Best Biography, Black Kidlit Awards
Best Books of the Year (Bank Street), Bank Street College of Education
Meet Mabel Fairbanks, the skating superstar who became the first Black
athlete inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
After watching ice skaters glide and spin at a rink in Central Park,
Mabel Fairbanks was determined to learn to skate. But in the 1930s, many
places didn't allow Black skaters on the ice, so Mabel practiced on a
homemade rink in her bedroom! There she learned how to perform sharp
turns and whizzing spins of her own creation.
It wasn't long before Mabel needed more room to practice skating, and
she returned to one of the rinks that denied her entrance. This time she
refused to take no for an answer. She knew that if they just let her on
the ice, she would be the most marvelous skater anyone had ever seen.
And she was right, as her trailblazing talent continues to influence the
sport today.
Written and illustrated with warmth and spirit, this is the true story
of how Mabel Fairbanks's determination and grit led her to become
America's first Black skating superstar.