Untold until now, here is the story of Black sprinter and long-jumper
Willye B. White, who went from picking cotton as a child in Mississippi
to competing and winning in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics.
Future Olympian Willye B. White was born in 1939 in Money,
Mississippi--but money was exactly what she didn't have. Abandoned by
both her parents, she worked alongside her grandparents in the cotton
fields. Willye had big dreams, though. So when her cousin noticed she
was the fastest runner around, Willye jumped at the chance to put on her
traveling shoes and run her way to better opportunities. And run Willye
did, first for the Tennessee State Tigerbelles and then for the US
Olympic team. Her struggles weren't over though--time and again, Willye
had to remind herself, "I believe in me," whether she was running and
jumping or witnessing the turmoil of the Civil Rights Movement.
Through Alice Faye Duncan's signature combination of poetry and prose
and Keith Mallett's lifelike illustrations, readers will be inspired by
Willye White's persistence and will learn how she contributed to Black
progress with muscle and grit.