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 Strong: 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.
