Westley Wallace Law (January 1, 1923 – July 29, 2002) was an American civil rights leader from

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, Georgia. He was president of the Savannah chapter of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

and made great strides in desegregation through

nonviolent resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, cons ...

from 1950 to 1976, serving as a leader in the

Savannah Protest Movement The Savannah Protest Movement was an American campaign led by civil rights activists to bring an end to the system of racial segregation in Savannah, Georgia. The movement began in 1960 and ended in 1963. Throughout the first half of the 20th ...

. He spent much of the rest of his life advocating for African-American history and culture in Savannah. He established the Savannah-Yamacraw Branch of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, the

Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum is a museum in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Named after Ralph Mark Gilbert, the museum traces the history of the African American community in the city, from slavery to the present day, with an ...

, the King-Tisdell Cottage Museum, the Beach Institute of African American Culture, and the Negro Heritage Trail Tour.

Background

W. W. Law was the only son and eldest of ten children born to Geneva Wallace and Westley Law. He began working at the age of ten to help his sick mother while attending school. In high school, Law entered the NAACP Youth Council and later served as the council's president while in college at Georgia State College (now Savannah State University). His college career was interrupted when he was drafted into military service in World War II. W. W. Law got back from the war and, with the help of the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, got back into college where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology. After graduation Law worked as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for more than 40 years. His job at the Postal Service was endangered, however, when he was fired for his civil rights activism. President John F. Kennedy and the NAACP stepped in upon hearing of Law's firing and Law was reinstated in his job. Law retired from the Postal Service in 1990. He died on July 29, 2002, at his house in Savannah, Georgia.

Sources

*New Georgia Encyclopedia W. W. Law
The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum
*George A. Sgouros/Portrait Photographer (W. W. Law - 1997) with Fine Art Portrait Photographer & Chronicler Maria von Matthiessen

External links

W.W. Law Photograph Collection
from the Digital Library of Georgia
John Williams Collection of W.W. (Westley Wallace) Law Papers
at the Georgia Historical Society
W.W. Law Endowment Fund
at the Georgia Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Law, W.W. 1923 births 2002 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights Movements for civil rights Activists from Savannah, Georgia Savannah State University alumni American military personnel of World War II