.
An illustrated biography of groundbreaking civil rights activist Vel Phillips for young readers
Fair housing advocate, civil rights champion, and civic leader Vel Phillips spent her life breaking barriers and fighting for justice for all people. As the first Black woman on the Milwaukee Common Council, Wisconsin’s first Black judge, and the first Black woman to win statewide office when she was elected secretary of state of Wisconsin, Phillips left a lasting legacy that has inspired generations to continue the fight for justice and equality.
Valiant Vel depicts Phillips’s captivating story for young readers in middle and high school—from her childhood experiences facing racial discrimination, to achieving her dream of becoming a lawyer, to her long career in politics and civil rights. In the 1960s, Phillips spearheaded a campaign to advocate for fair housing in Milwaukee, joining forces with the NAACP Youth Council and marching alongside other activists in the face of violent opposition. In 1968, Phillips’s persistence paid off when the Milwaukee Common Council passed a fair housing ordinance.
Beautifully illustrated with historic photographs and original artwork by Milwaukee artist Aaron Boyd, Valiant Vel makes an excellent addition to young readers’ bookshelves at school and at home. With an afterword by Phillips’s son, Michael, a glossary of terms, and sources for further research, this book provides a thorough look at an inspirational activist who dedicated her life to making the world a better place.
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Voice, Silence and Gender in South Africa's Anti-Apartheid Struggle
The Shadow of a Young WomanRachel E. Johnson
University of London Press, 2025
In 1978, amidst the aftermath of the Soweto Uprisings and after being held in detention without charge for over a year, a young black woman who had just turned eighteen stepped into the witness box at Kempton Park Circuit Court, northeast of Johannesburg. She was there to testify in the apartheid State’s case against eleven Soweto school student activists, on trial for sedition. She confirmed her name as Mary Masabata Loate. Loate would live with the consequences of this decision to talk for the rest of her short life.
Who spoke about the liberation struggle whilst it was ongoing? When did they speak and how? And what effects do the gendered history of speech and silence within anti-apartheid politics continue to have upon our knowledge of the past? Arguing that she is emblematic of the way gendered narratives of the struggle have been made, this book listens for the voice and silence of Masabata Loate and her contemporaries within political trials; newspapers; photography; human rights reportage; creative fiction, drama, poetry and song; autobiography and memoir; and oral histories. The result is an unconventional biography that sees this young woman as a shadow within the story of South Africa’s anti-apartheid liberation struggle.
Who spoke about the liberation struggle whilst it was ongoing? When did they speak and how? And what effects do the gendered history of speech and silence within anti-apartheid politics continue to have upon our knowledge of the past? Arguing that she is emblematic of the way gendered narratives of the struggle have been made, this book listens for the voice and silence of Masabata Loate and her contemporaries within political trials; newspapers; photography; human rights reportage; creative fiction, drama, poetry and song; autobiography and memoir; and oral histories. The result is an unconventional biography that sees this young woman as a shadow within the story of South Africa’s anti-apartheid liberation struggle.
[more]