Author Interview: Lea Lyon

Lea Lyon is a Bay Area author with a new book out – The Double V Campaign: African Americans Fighting for Freedom at Home and Abroad. Rowman & Littlefield, Feb. 20, 2024, 176p., $28, ISBN 978-1538184653. BayViews spoke with Ms. Lyon over Zoom to hear about her new book aimed at grades 7-12.

Nice to meet you! Tell us briefly what your new book is about:

Lyon: When the U.S. got into World War II, young African-Americans had a dilemma: whether to serve a country where they were not treated as equals, or serve and try to gain equality. They decided to do both with the Double V Campaign. James G. Thompson wrote the Pittsburgh Courier, a Black-owned newspaper, suggesting they fight two wars at once: the Fascists overseas, and racism in the U.S., to achieve a double victory. So they created the Double V Campaign, created a logo, clubs popped up all over the U.S. in Black neighborhoods. They had fun events too like baseball games, but protested and spoke up in their communities for change.

This campaign inspired their children to be activists in the Civil Rights Movement a decade later. The book also introduces the Black press, who showed what was going on in the nation, which most young readers haven’t heard about.

What or who inspired you to focus on this little-known but important aspect of World War II and the U.S. Civil Rights movement?

Lyon: I became a friend of Betty Reid Soskin’s, and we talked about writing a picture book biography on Soskin (the noted park ranger at the Rosie the Riveter National Park). Soskin suggested the Double V Campaign be the topic of my next book. Soskin even mentioned James G. Thompson as the person who started the campaign, and she has been helping me to pursue this, because it has taken five years from the book’s idea to its publication. Black newspapers were key to the success of the Double V, so I also wrote a picture book called The Pullman Porters Deliver, coming out in Fall of 2026 from Abrams. It is currently being illustrated by Keith Henry Brown.

Were you able to interview any of the war veterans or home front war workers?  

Lyon: I was able to interview Betty Reid Soskin, who was working during the war at a segregated Black union, helping workers who wanted to work at the Richmond Shipyards. I read transcripts of many interviews since most of those activists are dead. I also interviewed by email Professor Pat Washburn, who is an expert on the topic. Washburn had researched James G. Thompson, and offered lots of information and support for this book.

Were you able to include some photos in the book?

Lyon: Yes, there are many archival photos in the book, showing newsboys selling these Black newspapers and photos of many of the figures involved. I received a photo of Thompson from some of his relatives. There is also a chronology in the front of the book, and a list of important names. The back matter includes source notes, an index, and a reprint of Thompson’s letter that started the Double V Campaign.

Often the only contributions to World War II by African-Americans that students learn about are the Tuskegee Airman. What other aspects of the Double V Campaign did you include?

Lyon: It was important to include the fact that the U.S. military was segregated, with Black laborers who were not combatants. There was just one Black division that fought overseas, with the French, who were nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiers, but were not honored when they returned to the U.S.

There was also home front violence, especially in the South near Army bases. The NAACP and A. Philip Randolph planned a march in Washington, DC, in 1942, to get President Roosevelt to integrate the defense industry. Thompson worked at a defense plant, but as a cafeteria worker, even though he was a successful journalist. So he was hired by the Pittsburgh Courier to run the Double V Campaign through the paper. The Black press was fundamental to this Campaign, even though the U.S. government tried to stop their efforts.

How did you get your foot in the door of the publishing industry?

Lyon: At age 50, I took a UC Extension course on illustrating children’s books, and joined the SCBWI – the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I became the illustrator coordinator, presenting conferences for illustrators in San Francisco. I got to know several art directors and sent out my portfolio, and finally got my first four books with Tilbury House. And HarperCollins published  Ready to Fly.

Do you visit schools and libraries to speak to students and others about your books?  If so, how do libraries contact you?

Lyon: Yes! Libraries and schools can contact my agent at Abigail Samoun at  [email protected]. I am in the middle of setting up appearances at the Rosie the Riveter Visitor’s Center in Richmond, and the Oakland African American Museum and Library.

Do you have any new books you are currently working on that you can mention?

Along with the Pullman Porters Deliver book mentioned above, I have been working on a picture book biography of Betty Reid Soskin. Betty and I began working on it when she was 100, so she gave me a lot of information. I am revising it now, so I hope it will be finished soon.

Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about your book!

Penny Peck, San Jose State University iSchool