Witt's End: Fulfilling the American Dream

Witt's End: Fulfilling the American Dream. By Edwin T. Witt. Victorville, Calif.: E & C Publishers, 1996. 361 pp. $5.99 (paper). ISBN 0-9663700-0-7.

Witt's End joins a growing body of autobiographical works by Alabama African Americans that includes the likes of Booker T Washington's Up from Slavery and more recently Fred D. Gray's Bus Ride to justice: Changing the System by the System (Montgomery, 1995). Without bitterness or apologies, Witt, who currently resides in California, recounts how he responded to a drunken, abusive father at home and to discrimination in the city of Birmingham.

Witt was born in the Woodlawn section of Birmingham in 1920 to Thomas Jesse Witt and Virginia Ogletree Witt. The small family home was situated on a lot that measured a mere twenty-five by fifty feet. In the following years the tiny house became even more crowded as a sister, Annie Ruth, entered the family in 1922 and a brother, Thomas Jr.,joined them in 1935.

Many aspects of Witt's boyhood seem quite normal. Although he never enjoyed the pleasure of owning a bicycle, he had a dog and a cat, took great pride in knowing the names of automobiles, looked forward to Christmas, shot marbles, flew kites, and took his share of castor oil (described as the "nastiest medicine known to himself and mankind") (p. 101). He also listened to Amos and Andy on the radio and attended Ringling Brothers, Barnum, and Bailey Circuses.

But other aspects of Witt's boyhood living environment can only be characterized as dysfunctional. Like most children, Witt tried to please his father, a man who accused Witt's mother of adultery, beat her ferociously, and, Witt suspects, finally strangled her. A moonshiner and numbers runner, among other things, he forced young Witt to join him in these pursuits. Law enforcement officers often appeared at the Witt home to arrest Witt's father or to search for his supply of 135-proof whiskey. Prohibition enabled the senior Witt to make a living, but he eventually became his own best customer. Although Witt believes his father was a good man most of the time, he nevertheless refused to attend his father's funeral.

At age six Witt decided to become a physician but received no encouragement from his parents. Witt mastered his schoolwork and displayed a genuine enthusiasm for his subjects, including literary works by Robert Louis Stevenson and William Cullen Bryant. He fondly remembers his teachers and his rivalry with classmates. He held especial appreciation for noted African Americans such as Carter G. Woodson, Paul Robeson, and Phillis Wheatley.

Readers seeking an understanding of black life in Birmingham and Alabama during the early decades of the twentieth century will appreciate this book. Witt touches on a wide variety of topics, including A. H. Parker High School, Miles College, Tuskegee Institute, Meharry Medical School, and the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Despite its strengths, Witt's autobiography contains some errors. For example, he attributed the invention of the railroad coupler to Melvin Beard instead of Andrew Beard. He places the Birmingham church bombing in 1958 instead of 1963. He intimates that Old Ship African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was located in Birmingham instead of Montgomery. The founder and first principal of Hampton Institute, Samuel Chapman Armstrong is mistakenly identified as James Armstrong. And finally, Witt tells his readers that Phi Beta Sigma was established in 1895 instead of 1914.

Although Witt stumbles with minor errors, he compensates with solid advice based on his boyhood experience. For example, Witt advises parents to discuss sex with their children by age eight; untreated gonorrhea left Witt sterile because he would not admit his promiscuity to his parents until pain forced his hand. Witt advises students to follow directions and never to cheat on tests, an admonition based on his attempt to change a grade in conduct. To Witt's surprise, his mother supported the teacher who discovered the transgression and thrashed him soundly. Witt had expected his mother to follow the example of the stepmother of another student, who came to the school and read the riot act to the teacher in defense of her stepson. Witt belatedly came to understand his mother's approach when he saw that the boy "quit school after the sixth grade, went to work delivering groceries, . . . later dealt drugs... and died ... as a young adult" (p. 117). In contrast, Witt went on to earn degrees from Miles College and Meharry Medical School, and these degrees provided him with financial security for life.

Readers will not be disappointed with this book. Few writers pack as much information and insight into a single volume. Dr. Witt deserves congratulations and respect for discussing without bitterness his experiences with racism and discrimination in early-twentieth-century Alabama.

RICHARD BAILEY Montgomery, Alabama

Copyright University of Alabama Press Jan 2000
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