Against all odds, I succeeded. Growing up in the racist Deep South of the 1940s and 1950s, living in public housing projects until I graduated from high school, attending public schools and being forced to use "hand-me-down textbooks" that did not reflect my people's history or achievements, and being told by adults that I would never amount to anything worthwhile, I am an American success story worth telling. This memoir shares how a young Black boy overcame many challenges to earn a Ph.D. from a prestigious university, was appointed by the Secretary of HHS to a major government advisory board, dined with heads of state, and met with corporate executives in boardrooms to plan manufacturing strategies for two of America's leading pharmaceutical companies.