11/01/2022

Gr 5 Up—Binns provides an in-depth look at the life and legacy of Dr. James B. Williams, whose tireless efforts helped integrate the military and medicine. Binns begins by recounting segregation with a focus on the military, the First World War, and the horrors of the Red Summer of 1919. Williams became a member of the Medical Corps in 1942 and then later a pilot, ultimately joining the Tuskegee Airmen. As a Black officer, he was denied entry into the Officers' Club and led protests to integrate it. Widely recognized as a major step towards integrating the military, the protests became known as the Freeman Field Mutiny. After the war, Williams worked as a doctor in Chicago. Segregation in medicine led to denial of care and death for many Black Americans; since these racist policies carried over to the American Medical Association, Williams became active in the National Medical Association (which did not have race or gender requirements for membership) and continued to fight segregation. His work led him to the office of President Kennedy as part of the lobbying for what became the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which denied funding to hospitals that practiced segregation and ultimately forced many facilities to desegregate. While the text is lengthy, readers will be rewarded by Binns's fluid and absorbing writing. Includes numerous photographs and extensive back matter. VERDICT Strongly recommended for middle school students as it fills a significant gap in YA nonfiction covering the critical fight to integrate the military and medicine.—Karen T. Bilton

2022-08-17
An account of a Black doctor and veteran whose principled actions helped change America.

James Buchanan Williams, JB to his friends, was a Black doctor and Tuskegee Airman born in 1919. His mother, Clara Belle, was the daughter of formerly enslaved sharecroppers, and his father, Jasper, was a co-founder of the El Paso chapter of the NAACP, something that made him a target for the Ku Klux Klan. Williams was among many Black men who served in the U.S. military during World War II but were denied financial benefits as well as dignity and basic respect. Along with other Black officers, he participated in the Freeman Field Mutiny, refusing to sign a paper consenting to abide by segregation at the Freeman Field base in Indiana, an important step toward the eventual integration of the armed forces. As a pioneering surgeon, Williams went on to play a role in the civil rights movement. He and his brothers, who also became doctors and established their own clinic, were active in the National Medical Association, which was founded to advocate for inclusivity in response to the American Medical Association’s racist practices. Binns tells Williams’ story succinctly and with respect and admiration. The book includes context about the broader social movements of the times and is enhanced by photographs and documents that bring the time period to life for readers.

An eye-opening look at the courage, dedication, and perseverance of an activist for racial equality. (afterword, bibliography, additional resources, source notes, photo and illustration credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)