Language: PG (0 swears 0 'f' 4 'n'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (image of hanged black man, other violence described, not graphic)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Tommie Smith worked alongside his brothers and sisters sharecropping in Texas. When he was about 7 they moved to California where he went to school more regularly. By 7th grade, Tommie was outrunning all the other students on the track. He was a star athlete in High School, playing basketball, and football as well as running track, but by college, his focus was entirely on track and field. During his time in college, he also became politically active, using his fame as an elite athlete to bring focus to the inequality and poor treatment of blacks in the United States. At the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie and John Carlos raised their fists in the air at their podium ceremony during the national anthem.
Tommie Smith narrates Victory. Stand! and it is a beautiful graphic novel autobiography. Many of Smith's athletic achievements coincided with important moments in Civil Rights - the killing of Medgar Evans, the bombing of the church in Birmingham, and the Selma to Montgomery March, which put the protests he was involved with in context. I loved learning about his background and his convictions. Dawud Anyabwile's sports illustrations are the very best. An important graphic novel for either your biography section or to offer with your civil rights books. Tommie Smith is African American.
Lisa Librarian
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