Go, Wilma, Go! Wilma Rudolph, from Athlete to Activist

Davis, Long, and Pinkney Barlow spotlight athlete Wilma Rudolph (1940–1994), who defied odds to become an Olympic track-and-field champion before embracing activism. After winning three gold medals at the 1960 Olympics, Rudolph tours Greece, England, and Germany, where her experiences contrast with her Clarksville, Tenn., hometown: “In America, they push me around because I’m a Negro. Here in Europe, they push me to the front.” Back in Clarksville, she refuses to attend a segregated celebration in her honor, “unless the leaders include Black people in everything, in the parade and the banquet.” Mixed-media art that includes hand-painted cut-paper collage and digital renderings gives a dioramic feel to scenes of Rudolph running, traveling, and resisting in this work about a figure who remained resolute “because the race to freedom is not a sprint, but a marathon.” An authors’ note concludes. Ages 5–8. (July)