Book Review… A Must-Read Memoir

Dec 16, 2018 Book Review…, Features / Columnists

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Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story
Authors: Wyomia Tyus and Elizabeth Terzakis
Reviewer: Dr. Glenville Ashby

The Wyomia Tyus Story is a timely memoir that redefines the hybrid dynamics of poverty, race and gender. Thankfully, we are spared the moral pruning of liberalism and allowed to make our own judgment.
We get a first-hand account of growing up black in America’s south. It is circa 1940s and blacks are forced to swallow the bitter pill that is racism. The Tyus family steels itself against the self-loathing and bitterness that are symptomatic of this social disease. A red line is drawn: The Tyus children learn to never accept being called a Nig–r.
This psychological buttressing goes a long way in building pride and stoicism, attributes that are undeniably transferred to Tyus’ groundbreaking success as a black female athlete.
Tyus writes, “Being black in Griffin, Georgia, was one thing. Being a girl was another. Along with the neighbors and some renters we played with Ben Brown’s boys.
His daughters were never allowed to play with us. The white girls rode horses and played with dolls…”
She recalls her dad’s admonition, “You do not let them call you by any names but your name. They cannot call you the N-Word.”
Of her childhood, Tyus shares, “Playing with the boys was what prepared me to be the athlete I am. Boys and girls are all about the same when they’re close in age and haven’t hit puberty. And I always had the competitive edge. I wanted to win.”
Still, it was not common for women to gravitate to a sport characterized by speed and power. She was dissuaded by her mother who recoiled at her masculinity: “No man likes to see muscles like that on a woman. You know she’s never going to get married – or have babies. Because that running just takes the womanhood from you – takes it right out of you.”
Tyus ignored her well-intentioned detractors and credits her coach, Mr. Temple, with the enviable culture that defined Tigerbelle.
“Mr. Temple wanted me to express myself,” she pens, “because he knew that it would help me later in life…as much as he criticized, he also gave you your accolades… Mr. Temple also made sure that we did well in school. It was a rude awakening, another of those moments when I had to start telling myself what to do – I can do this. I got to really learn.”
Tyus vividly revisits her poise and confidence at the 1968 Olympics, recalling her stream of thoughts during the race: “I got a good start! I got a good start! I am out! I am in front …I am faster…I didn’t hear any of them. Even so, I wasn’t really listening to them. If I was listening for anyone, it was Raelene Boyle, but I had psyched her out, so she was not going to beat me. Now I was thinking, Stay relaxed, lift your knees and stay relaxed, lift your knees. Don’t forget to lean at the finish line! And then it was over. Just like that.”
Tyus, not unexpectedly, emerged as a defining figure in the struggle for access and self-determination in women’s sports.

She was at the forefront in advancing gender equality through the Women’s Sports Foundation that resulted in the passing of Title IX ensuring that “girls were not discriminated against when it came to playing sports.”
She later discusses intersectionality, a concept introduced by the Black feminist camp of North America that examines how working-class Black women are oftentimes impacted by race, class and gender, while Black males are subjected to the binary effects of race and class.
Socially active in her post-Olympic years, Tyus has worked tirelessly with students, aiming to build personhood while teaching cultural sensitivity and tolerance. She details these sobering exchanges: “Four schools would come to camp: high schoolers, junior high schoolers, and elementary school kids…and they would stay for two and a half days doing hikes and, if they were high school or middle school kids, talking racism and sexism and what their thoughts were in making change. Questions were asked: How do you feel about being who you are? What’s it is like to be a member of your group? How do you think society sees you? When people see you, what do you think they think of you? How do you view people different from you?
Again, all the stereotypes would come out.
To me, it was interesting that, when talking about negative stereotypes, no one ever looked at it as they thought. The main thing is that once you’ve opened it up, it’s a can of worms…”
As a wife, mother and grandmother, Tyus continues to lend her counsel to a society still bereft of racial and gender equality.
Of the ongoing struggle for racial justice, she states, “But we who are speaking out for Black people will never know the pain of our forefathers or foremothers.”
And of the disproportionate ratio of young black men killed by police officers, she writes, “…just because you are a policeman doesn’t mean you are not racist… And just because you are in a position of authority doesn’t mean that you will not act on your racism. Racism exists.”
The Wyomia Tyus Story is triumphant. A must read. Written with candour and boundless energy it demonstrates the resolve of the human spirit to emerge victorious against the greatest odds.

Feedback: glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby
@2018 Wyomia Tyus and Elizabeth Terzakis
Published by Akashic Books
ISBN: 978-1-61775-658-0
Available at Amazon
Ratings: Highly recommended

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