Every day I contemplate what I can do to help people treat each other better.
I’m Nita Wiggins, a Paris-based university lecturer, public speaker, writing instructor, and the author of Civil Rights Baby: My Story of Race, Sports, and Breaking Barriers in American Journalism.
Photo by Lucie Cervantes
Newsmakers (Mrs. Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali) and major sports figures answered my interview questions during my 21 years as a TV sports and news reporter in the U.S.
I changed course and careers because I had to.
And, because I had to battle for my own fair treatment, I became a subject-matter expert on U.S. civil rights.
I'm a survivor of the economic lynching of my award-winning journalism career.
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.”
Wisdom knocks down barriers
Muhammad Ali and Mrs. Parks encouraged me in the private time I spent with them. The Civil Rights Baby title of my book pays tribute to their nurturing.
Readers call my memoir a guide that helps them 1) stay on track with their pursuits and 2) soar over obstacles they encounter.
Discussing Civil Rights Baby in the Malaysia booth at Frankfurter Buchmesse / Frankfurt Book Festival, 2019.
Robust praise for Civil Rights Baby
Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul co-creator, endorses Civil Rights Baby
“(Civil Rights Baby) is a profound book. I recommend it.” —Jack Canfield, best-selling author and famed publisher
Nita Wiggins delivers a copy of Civil Rights Baby to Pres. Jimmy Carter’s presidential archives and collection in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2021. Mr. Carter appears in chapter 16 of the book.
In Civil Rights Baby: My Story of Race, Sports, and Breaking Barriers in American Journalism, I lift the curtain on misdeeds in TV newsrooms. Mine is the story of a principled girl who puts herself at risk in a dogged, years-long, and atypical pursuit of a sports reporting career in the male-dominated industry.
To shield my generation and shield me from workplace bias, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signs the sweeping Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is the year of my birth. Despite this, I face highly-placed obstructionists for years.
My dad taught me to control what I could control, so I keep on reaching.
Beyond a singular struggle, the book shows my life as symbolic of striving and aspirational people from varying walks of life. Some have told me that, within the book’s covers, they find wisdom to navigate the road they’re on.
Order Civil Rights Baby here
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.
People are saying …
“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, 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
And, your story?
How smoothly can you say what you need to say on camera or to an audience? Are you writing your own narrative?
I’d like to be a part of your evolution.
I used to fret over whether I’d sound authentic or too rehearsed. There’s a balance that I found for myself, and I’d like to work with you, so you can take the microphone with more confidence.
Stories spread empathy
“Yes, we can move toward more equal opportunities and reduce race-based economic advantages and disadvantages. Doing nothing toward building empathy 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®. I train people to use my unique methods to actively listen, clearly express themselves at home and work, and, ultimately, treat each other better.
Need to Listen to Others® better?
My Listen to Others as you would have them listen to you® principles can help your home and workplace interactions go smoother.
I incorporate language designed to entice people of varying views to simply absorb and possibly consider ideas that are new to them.
Transferrable and transforming
Significantly, I focus on helping you express yourself.
With individualized training, you can perform better in:
1) public talks, 2)
media appearances, 3) business presentations,
4) family relations
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
Train your Medalist Mindset with me
I transformed the Economic Lynching of my beloved TV sports career into a victor’s mentality, so I could move forward. How might my life lesson benefit you?
I teach how to develop your “Medalist Mindset.” It comes from what I lived, plus my up-close time with Olympians, such as Muhammad Ali, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, “Bullet Bob” Hayes, Michael Jordan, Alex Rodriguez, and Teddy Riner.
Stories of my private time with the standout athletes and people (bold-faced, above) appear in Civil Rights Baby and in the new french version of my book, (working title) Enfants des droits civiques.
Formerly a licensed boxing judge, boxing coach, and TV journalist, Nita Wiggins sent 4 days in Muhammad Ali’s professional entourage, 1990, Huntington, West Virginia.