Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story

Presented on September 16th, 2018 from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Georgia Tech Student Center Theater.Wyomia Tyus was born and raised in Griffin, Georgia. She attended Tennessee State University in Nashville and ran track under the tutelage of legendary coach Ed Temple as a member of the Tigerbelles until she graduated in 1968. The holder of three gold and one silver medal, Tyus was the first person to win the 100-meter dash in back to back Olympic Games (1964 and 1968). She was also a supporter of the Olympic Project for Human Rights during the 1968 Olympics, doing her part to promote justice for oppressed people around the world. A founding member of the Women’s Sports Foundation, she continues to advocate for women’s equality in sports to this day. She has recently written a memoir (with Elizabeth Terzakis), Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story (Akashic Books, 2018).Dr. Damion Thomas (Interviewer) is Curator of Sports at the Smithsonian Institute. He received his PhD in History from the University of California-Los Angeles and is the author of Globetrotting: African American Athletes and Cold War Politics (University of Illinois Press, 2012).Dr. Jacqueline Jones Royster is Dean of Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. She holds the Ivan Allen Jr. Dean’s Chair in Liberal Arts and Technology, and is Professor of English in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication.Dr. Mary G. McDonald, Professor, Homer C. Rice Chair of Sports and Society in the School of History and Sociology, Georgia Institute of Technology. As Homer C. Rice Chair, she directs the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts initiative in Sports, Society, and Technology.Bill Curry, former Georgia Tech football player and head football coach, will provide introductions.Runtime: 81:02 minutesIn marking the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, media coverage has focused on John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s courageous stance in raising black fists to protest racial injustice on the 200-meter victory stand. This event will highlight Wyomia Tyus’ role in this protest as she dedicated her Olympic medals to Carlos and Smith’s efforts. As a Georgia native who grew up in the Jim Crow South, Ms. Tyus is uniquely positioned to discuss the continuing need for gender and racial justice as well as to reflect upon the importance of sport’s role in helping to promote social change