VICTORY. STAND!
Grades 7 and Up
Tommie Smith et al.
Norton Young Readers, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-32405-215-9
208 pp.
Summary
Victory. Stand! is the graphic memoir of athlete and activist Dr. Tommie Smith.
Even as a child, one of fourteen born to a sharecropping family in rural Texas, Smith was a
competitive runner. As a teen, he was recruited by prestigious colleges willing to offer him a
place on their team, but not the privileges or even basic necessities offered to other students. To
compete in the 1968 Olympics, Smith and his fellow black athletes faced death threats and
violence – and they would return home to poverty and oppression. All leads up to the iconic act
of resistance that took place on that year’s Olympic podium and the price Smith and teammates
paid for taking their stand. This gripping story serves as a call for continued work toward racial
justice.
Curriculum Connections
History
Dr. Smith experienced and took part in some revolutionary and change-making moments in history. What was happening in the year leading up to Tommie Smith’s iconic protest? Take a look at the Civil Rights Movement Timeline to explore the events leading up to the 1968 Olympic Games.
Tommie’s family moved North during the second wave of the Great Migration. Learn more about this time in history, the threats, violence, and racial oppression that led families to flee the Southern states. See The Great Migration and The Second Great Migration.
In March of 1965, Tommie traveled to join the Sympathy March from San Jose to San Francisco. It was one of the first moments when he felt compelled to take a political stand. Research the Civil Rights marches taking place around the country at that time.
Learn about Olympic Project for Human Rights. (Check out this video.)
Members of the OPHR asked: “Why should we run in Mexico only to crawl home?” What did they mean?
Why did OPHR demand that South Africa be denied entry to the 1968 Olympic Games?
Dr. Smith’s memoir is an invitation to continue the work for racial justice. Research the tradition of Black athletes as activists. Discuss how things have changed and how they haven’t.
Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Black Athlete Protest Tradition
Learn about other change-making athletes who took a stand at or refused to be a part of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Just the Start: John Carlos on sports and activism
Lee Evans: Olympic runner who protested racism
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Social Justice Champion
Media Studies
How was Dr. Smith portrayed in the media leading up to the Olympics?
See:
Books and a Beating for Tommie
How was his protest reported in the media in 1968?
Black Power Salute Rocks 1968 Olympics
Howard Cosell Explains the Sham of Smith & Carlos Expulsion from the 1968 Olympics
Life Magazine, November 1, 1968 (see page 63)
Discussion Questions
The very first page of Victory, Stand! puts us on the starting line of the 1968 Olympics with Dr. Tommie Smith. Injured and facing death threats, Tommie waits for the starting pistol in the race that could put him on the Olympic podium. Why do you think the authors chose to start the story at this high pressure moment?
As the story continues, we jump back and forth to the moments in Tommie’s life that show how he got to that Olympic track and to that state of mind. Was this an effective way of telling his story? Why or why not?
Who and what were the biggest positive influences on Tommie’s life? Who were the people that actively supported and inspired him? Why were these people so important?
On page 18, Tommie says “Our bodies are programmed to do what we train them to do. Muscle memory, consistency, routine.” He credited these training methods with helping to make him a better athlete. How can these same habits be used to train ourselves to be courageous? How can we use them to combat racism?
Consider Tommie’s father. What were some of his concerns about his son becoming an athlete? Why do you think he felt this way?
Return to page 73, where Tommie mentions what he considers “the most important race of his life.” What made this race so important? What changed for Tommie when he won?
On page 100, Tommie talks about 1963 as a year of violence, but because news arrived slowly, or not at all, he was unaware of much that was happening across the nation. In the age of social media, we have the ability to photograph, record, and share information much more quickly. In what ways does this help or hinder our ability to protest, connect, and make change towards racial justice?
It took courage to dissent and raise a fist, and Tommie knew that he risked his career, his life, and the safety of his loved ones to do so. What formative moments do you think Dr. Smith drew courage from while he stood on the Olympic podium?
How does it change your perspective when you learn about the violence, threats, and sacrifices Black leaders faced when they fought for civil rights? How does the context of Dr. Smith’s story change the way you view modern athletic activists?
“We had to be seen because we were not being heard.” Why are the actions of Black athletes so integral to the Civil Rights Movement? When Tommie was interviewed about why he raised a fist, he was asked “Do you think you represent all black athletes in doing this?” Was this a fair question? If you could go back in time and interview Dr. Smith in that moment, what question would you ask?
Author Online
Champion runner Tommie Smith set seven individual world records – including an Olympic gold medal in 1968 when he raised a fist in silent protest to ongoing civil rights injustices, primarily in America. On YouTube, see Dr. Smith fifty years later on the occasion of his induction into the Olympic Hall of Fame.
Companion Books
Becomming Muhammad Ali
James Patterson and Kwame Alexander (Jimmy Patterson, 2022)
In prose and verse, this covers the life of Cassius Clay to the age of seventeen, including his struggles with racism, difficulties in school, and discovery of boxing.
Brown Girl Dreaming
Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014)
This award-winning memoir in verse tells the story of Woodson’s upbringing in South Carolina and New York in the 60s and 70s, with Jim Crow and the growing Civil Rights movement.
Dragon Hoops
Gene Luen Yank (First Second, 2020)
In this basketball graphic novel, Gene – who was never into sports – tells the story of the Dragons, an impressive school basketball team, intermixed with basketball history.
March: Book One
John Lewis and Andrew Aydin (Top Shelf Productions, 2013)
The first of a graphic novel trilogy, this is the riveting story of Congressman John Lewis, a sharecropper ’s son, and his lifelong fight for civil rights.
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow
James Sturm (Center for Cartoon Studies, 2007)
The graphic-novel story of baseball great Satchel Paige and his struggles with racism in the segregated South.
Black Brother, Black Brother
Jewell Parker Rhodes (Little, Brown, 2021)
Donte and Trey are brothers – but Donte is dark-skinned, while Trey is light. This leads to very different experiences for the two boys – and Donte, after being bullied and framed by the captain of the fencing team, begins training as a competitive fencer, while confronting racism and corrupt systems of power.
Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game
Colin Kaepernick and Eve Ewing (Graphix, 2023)
An inspiring graphic-novel memoir of athlete and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick.
It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
Trevor Noah (Yearling, 2020)
Adapted for young readers, this is Noah’s memoir of growing up half white, half black, in South Africa, both during and after apartheid.
Overground Railroad
Candacy Taylor (Harry N. Abrams, 2022)
Adapted for young readers, this is the story of the Green Book, published from 1936 to 1966, a travel guide for African-Americans during segregation – a time when travel was dangerous.
Swim Team
Johnnie Christmas (Harper Alley, 2022)
Bree, with help from Etta, an elderly neighbor and former swim champion, joins the Mighty Manatees – and learns about racism in the history of swimming.