W. W. Law

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W. W. Law
Date of birth:	January 11, 1923(1923-01-11)
Place of birth:	Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Date of death:	July 28, 2002 (aged 79)
Place of death:	Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Movement:	African-American Civil Rights Movement
Major organizations:	*NAACP *ASALH *Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum

Westley Wallace Law (January 1, 1923 – July 29, 2002) was a civil rights leader from Savannah, Georgia. He was president of the Savannah chapter of the NAACP, where he led his community towards great strides in desegregation through nonviolent resistance from 1950 to 1976. After his time with the NAACP W. W. Law spent much of the rest of his life advocating for African-American history and culture in Savannah. To this end 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 King-Tisdell Cottage Museum, the Beach Institute of African American Culture, and the Negro Heritage Trail Tour.

[edit] Background

W. W. Law was the eldest of three children born to his parents, Geneva Wallace and Westley Law. He began working at the age of ten to help his recently widowed mother while also attending school. In high school, Law joined the NAACP Youth Council and later served as the council's president while in college at Georgia State College. However, his college career was interrupted when he was drafted into military service in World War II. W. W. Law returned from the war and, with the help of the GI Bill, returned to college where he received his bachelor's degree in biology.

After graduation Law worked as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service for more than forty years. His job with the Postal Service was endangered, however, when he was fired for his civil rights activism. President John F. Kennedy and the NAACP stepped in quickly upon hearing of Law's firing and his job was reinstated. Mr. Law retired in 1990. Westley Wallace Law died on July 28, 2002 in his home in Savannah.

[edit] References

• New Georgia Encyclopedia W. W. Law
• The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum