IMPORTANT NEW BOOK:
Remember, You Are a Wiley
by Mya Wiley
Grand Central Publishing. 2024
[Publication date: September 17, 2024]
Born in a country that has repeatedly traumatized her and her loved ones, Maya Wiley grew up in a household that prioritized activism, hope, and resilience above all else. This attitude landed her father on President Nixon’s enemies list as her mother organized third-party political platforms. Still, they modeled hope for their children. In the decades since, she has borne witness as presidents and political figures used racism and fascism to gain power, and as cities have again and again elected white men, effectively shutting out people of color and women from having a political voice. As a result, she has been forced, time after time, to confront death, injustice, and indifference—just as her Civil Rights activist parents did before her.
After a mayoral race that further exposed our country’s deep divisions, Maya is ready to share her story and that of her parents: one of passion, possibility, and compassion in the face of fear and injustice. She takes readers through her unconventional upbringing, her father George Wiley‘s tragic death and the resulting trauma, as well as how her experiences spoke to racial, gender, and class identity. Against this painful backdrop, Maya charts her journey of coming into herself and finding hope in a dire political landscape. She also digs into how her previous struggles informed her platform, driving her to represent those who have similarly felt voiceless or ignored. In facing and sharing her own past, Maya shows readers how they too can remain optimistic in the face of adversity.
REVIEWS:
"Remember You Are Wiley is a book that offers hope and inspiration in a moment of division and political unrest in America. Everyone who knows Maya Wiley knows that she speaks truth to power at a time when we desperately need it. It’s clear from this book that the Wiley family made Maya the fierce truth teller she is today and we can all learn important lessons from their example that lives through her. This inspiring history of activism and a family legacy of social justice and civil disobedience are essential to understanding why she is the essential voice for this moment in American political history."―Zerlina Maxwell, author of The End of White Politics
"Maya Wiley’s story of her fascinating family is a powerful testament to the perils and possibilities of building a multiracial democracy in America. And she is a perfect and important narrator of our past and present challenges and times."―Joy-Ann Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author Medgar & Myrlie and The Man Who Sold America
"An inspiring read:"―Booklist
"The making of an activist lawyer...A candid self-portrait of a determined woman." ―Kirkus
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Maya Wiley is president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human, the nation's oldest and largest civil rights coalition. She is a former legal analyst on MSNBC. A life-long civil rights advocate and a civil rights attorney, she mounted a historic performance in New York City's 2021 Democratic mayoral primary, contesting to be the first woman Mayor on a reform platform. Prior to that race she served as senior vice president for social justice at the New School University and as a member of the graduate faculty at its Milano School. She was the first Black woman to serve as Counsel to a New York City Mayor, Maya’s expertise and compassionate approach was (and remains) almost unprecedented in the world of advocacy, activism and politics. She also serves as the Joseph L. Rash Jr. Chair of Civil and Human Rights at the University of the District of Columbia School of Law. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner, Harlan, their three cats and her revolving door of young adult children, two of whom are biological and others happily inherited.
Between the Lines: Remember, You Are A Wiley by Maya Wiley
VIDEO:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3eSJwYUUQY&t=1452s
About this event Civil rights lawyer and former New York City Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley will join us to share her journey of coming into herself and finding hope in a dire political landscape documented in her new memoir Remember, You Are A Wiley. Wiley will be in conversation with Christina Greer, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University. GET THE BOOK Copies of Remember, You Are A Wiley will be available for purchase from the Schomburg Shop in Harlem. PARTICIPANTS Maya Wiley is a nationally respected civil rights attorney and activist who has dedicated her life to the fights for justice, equality, and fairness. Wiley’s father was a leader in the civil rights and economic justice movements, and she has been a leader inside and outside government. Serving as the first Black woman counsel to the mayor of New York City, she helped deliver on civil and immigrant rights. During her tenure, the city also saw an expansion of minority/women-owned business enterprises contracts. Following her time at City Hall, Wiley moved to academia as a faculty member and senior vice president for social justice at the New School University. As a Henry Cohen professor of public and urban policy at the New School, Wiley founded the Digital Equity Laboratory on universal and inclusive broadband. She also served as a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. Christina Greer (Moderator) is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University, Lincoln Center (Manhattan) campus. Her research and teaching focus on American politics, Black ethnic politics, campaigns and elections, and public opinion. She is the author of Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream and author of the forthcoming manuscript How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams. Greer writes a weekly column for The Amsterdam News and is a frequent political commentator on several media outlets. She is the co-host of the New York centered podcast FAQ-NYC. ABOUT REMEMBER, YOU ARE A WILEY A moving, politically-charged memoir of surviving trauma and the power of activism from MSNBC legal analyst, professor, civil rights lawyer and former New York City Mayoral candidate Maya Wiley. Maya is ready to share her story and that of her parents: one of passion, possibility, and compassion in the face of fear and injustice. She takes readers through her unconventional upbringing, her father George Wiley‘s tragic death and the resulting trauma, as well as how her experiences spoke to racial, gender, and class identity. Against this painful backdrop, Maya charts her journey of coming into herself and finding hope in a dire political landscape. She also digs into how her previous struggles informed her platform, driving her to represent those who have similarly felt voiceless or ignored. In facing and sharing her own past, Maya shows readers how they too can remain optimistic in the face of adversity. #SchomburgLive | Learn more about the Schomburg Center at schomburg.org.
Remember, You Are a Wiley by Maya Wiley
Audiobook preview
Remember, You Are a Wiley
Authored and Narrated by Maya Wiley:
0:00 Intro
0:03 Remember, You Are a Wiley
0:40 The Movement Family
10:40 Outro
#mayawiley #rememberyouareawiley
REMEMBER, YOU ARE A WILEY
A MEMOIR
A candid self-portrait of a determined woman.
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.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781538739938
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 10, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: August 15, 2024
