Enemy org. in Bond novels / WED 2-15-23 / Peak perks / WW II-era campaign that helped usher in the civil rights movement / African American who recieved a posthumous Medal of Honor for valorous service in WWII / Bodybuilding supplement co. / Star Wars beeper informally / Consoles whose controllers have wrist straps

Constructor: Sean Ziebarth

Relative difficulty: Medium (only because of two proper nouns I didn't know, otherwise, Easy)

[Sorry, I accidentally closed the puzz file before taking a screenshot and so  rather than type all the letters back in I just "Reveal Entire Puzzle, hence all the wee eyeballs]

THEME: DOUBLE V (38A: W.W. II-era campaign that helped usher in the civil rights movement ... and a hint to four answers in this puzzle) — four Black Americans associated with the 20th-century Civil Rights Movement in one way or another have the "W" in their names changed, in the grid, two a DOUBLE V:

Theme answers:

• IDA B. VVELLS (17A: Investigative journalist and civil rights pioneer who co-founded the N.A.A.C.P.)
• JAMES BALDVVIN (23A: Novelist and civil rights activist who wrote "Go Tell It on the Mountain")
• GEORGE VVATSON (52A: African American who received a posthumous Medal of Honor for valorous service in W.W. II)
• VV. E. B. DUBOIS (62A: Historian, essayist and civil rights leader who was the first African American to receive a doctorate at Harvard)

Word of the Day: DOUBLE V campaign —

The Double V campaign was a slogan and drive to promote the fight for democracy in overseas campaigns and at the home front in the United States for African Americans during World War II. The Double V refers to the "V for victory" sign prominently displayed by countries fighting "for victory over aggression, slavery, and tyranny," but adopts a second "V" to represent the double victory for African Americans fighting for freedom overseas and at home. The campaign first appeared in the African-American newspaper Pittsburgh Courier on February 7, 1942. Being the largest circulated black newspaper with around 350,000 copies circulated during the war; hence other black newspapers followed suit including the Chicago Defender and the Amsterdam Star News in embracing the motto and symbol of Double V. The slogan was prompted by a response to the letter, "Should I Sacrifice to Live 'Half American?'" written by 26-year-old reader James G. Thompson. It was also in a response to Franklin D. Roosevelt encouraged five editors of the top black newspapers in the United States to reduce their discontent and apathy of the war; to which they did not reduce their discontent but changed to the two pronged approach of the Double V campaign. (wikipedia)

A proper Black History puzzle for the heart of Black History Month. I've seen this W-to-2V theme conceit before—in a tournament puzzle, many years ago, but the execution here is original and the theme stays remarkably tight. GEORGE VVATSON is a bit of an outlier in the group, not just fame-wise, but in terms of his not being a writer/activist like the others, but considering the DOUBLE V campaign was a WWII-era phenomenon and GEORGE VVATSON was a WWII war hero, he arguably fits the actual theme better than any of the others. At any rate, he'll do. I had to look him up, and I confess I had to look up the DOUBLE V campaign itself. Never heard of it until right now. So the puzzle served an educational function too. So nice when the puzzle that teaches you new things is also a Good Puzzle. The theme was very easy to uncover, in that the NW filled itself in easily and then I was staring at IDA B. at the front of that first themer, and where in the world was that going to go except to IDA B. WELLS (one of the many, many, many names I call my new cat, who was named after Ida Lupino, technically, but "IDA B." is probably the thing I call her most). But where to go with IDA B. V!? Well, I knew immediately (see my aforementioned experience with the split "W"-type theme), and I can't believe it was too hard for the rest of solverdom to figure out either. Outside the two themers I didn't know (the revealer and Watson), the puzzle was Monday easy. It's also 80 words, which is two more words than the normal limit. The result is that you have a very choppy grid with lots and lots of short stuff, especially through the middle. The more short answers a puzzle has, the easier it tends to be. The grid may be a little heavy on the abbrevs., but it's clean overall, and the theme is interesting enough that I don't think minor infelicities in the fill are going to matter much to anyone.