Roberto Germán [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Our Classroom. In this space, we talk about education, which is inclusive of but not limited to what happens in schools. Education is taking place whenever and wherever we are willing to learn. I am your host, Roberto Germán, and Our Classroom is officially in session. Welcome back to our classroom. Today, we have as a guest Dr. Amira Rose Davis, assistant professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, where she specializes in 20th-century American history with an emphasis on race, gender, sports, and politics. She’s working on her first book.
Roberto Germán [00:00:56]:
Well, actually, your second book, because we’re talking about the book you co-authored today, but your first solo book. I’ll frame it that way: your first solo book, Can’t Eat a Medal: The Lives and Labors of Black Women Athletes in the Age of Jim Crow. Sounds very interesting. You are also the co-host of the feminist sports podcast Burn It All Down and the host of season three of American Prodigy. Welcome.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:01:29]:
Thank you. Glad to be here.
Roberto Germán [00:01:31]:
Oh, it’s a pleasure. It’s a pleasure. I had a chance to dig into the book that you co-authored, Go, Wilma, Go. I was not familiar with this individual or this story, so thank you for sharing something that was new to me and possibly to this audience. Let’s jump right in. As I mentioned, you co-authored this book with Michael G. Long. Can you talk about your approach? Why did you choose to co-author a book, and how did this come about?
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:02:08]:
Absolutely. I’ll take you on the journey briefly. I’ve always worked on Black women’s sports history and the history of race and sport. I started this work in undergrad. I played sports all my life and thought I was going to college to play sports. Freshman year of college, plot twist—I found out I was pregnant. And that was like—
Roberto Germán [00:02:41]:
That is a plot twist.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:02:42]:
It is, absolutely.
Roberto Germán [00:02:43]:
I wasn’t ready.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:02:45]:
Yeah, you weren’t. So all of a sudden, I was like, “What do I do?” But I stayed in school, and luckily, I had great mentorship. They put me onto the Ronald McNair program, which helps people do research of their own design and think about grad school. At that time, I was 18. I wasn’t thinking about grad school. I didn’t even know how one became a professor. But when they asked me what I wanted to do and research, I was like, “Well, sports, obviously.”
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:03:18]:
I went to undergrad at Temple University in Philadelphia. For me, as an aspiring historian, it felt like you couldn’t write the history of Philadelphia without acknowledging how sports shaped the city’s identity. At the time, there were very few books in the library about race and sport, and gender and sport. The scholarship was still developing. So I started researching race and sports. I wrote my McNair thesis on media perceptions of Black male athletes from Jack Johnson to LeBron James.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:04:01]:
This was the time of LeBron’s King Kong magazine cover. I went directly from undergrad to a PhD program at Johns Hopkins. At Johns Hopkins, you immediately get thrown into the deep end. I started researching the Negro Leagues, which took me to Cooperstown, where I discovered three Black women in the archives who played in the Negro Leagues. I wrote my first article on them.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:04:35]:
One of them is in that poster behind me, Toni Stone. From there, I thought I would pivot away from writing about Black women’s stories in sports. My advisor said, “If you don’t write it, who will? And will you like how they write it?” That convinced me to continue focusing on Black women’s athletic stories. Almost immediately, I ran into an archival problem. There were names like Althea Gibson and Wilma Rudolph, but very few full-length books on them. However, I found a lot of children’s books.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:05:46]:
In many of these books, especially those from the 1990s, a common theme was a “feel-good” narrative. In 20 pages, the story often portrays how someone, through a dream, overcomes racism and sexism. This vehicle of storytelling felt simplistic to me.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:06:40]:
Fast forward a few years—after finishing my dissertation and starting my tenure as a professor—I was working on my larger book and reflecting on these children’s stories. During the 2020 racial awakening and the resurgence of athletic activism, Michael Long approached me with the idea of writing a children’s book on Wilma Rudolph. Initially, I hesitated, but I thought about how her story had been portrayed and what I wanted to add.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:07:15]:
A lot of people know the narrative about Wilma Rudolph having polio and not being able to walk or run until she was 12, and then she went on to win gold at 15. But many people don’t know that about 18 months before she won three gold medals in Rome in 1960, she actually had a baby. That part of her story really resonated with me. As someone who experienced teen pregnancy, I know how it can feel invisible or pathologized. For me, including Yolanda, Wilma’s daughter, as a character in the book was essential.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:07:45]:
I also didn’t want the book to present a narrative that she fully overcame racism and sexism in 20 pages, because that’s not true. It was important to tell a motivating story without oversimplifying history. Collaborating with Michael Long and the publisher allowed us to tell a story that ends on a hopeful note but doesn’t erase the reality of systemic challenges. Additionally, I loved being able to expand on these ideas in the author’s note, providing more context and depth for readers.
