* New Edition *
THIS IS THE ONLY VALID, AUTHOR-APPROVED VERSION OF THIS MEMOIR.
The 2021 new edition of Civil Rights Baby recognizes the changing rights landscape and the actions of several heroic people since 2020. Included in the updated book--are:
* the congressional testimony of three, 100+-year-old Americans, who survived the Greenwood/Tulsa Race Massacre
* the murder conviction of former police officer Derek Michael Chauvin
* the new college sports rules that allow athletes to earn pay for their play
The Civil Rights Baby title pays tribute to Mrs. Rosa Parks, with whom Wiggins shared private moments before an interview.
In the book, Wiggins exposes the man-made obstacle course that greets her--an optimistic girl pursuing a career reporting on the Dallas Cowboys. How well does the Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed the year her birth, protect her opportunities and eliminate discrimination?
This book goes beyond individual striving as the headstrong girl personally crosses paths with resistance icons such as Parks and Muhammad Ali.
As a TV commentator, Wiggins is a sought-after voice French, Cameroonian, and Senegalese TV; Pacifica Network; The Washington Post, and Le Figaro. She teaches journalism at CELSA Sorbonne University near Paris.
REVIEWS
"Wiggins's story should appeal to a wide audience, including but not limited to women color. She is a professional woman of color but also a woman of a certain age in a system that favors younger people."
-Sha-Shana Crichton, lawyer and literary agent in Washington, D.C., Poets & Writers, Sept/Oct 2022
"Wiggins writes in an articulate and professional style, although she balances this with areas where she connects directly with her readers in a more lighthearted manner. Her prose elevates the text, adding significance and gravity in all the right places.
Civil Rights Baby offers fresh perspectives on a common, but weighty, memoir theme - which intensifies the individuality of this work and will be striking for readers.... She offers an intriguing start that sets the stage for a challenging and often painful personal journey."
-The BookLife Prize
"Wiggins is an expert in sports, social justice, and workplace discrimination..."
-Dawn Michelle Hardy, book publicist and literary agent (North Carolina)
"All I can say is thank you for letting the world know about what happens in the bowels of the beast."
-Dr. Malaika Horne Wells, author and academic
"It's a profound book with lots of important messages."
-Jack Canfield, best-selling author and Chicken Soup for the Soul co-creator
Civil Rights Baby "reminds me of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis ... as I have friends who are also faced with the challenge that [Nita] faced."
- Angela Shaw, former staff attorney for the FCC and the NAACP
