Won Over

A revealing account of how one young man overcame his segregationist upbringing and conspired with a few friends to take on Mississippi’s white establishment… Informative and inspiring.–Charles Overby, chairman of Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics, University of Mississippi
This engaging memoir of the Civil Rights era by one of our most distinguished federal judges confronts the past with admirable candor as it chronicles a young white Southerner’s journey from acceptance of the racial status quo to a commitment to full equality for all.–Linda Greenhouse, lecturer at Yale Law School “contributing columnist at the New York Times”
This is a captivating story of the metamorphosis of a son of the South who helped usher in a new day of race relations in Jim Crow Mississippi. This book is superbly written and offers an accurate, personal look at the influences and motivations behind one man’s journey during a troubling time in history. I highly recommend this book.–Bill Waller, retired Jr. Chief Justice of Mississippi
With prose that is at times lyrical and occasionally searing, Judge Alsup shares a deeply personal account of his experience growing up in very modest circumstances in segregated rural Mississippi, where ‘the Civil War felt as if it had just ended.’ Alsup becomes an active participant in the turbulent struggle for civil rights and racial equality. His career culminates as an accomplished lawyer and ultimately as a highly regarded federal judge. This riveting narrative, in which personal and historical events are skillfully interwoven, is adorned with gems such as the author’s observation that his parents–despite their segregationist views–‘essentially agreed with Lincoln that anyone who believed in slavery should try it on for size.’–California Chief Justice Ronald M. George (retired)

William Alsup is a senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Alsup received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Mississippi State University in 1967, a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1971, and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1971.

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