By Yvonne Ryan, University of Kentucky Press, Lexington, 285 pages, $40
As the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 nears, it is appropriate that the first comprehensive biography has been published of Roy Wilkins, the executive director of the NAACP between 1955 and 1977. Perhaps more than any other black leader of his day, Wilkins possessed the diplomacy and gravitas to navigate civil rights legislation through Congress. The book is a useful reminder that Wilkins’ statesmanship was indispensable to the demise of Jim Crow.