Roberto Germán [00:08:53]:
That’s dope. That’s dope. You just shared so much with us, and it’s clear there’s a lot of thought and intention behind this project. A follow-up question for you: living in Texas, and me now living in Florida, we’re both in states facing resistance to certain types of content in education. Your book doesn’t shy away from complexity. What type of reception has it been getting, especially in states like Texas and Florida, where books are being challenged and banned?
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:10:17]:
That’s a great question. When we signed on to do this book in 2020, it was a very different political climate. Back then, DEI committees were forming, and there was a surge of interest in Black history projects. Now, the book is coming out during an era of banned books and attacks on Black history. Over 500 measures have been introduced to restrict books about racism and related topics.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:11:10]:
Despite this, the reception has been positive. Partly because it’s tied to the Olympics, and Olympic years can allow for broader conversations. Also, the book’s nuanced approach challenges American exceptionalism while still being accessible to young readers. We juxtapose the Jim Crow conditions in the U.S. with Wilma’s experiences abroad, which opens up discussions about patriotism and systemic racism.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:12:20]:
There’s a hunger for this history, especially as it’s being repressed. In places like Austin, which is a bit of a bubble, we’ve had great events, like one at the Carver Library, where Heather Terry did a puppet show about Wilma. Nationally, we’re also seeing good reception. Sports can serve as a bridge to deeper conversations about social issues, and that has helped the book resonate in this challenging climate.
Roberto Germán [00:13:18]:
Absolutely. It seems like you’ve tapped into a perfect moment. I have to say, when I read the book, I didn’t find it as subtle as you’re framing it.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:14:32]:
That’s interesting. I often think things are more subtle than they are. Maybe it’s because, in my academic writing, I tend to hit harder. But I appreciate hearing that.
Roberto Germán [00:15:13]:
Yeah, I felt like you and Michael weren’t holding back punches. And I appreciate that. It feels authentic. So many books try to tie things up with a happy ending where racism is over, and that’s not real. Kids know the difference between fiction and their lived reality.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:16:54]:
Exactly. Those simplistic endings make it harder for kids to see themselves as part of a continuum of struggle and resilience. In my teaching, I focus on how we think about and remember history, from movies to monuments. When stories are sanitized, we lose the ability to connect the past to the present. Ruby Bridges, for example, is still alive, yet her books are being banned for making children “uncomfortable.” That says so much about where we are as a society.
Roberto Germán [00:18:13]:
Absolutely. And it’s crucial that we confront these realities rather than sugarcoating them. Let’s pivot a bit. Can you discuss the societal conditions in Clarksville, Tennessee, during Wilma’s childhood and how they influenced her activism?
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:22:27]:
Clarksville, Tennessee, about 45 minutes from Nashville, mirrored many towns in the Jim Crow South. While there was a strong Black community with its own institutions, public spaces were segregated. Wilma’s family lived close enough to Nashville to access Meharry Medical College, a hub for Black medical professionals, which was crucial for her treatment for polio. However, traveling 45 minutes on a segregated bus was grueling.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:23:44]:
When Wilma returned home after winning gold medals, the town wanted to celebrate her but still planned a segregated event. She refused to participate unless the celebration was integrated. This was a pivotal moment in her activism, where she leveraged her platform to challenge systemic racism.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:27:07]:
This moment was so significant because Wilma was young—just in her early 20s—but she already understood the power of her leverage. By refusing to participate in a segregated celebration, she sent a powerful message. She demonstrated that symbolic recognition without actual inclusion wasn’t acceptable.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:29:00]:
Wilma’s ability to articulate the duality of her experiences—being celebrated abroad while facing systemic racism at home—was profound. For instance, when asked about her experiences, she pointed out, “In America, I’m pushed to the back. Here, I’m pushed to the front.” She used these contrasts to highlight the hypocrisy of a country that lauded her on the world stage but marginalized her at home.
