Professor Wiggins Shares His Story Of Personal Triumph Over Adversity

By Susan Coney

A dynamic speaker, author, educator, and community leader, Jefferson Wiggins shares a very special story of personal triumph over adversity with hundreds of youngsters every year at Reed Intermediate School.

Through the cultural arts program run by the PTA at Reed School, Dr Wiggins has been invited back repeatedly to inspire students to make a difference with their lives.

Jefferson Wiggins grew up in rural Alabama, the son of poor sharecropper parents. He was one of 11 family members who lived in a tiny, two-room shack and worked in the cotton fields with little opportunity to attend school.

Dr Wiggins shared with the students at Reed that his first conscious memory was when he was about 7 years old and the Ku Klux Klan came to his house in the middle of the night to hang his father for selling a bale of cotton against the landowner’s wishes. His father had sold one bale of cotton in order to feed his family. He continued by saying that his father escaped out the back of the shack and that the family moved away in the middle of the night because of the frightening experience.

At the time of the incident, Dr Wiggins had no concept of why people could hate others just because of the color of their skin.

As Dr Wiggins relayed his story the students were spellbound. He told Reed students, “Don’t believe stereotypes. Judge people on the basis of what is in their hearts. It isn’t what one looks like, it is what he has in his heart.”

Dr Wiggins went on to say that at the age of 13 he convinced recruiters that he was much older, and was allowed to enlist in the United States Army in an attempt to escape the life of crippling poverty and racism he had experienced growing up in the south. He served in Europe during World War II and received a field commission from the legendary General George Patton.

During his talk at Reed, Dr Wiggins asked the students if they believed in angels. Several of the children raised their hands to say that they had seen angels at the funerals of relatives. Dr Wiggins shared with the students his opinion about angels saying, “There is no question about it, there are angels on this earth and in your school.”

Dr Wiggins went on to tell the children that he met an angel more than 65 years ago when he was 15 years old. He told the children that while on leave from the army he met a woman named Anna Marie Merrill; and that she was his angel. Mrs Merrill was a white librarian at the Staten Island Library and she was the person who taught him how to read and write, for he was illiterate until he met her. He first entered the large Staten Island Library marveling at all of the books and wondering what was so special about a library that he had never been allowed to enter one when he was a child living in the south.

He confessed to the children that to this day he can still visualize Mrs Merrill in his mind and hear her words, she had made such a profound impression on him. “She was an angel and she could do miraculous things here on earth years before she died. She pushed me to go to get my grammar school diploma and to go on to college.” Dr Wiggins told the Reed students, “No matter what endeavor you are undertaking there are always people who help you and these are your angels.” He emphasized the power that one individual can make to bring about a more open and civil society.

After leaving the military, Dr Wiggins taught for many years in both Alabama and New Jersey. He has served on numerous committees and boards constantly striving to make significant contributions to improve the lives of children and families.

He and his wife Janice, who live in New Fairfield, founded the Wiggins Fund, a donor-advised fund of the New Fairfield Community Foundation. The fund supports not-for-profit educational programs and initiatives that benefit children, support multicultural education, diversity, or mentoring, as well as initiatives that contribute to building a more open society.

A movie is being developed by Hallmark Hall of Fame entitled Memorial Day and is based on Dr Wiggins book about his life called, Another Generation Almost Forgotten.

Sixth grader Laurel Speed reflected on Dr Wiggins’ presentation and said, “I thought it was really neat. It was interesting to see how people were treated a long time ago and to hear someone’s own experience with the Klan. I really liked the part about the angels.”

Classmate Ryan Cassidy agreed saying, “It made us think about how things were back then. I think people should have known better then to treat others that way.”

Sixth grade math and science teacher Janet McCabe said, “I always hate to see him leave. The kids just always have so many good questions and he is so interesting. There is just never enough time. He gives a wonderful program!”