Progress Through Struggle

by Henry R. Leggette

STORY SYNOPSIS

In this story, Progress through Struggle has been an important part of my life. I moved from mule and tractor plowing on my daddy’s farm to repairing the control equipment used by air traffic controllers to control aircraft over my daddy’s fields. This was accomplished by prayers and believing and loving God! This is the power in prayer!

This book is written about an African American man that was supposed to become a cotton and corn farmer. The main part of the story was to demonstrate how the young man did not allow cotton farming, cutting pulp wood and logs, and other things with low-paying jobs stop him. At the time of my boyhood, these were going things in Kemper and Lauderdale counties. I was one that slipped through the crack!

Progress through Struggle started long before I was born with my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents. You will see my grandparents struggle to make ends meet and then almost fail. I will discuss in this book how I got started and struggled as my great-grandparents, grandparents, and my parents and I was determined not to fail. As I started my electronics career in the US Army Signal Corps, I prayed and studied. I didn’t want to fail, and to keep from failing, I studied much harder!

You will see several times I attempted to learn something and was turned down or said it was not true information. It was much segregation occurring in the late ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s. I was not going to allow that change my course of action.

As I was getting older and out of high school, I was turned down many times. After obtaining a job out of high school, I was not allowed to train in a job of the highest pay. That didn’t change my mind because God will get me in the right place at the right time. After getting in the US Army Signal Corps was an assignment from God! The US Army was the beginning of my electronics training and career. After receiving the electronics job, I became well qualified because I studied to pass the licenses. After my first electronics job, I was ready to move on because I had master skills within the job. On the second electronics job and after learning it, I was ready to move on after mastering the skills. These jobs were not top-of-the-line electronics analysis or an in-depth level. After receiving an electronics job with FAA, it was a challenge! No, I will not fail because of a challenge, and I studied more, more to pass the courses required. I noticed I am sitting beside electronics technicians and electronics engineers with more experience than me. This required me to study harder because I was doing as well as them and sometimes better, and I was an African-American man.

I felt some of the FAA managers thought the Africans American would fail. I determined this would never happen in my case! The word was out on me as once I was assigned to courses, I start studying before I depart Memphis for the FAA Aeronautical Academy. Failure was not in my DNA, and I knew the solution was study and more study. I completed 162 weeks of electronics equipment and analysis courses at the FAA Aeronautical Academy. Yes, I believe God was in the plan! Yes! John 3:16!

Reviews:

PROGRESS THROUGH STRUGGLE is inherently interesting.

– IndieReader

The author did an exemplary job of finding a great balance between non-fiction, biographical storytelling with heartfelt and philosophical inspiration, and motivational direction. The detailed and compelling writing style allowed readers to get a clear image in his mind’s eye of the life the author lived, from growing up on a farm in East Central Mississippi to the lower educational values the schools he attended offered to students compared to modern-day standards, and even the path a life in the US Army offered which gave him the tools to push himself and achieve a goal in his chosen field, an electronics position that led to a position within the FAA Aeronautical Academy. The honesty and matter of fact way of speaking to the reader through his writing allowed the author to connect on a personal level with me, and allowed his story to have a much grander impact.

– Pacific Book Review

For readers of faith, history enthusiasts, or anyone seeking inspiration from true resilience, Progress Through Struggle offers both an education and a benediction. Leggette’s life stands as living proof that even when “strength grows out of struggle,” grace and persistence can turn hardship into legacy.

– Portland Book Review

This is a story for readers who appreciate faith-driven perseverance and real-world history told without embellishment. For educators, community leaders, and parents hoping to instill perspective in younger generations, Progress Through Struggle is an essential, uplifting read, a reminder that legacy is not built in comfort but in courage.

– San Diego Book Review

Progress Through Struggle is not merely remembrance; it is mentorship. Leggette urges young readers of every race to set higher goals, to “make sure you are satisfied with the outcome.” His voice carries the wisdom of generations who refused defeat. For readers seeking an authentic testimony of faith-driven perseverance, this book offers both education and inspiration, a reminder that every advance worth having is born of struggle.

– Seattle Book Review

This is an incredibly heartfelt life story from a man who has met each obstacle with determined grace. Theauthor’s matter-of-fact tone carries the narrative, and he does not shy away from serious and at times deeplydisturbing accounts of segregation, racial injustice, and socioeconomic disparities. His deep gratitude for thosewho have inspired and challenged him is evident in every chapter, where he lists dozens of people who haveimpacted his life by name. His grateful attitude is truly infectious and will inspire readers to reflect on their own”progress through struggle.” It is a blessing to have this thorough account, steeped in history and details aboutsubjects as varied as the history of Mississippi, sharecropping, military training, and electronics courses. Theauthor has given an immense gift by recounting his life story, which will undoubtedly continue to inspiregenerations.

– The US Review of Books

Progress Through Struggle belongs beside classics of African American self-narrative. It documents how one community, armed with prayer and perseverance, turned hardship into heritage. Readers seeking an authentic, ground-level account of the Black South will find in Leggette’s words the enduring rhythm of resilience: the steady march from struggle toward progress.

– Tulsa Book Review

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BOOK DETAILS

Publisher: ReadersMagnet LLC

Published Date: August 4, 2025

ISBN‏: ‎ 979-8900000145

Available Format:

Kindle

Hardcover

Paperback

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Progress Through Struggle

by Henry R. Leggette

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