Every day I contemplate what I can do to help people treat each other better. I’m Nita Wiggins, an American author, educator, and journalist in Paris, France.
Photo by Lucie Cervantes
I spent 21 years on U.S. television before changing course. I’m a subject matter expert on U.S. civil rights because I had to fight for my own fair treatment.
I'm a survivor of an Economic Lynching.
I coined the term Economic Lynching in 2014.
It’s the orchestrated choking off of a person’s career advancement, using hierarchical control and designating someone for the “noose.” Like a physical lynching, there’s a rigid insistence on ending the aspirations of the “other.”
I wrote to Civil Rights Baby to illustrate the heavy toll that “othering” takes on me. People tell me my memoir is a guidebook to help them stay on track with their desires and soar over obstacles intentionally put in their way.
Order Civil Rights Baby now
Civil Rights Baby is in the Jimmy Carter Center presidential collection in Atlanta, Georgia.
Readers and writing professionals praise my Civil Rights Baby memoir, which shows how my atypical career pursuit put me at risk. How well did the anti-discrimination Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed the year of my birth, protect my generation and me?
“(Civil Rights Baby) is a profound book. I recommend it.”—Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series
Civil Rights Baby is available globally in print and eBook versions. In Paris, France, connect with The Red Wheelbarrow book shop to purchase your copy.
In Augusta, Georgia, contact The Book Tavern for your physical copy of Civil Rights Baby.
“I really appreciate the stories of brave women who managed to change their lives. That shows us that we can fulfill our dreams, not being afraid to have big ones.” —Perrine Scheer, Wiggins’ former student at ESJ Paris
“Nita’s writing could change lives.”—Hermann Djoumessi, ADMP podcaster and Big Data Consultant, Paris, France
“… reminds me of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man …”— Angela Shaw, former staff attorney for the FCC and NAACP
“I was captivated from the very first page.’” —Tina Mari Rucker, Chicago-based artist and filmmaker
“… this work will be striking for readers…”—The BookLife Prize
“Civil Rights Baby—A ‘must-read’ that will help people find where their strengths lie.” —LaToya Gibson, President, Tutor Boxx
“Yes, we can move toward more equal opportunities and reduce race-based economic advantages and disadvantages. Doing nothing toward empathy-building means we accept a permanent upperclass, a permanent underclass—and a troubling, widening gap in the United States.”—Nita Wiggins, Civil Rights Baby author
In 2015 I created Listen to Others as you would have them listen to you®. Following this concept, I train people to use my unique methods to actively listen, clearly express themselves at home and work, and, ultimately, treat each other better.
I use my Listen to Others® principles to prepare my public talks, TV appearances, executive trainings, and university lectures. I incorporate language that might entice people of varying views to simply absorb and possibly consider ideas that are new to them.
Have you witnessed an Economic Lynching? Have you participated in one, or survived one, as I have?
Would you please contact me if you know of one in progress?—Nita Wiggins, author of Civil Rights Baby
I transformed the Economic Lynching of my beloved TV sports career into a victor’s mentality, so I could move forward. How might this help you?
I teach how to develop your “Medalist Mindset.” It comes from what I lived, plus my one-on-one time with Olympians, such as Muhammad Ali, Jackie Joyner Kersee, “Bullet” Bob Hayes, and Michael Jordan.
By spreading pearls of wisdom from private time with iconic change-makers (including Mrs. Rosa Parks), I fulfill a long-held goal. I am in service to others by helping them find their victorious voices and write their own narratives.
Formerly a licensed boxing judge and a TV journalist, Nita sent 4 days in the Muhammad Ali’s professional entourage, 1990, Huntington, West Virginia.