
"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." -- publisher
Themes & Content
- Genres
- Non-Fiction
- Central Theme Categories
- Biography/Autobiography
- Oppression & Resilience
- Settings
- Americas
- Around the World
- Ethnicity
- Unspecified
- Gender Representation
- Girls/Women
- Race / Culture
- Black/African/African American
- Character Prominence
- Dominant Main
- Illustrator Lived Experience
- Illustrator shares race/culture with main characters