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A Memoir of Hope, Friendship, Perseverance, and Living the American Dream
One World/Ballantine
May 2008
On Sale: May 13, 2008
224 pages
ISBN: 0345504119
EAN: 9780345504111
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Memoir
A great American story of an ordinary man who is living an
extraordinary life, Step by Step is the inspiring personal
account of Bertie Bowman’s remarkable rise from farmer’s son
in the Jim Crow South to hearing coordinator for the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee in the U.S. Capitol. In 1944, Bertie Bowman–a poor, impressionable
thirteen-year-old kid, the fifth of fourteen siblings–heard
South Carolina senator Burnet Maybank declare: “If you all
ever get up to Washington, D.C., drop by and see me!” Though
Maybank was addressing a crowd of white constituents, Bertie
took those words to heart–for they offered him an invitation
to a new life, a chance to escape the drudgery of the family
farm and his well-meaning yet stern father. Carrying only a
flour sack and his meager savings pinned inside his shirt,
Bertie set out for the city “up the road” to make his mark.
Surprisingly true to his word, Senator Maybank saw to it
that the young runaway had a place to stay and a steady
income–earned by sweeping the Capitol steps for two dollars
a week. Yet what started as a janitorial position, step by
step, became so much more. For sixty years, Bertie Bowman stood at the epicenter of
change and witnessed history in the making: the death of
FDR, World War II, Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil
Rights movement, Vietnam, and Watergate. The perpetual
recipient of unconditional kindness, he formed many enduring
friendships with the unlikeliest of people. Presidents
Lyndon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton, Senator J. William
Fulbright, and even segregationist senator Strom Thurmond
have been among his greatest allies. But Bowman also, in his day, encountered prejudice and the
“separate but equal” doctrine, and he observed firsthand the
clandestine backroom deals made in the name of democracy.
However, in the embrace of the large enclave of Southern
blacks who populated Washington, D.C., Bowman maintained a
spirit of hopefulness. With each step, his can-do attitude
made him a star, mentor, and community leader, and a strong
advocate for the unsung staffers who took great pride in
doing their part to keep the Capitol’s wheels turning. Work hard. Be true to yourself. Take responsibility. Have a
positive outlook. Expect the best from people. These are the
beliefs that Bertie Bowman lives by–and as he shares his
story, he also shares the lessons and values that have
served him well throughout his life and career.
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