Inheritors of the Spirit: Mary White Ovington and the Founding of the NAACP

by Carolyn Wedin

This is the untold story of the founding of the NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights organization. Viewed through the life of cofounder, Mary White Ovington, a seminal feminist and social activist from New York's upper-middle-class, it focuses on her relationship with pioneering black leaders, such as W.E.B. DuBois, Walter White, and Mary Church Terrell, providing insights into race and gender in the early 20th century.

Genres: History

367 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 1997

Reviews

[Carmen Tourney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as 1 of the books I read during Black History Month (I always try to read at least one). It was about a upper-middle class white woman who helped to found the NAACP. It briefly described her involvement/background as having grown up as a Unitarian-Universalist. After reading of her experiences helping set up the NAACP and feeling that her involvement in UUism played some part in it, it made me curious enough to have eventually (about 3 years later) start going to a Unitarian Church. Very good book that covers her relationships with W.E.B Dubois and his rival Booker T. Washington.

[Drick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written account of the live of Mary White Ovington, one of the founders of the NAACP and a consistent white voice for racial equality and justice in the first half of the 20th century. Her forward thinking and her consistency is something to be deeply admired.