Something Inside So Strong: Life in Pursuit of Choice, Courage, and Change

Willie Morris Books in Memoir and Biography

by Mildred Pitts Walter

In 1922, Mildred Pitts Walter was born in DeRidder, Louisiana, to a log cutter and a midwife/beautician. She became the first member of her family to go to college, graduating in 1940. Walter moved to California, where she worked as an elementary school teacher. After being encouraged by a publisher to write books for and about African American children, Walter went on to become a pioneer of African American children's literature. Most notably, she wrote Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World , which bent preconceptions with tales of black cowboys and men doing “women’s work.” She was also a contributing book reviewer to the Los Angeles Times .

In  Something Inside So Life in Pursuit of Choice, Courage, and Change , Walter recollects major touchstones in her life. The autobiography, divided into three parts, “Choice,” “Courage,” and “Change,” covers Walter’s life beginning with her childhood in the 1920s and moving to the present day. 

In “Choice,” Walter describes growing up in a deeply segregated Louisiana and includes memories of school, rural home life, World War II, and participating in neighborhood activities like hog killing and church revivals. “Courage” documents her adjustment to living away from family, her experiences teaching in Los Angeles, and her extensive work with her husband for the Los Angeles chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality. The final section, “Change,” shows how Walter’s writing and activism merged, detailing her work as an education consultant and as an advocate for nonviolent resistance to racism. It also reveals how her world travels expanded her personal inquiry into Christianity and African spirituality. Something Inside So Strong is one woman’s journey to self-discovery.

Genres: Memoir

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2019

About the author

Delegate to the 2nd World Black and African Festival of the Arts & Culture in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1977. Graduate of Southern University with an MA in education from Antioch College. She lives in Denver, Colorado, and travels widely as an educational consultant.

Reviews

[Joann Nadeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing life!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildred Pitts Walter was the author of one of my favorite children's books: Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World. It's the story of a boy surrounded by females, his mother & sisters, who he feels are over-critical of him and expect him to help around the house: "women's work." Then he goes to spend time with his grandfather on a working ranch and learns that cooking and cleaning are everybody's work. He also discovers a journal that reveals his ancestors' struggles in the time after the Civil War. I knew nothing about Walter until I discovered this book, and I'm glad I did. She was a Civil Rights leader in Southern California and her story is definitely one of courage. At this writing she is still living.

Only three stars because I felt the writing was a bit uneven. Some of the stories were fascinating, but many of the details of her activism slowed down the narrative.

[Akosua Hobert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is educational and historical outlining the Black experience over several decades.
She was an activist.