Remember, You Are a Wiley

April 1, 2024

Wiley, the Joseph L. Rash Jr. Chair of Civil & Human Rights at the University of the District of Columbia School of Law, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and a former legal analyst on MSNBC, writes a politically charged memoir about civil rights, her childhood, and her parents. Prepub Alert.

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August 1, 2024
The child of a white Southern mother and a Black chemistry professor father turned civil rights organizer, Wiley, a lawyer, social justice advocate, and former New York mayoral candidate, witnessed key developments in the 1960s racial justice movement. While her parents, George and Wretha Wiley, led voter education drives, organized chapters of CORE and the SDS, and hosted such legendary figures as Dr. Spock, James Farmer, and Tom Hayden in their home, Wiley struggled to find her place as a child of two races and cultures, never feeling completely welcome or understood by either. A tragic boating accident, during which Wiley and her brother attempted to communicate their distress to unresponsive white beachgoers, offered indelible lessons on the consequences of racial inequality and white indifference. Whether addressing police reform under Mayor Bill de Blasio, representing low income women of color through the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, or through her run for mayor of New York on a platform of human-centered, progressive values, Wiley has followed her parents' mantra: "I'd rather work for some goal that I valued, rather than giving up because I can't win." An inspiring read.

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August 15, 2024
The making of an activist lawyer. In a forthright memoir, Wiley, an attorney, a New York City mayoral candidate, and a former legal analyst for MSNBC, pays homage to her parents, both civil rights activists whose examples served her as she navigated racism, sexism, and personal trauma. Her father, George Wiley, was a charismatic Black organic chemistry professor and civil rights and economic justice activist; her defiant white mother, Wretha Whittle, left her Southern Baptist family to enroll at Union Theological Seminary and mentor girls in East Harlem. The couple met at Syracuse University, where George was a newly hired faculty member and Wretha, a graduate student. Together they worked at the Syracuse chapter of CORE, tackling racial discrimination in housing, jobs, and schools. In 1964, James Farmer asked George to serve as associate national director of CORE in its New York City headquarters, an opportunity undermined by rivalries and ideological conflicts within the organization. The family--now including Maya and her older brother--relocated to a gentrifying Black neighborhood in Washington, D.C., where their home became a center of civil rights activity. Maya's life was upended at age 9 when her father fell off their recently acquired cabin cruiser and drowned. Only she and her brother were on board, unable to save him. Beset by anger, fear, and guilt, she was later diagnosed with PTSD. As a biracial student, Wiley struggled to fit into "the color palette" of Washington's public schools, Georgetown Day School, the Field School, Dartmouth, and Columbia Law School. She never lost sight of her parents' ideals: doing an internship in the Philippines investigating human rights violations and serving a federal clerkship and positions at the ACLU, the U.S. attorney's office, and the George Soros Open Society Institute, all confirming her commitment to progressive change. A candid self-portrait of a determined woman.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.