Roberto Germán [00:29:54]:
It’s incredible how her global experiences shaped her perspective. She seemed to grasp the broader connections between anti-Blackness and racial disparities worldwide. Have your own travels informed your perspective in similar ways?
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:32:34]:
Definitely. My travels, as well as my work with colleagues and athletes globally, have profoundly shaped how I think about domestic and international politics. For example, in Spain, I took an Afro-Iberian tour that explored the hidden histories of the transatlantic slave trade’s impact on the city. Experiences like that help you see the global continuity of anti-Blackness and the ways histories are erased or marginalized.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:34:29]:
I’ve also studied reconciliation efforts in Germany, South Africa, and the U.S., and the contrasts are stark. Germany has publicly reckoned with its Holocaust history, and South Africa has confronted apartheid, but the U.S. has consistently refused to address slavery, Jim Crow, and systemic racism. That refusal is reflected in how history is taught and remembered here.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:36:18]:
I also think about the duality of Black athletes’ experiences in places like Hawaii or Puerto Rico, where they face anti-Blackness while also being part of systems that perpetuate colonialism or imperialism. These messy, complex histories require us to sit with the discomfort and work through it.
Roberto Germán [00:39:27]:
Your insights are so rich and layered. I imagine they give you a lot of content for your podcast.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:39:33]:
Absolutely. Olympic years are always packed with content. There’s so much happening on and off the field, and the stories we uncover are endlessly fascinating.
Roberto Germán [00:39:45]:
That’s amazing. Thank you for sharing. Let’s wrap this up with a couple of final questions. If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:40:06]:
That’s such a hard question! I struggle with it because I like the idea of a dinner party more than one-on-one lunch. But if I had to choose, for this context, I’d say Wilma Rudolph.
Roberto Germán [00:40:39]:
You have to! It’d be a violation if you didn’t.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:40:41]:
Exactly. Wilma has always been a figure I’ve admired deeply. I’d also add Faith Ringgold, who just became an ancestor. Her storytelling through her quilts and books has always inspired me. And maybe Flo Jo—she and Wilma had a fun relationship, and I think they’d bring such great energy to the table.
Roberto Germán [00:42:26]:
That’s a solid lineup. Last question—what’s a message of encouragement you’d like to offer our audience?
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:43:15]:
Run your own race. Comparison is the thief of joy. It’s easy to look at others and feel like you’re behind or out of step. But what’s for you is for you. Surround yourself with people who will cheer you on, give you water breaks when needed, and remind you to rest. Keep going, but do it at your own pace.
Roberto Germán [00:44:12]:
Beautiful. For folks interested in Go, Wilma, Go, where can they get it?
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:44:23]:
Anywhere books are sold—local bookstores, major retailers, or online. I encourage people to support their local bookstores, especially Black-owned ones like Black Pearl Books here in Austin.
Roberto Germán [00:44:52]:
And how can people find you?
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:44:53]:
You can find me on Twitter and Instagram at MiraRose88 and MiraRose06. My website, amirosedavis.com, has all my projects and links to my podcast, American Prodigies.
Roberto Germán [00:46:04]:
Thank you, Dr. Davis. Go, Wilma, Go is a powerful book. It engages with complexity and doesn’t shy away from tough topics. Thank you for amplifying Wilma’s story.
Dr. Amira Rose Davis [00:47:10]:
Thank you. And a quick shout-out to Charnelle Pinkney Barlow, the book’s illustrator, for bringing such life and movement to this story.
Roberto Germán [00:47:26]:
Thank you all for joining us. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the show. For resources to help you explore the intersection of race, bias, education, and society, visit multiculturalclassroom.com. Peace and love from your host, Roberto Germán.
