TN Writers TN Stories: The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tenn. State Un

The Tigerbelles tells the epic story of the 1960 Tennessee State University all-Black women's track team, which found Olympic glory at the 1960 games in Rome. The author tells a story of desire, success and failure--of beating the odds--against the backdrop of a changing America, but tells it in an intimate way. Readers will come to know the individuals' unique struggles and triumphs, while also understanding how these dreams emerged and solidified just as the country was struggling to leave the Jim Crow era behind. Coach Edward Temple pushed each team member to the limit and saw the possibilities in them that they often did not see themselves. The elite group of talent included Wilma Rudolph, Barbara Jones, Lucinda Williams, Martha Hudson, Willye B. White and Shirley Crowder: women who once were and should still be known world-wide. Ultimately the team's drive was for more than medals: Coach Temple and the Tigerbelles wanted to change the world's perception of what a group of young Black women in the Jim Crow south were capable of. Tigerbelles is a multi-layered inspirational tale of triumph over adversity. Based on memoirs and interviews with surviving team members, including Coach Temple, this is the story of an impossible dream come true.

Aime Alley Card is a nonfiction editor for Pangyrus literary magazine and a board member for the Women’s National Book Association, Boston Chapter, and serves on her town’s cultural council supporting educational programs.

Dwight Lewis, a graduate of Tennessee State University, is a retired award-winning reporter, columnist and editorial page editor for The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville. In 1981 he was awarded a national Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship to study at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and in November 2017, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He is the co-author of A Will to Win, which chronicles the amazing athletic history TSU, as well as contributing author to Thinking Black: Some of the Nation’s Best Black Columnists Speak Their Mind.

This event is part of our TN Writers | TN Stories series. Readings and discussions take place in the Digital Learning Center at the Tennessee State Museum. All events include an opportunity to purchase books through the Museum store and get them signed by the author. If you show your Eventbrite ticket you will recieve a 10% discount on your book purchase in the Museum store. For more information on the TN Writers | TN Stories series please click the link: https://tnmuseum.org/tnwriterstnstories.

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