Tommie Smith

All I knew of Tommie Smith was the iconic photograph at the Olympics, his and John Carlos' fists raised in Black power. This excellent graphic novel chronicles Tommie's humble beginnings helping his family sharecrop in the South and then moving to California farming country; coming up through school and encountering racism; discovering his talent in track and field, all interspersed with moments from the medal-winning race that led to his moment of protest atop the podium. You can't help but show more think how so far ahead of their time was Tommie and his activist friends, how long it took for change to happen, and how much more it will take to keep moving towards racial justice. Powerful and wholly relevant, a must-read for young people. show less

Before Colin Kaepernick polarized the United States by taking a knee, Tommie Smith shocked the world by raising his fist in a Black Power salute with fellow American John Carlos on the medal podium at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Smith retraces his life from a sharecropping farm in Texas through a move to California as part of the Second Great Migration to his rapidly rising star as a track athlete. He reflects on the events and forces of the 1950s and 1960s that caused him thrust his show more arm into the air: his upbringing, racism, the Civil Rights Movement, other athletes who had taken stands, and the assassinations and growing turbulence in the United States.

My only reservation about the book is how quickly it skims through the decades following his Olympic victory, passing quickly through the backlash he faced and his own marriages and children.

Still, it's a good introduction for young readers to an inspiring story about taking a stand for one's beliefs.

(Another project! I'm trying to read all the picture books and graphic novels on the kids section of NPR's Books We Love 2022.) show less

"We had to be seen because we were not being heard."

Amazing!

Sometimes, it takes years to be vindicated. Tommie Smith and the other brave men were called everything but a child of God. But being on the right side of history is timeless. I enjoyed reading Tommie's story and seeing the role Black athletes played in the Civil Rights movement.

The artwork was also well-chosen and lovely. It did what it visually needed to do! c:

Tommie's story in this format is easy to digest without sugarcoating show more anything. Please read this! show less

This is an inspiring graphic novel, tracking the life of Olympic runner Tommie Smith. Starting out with the hardship of growing up on a sharecropping farm, this novel digs into his experiences of racism, financial and emotional hardship, and strength to take a stand for racial inequality.
Sports novels are not usually my favorite, but I have seen this book on multiple high-quality book lists, so I wanted to try it. I was pleasantly surprised. The narrative and illustrations do a really good show more job displaying his emotional and spiritual battles. His willingness to stand for a just cause, knowing there would be big consequences, is an important message for young people. show less