Because We Are

Mildred Pitts Walter (b. 1922) is a civil rights activist and award-winning author. She voted for the first time for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She taught as an elementary school teacher in the Los Angeles City school district and participated in the first Head Start founded by the University of California, Los Angeles. While teaching, Walter also actively worked to achieve justice and equality for all during the civil rights movement with her husband, Earl Walter, chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE.) After retiring from the classroom, she became a children's book writer.

Walter's writing has been honored with many awards, including the 1987 Coretta Scott King Award for Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World, the 1993 Christopher Award for Nonfiction for Mississippi Challenge, and the National Council for the Social Studies Carter G. Woodson Book Award. In 2005 the National Council for the Social Studies honored her again with the Elementary Honor Book Award for Alec's Primer, and in 1996 she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Most recently, she was acknowledged by the National Women's Law Center for her role in training freedom riders in the 1960s, with the honors presented by President Barack Obama. Walter has also been interviewed for the Smithsonian African American Historical and Cultural Museum in Washington, DC, for her civil rights contributions. She now resides in San Mateo, California.