The Tennessee Tornado: Wilma Rudolph

Wilma Rudolph's life is a story of achieving against the odds. Her first accomplishments were to stay alive and get well! Wilma Rudolph was born into a large family on June 23, 1940 in St. Bethlehem, a part of Clarksville, Tennessee; she was the 20th of 22 children! Her parents, Ed and Blanche Rudolph, were hardworking people. Mr. Rudolph worked as a railroad porter and handyman. Mrs. Rudolph did cooking, laundry and housecleaning for wealthy White families.

Wilma was born prematurely and weighed only 4.5 pounds. Because of racial segregation, she and her mother were not permitted to be cared for at the local hospital. It was for Whites only. There was only one Black doctor in their town of Clarksville, and the Rudolph's budget was tight, so Wilma's mother spent the next several years nursing Wilma through one illness after another: measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox and double pneumonia. But, she had to be taken to the doctor when it was discovered that her left leg and foot were becoming weak and deformed. She was told she had polio, a crippling disease that had no cure. The doctor told Mrs. Rudolph that Wilma would never walk. But Mrs. Rudolph would not give up on Wilma. She found out that she could be treated at Meharry Hospital, the Black medical college of Fisk University in Nashville. Even though it was 50 miles away, Wilma's mother took her there twice a week for two years, until she was able to walk with the aid of a metal leg brace. Then the doctors taught Mrs. Rudolph how to do the physical therapy exercises at home. All of her brothers and sisters helped too, and they did everything to encourage her to be strong and work hard at getting well. Finally, by age 12, she could walk normally, without the crutches, brace, or corrective shoes.

In high school, she became an all-state basketball star first, setting a state record of 49 points in one game and leading the team to a state championship. She was spotted by Ed Temple, the coach for the famous Tigerbells, the women's track team at Tennessee State University, while he was refereeing a basketball game. Because Burt High School didn't have the funding for a track team, coach Temple invited Wilma to Tennessee State for a summer sports camp. By the time she was 16, she earned a berth on the U.S. Olympic track and field team and came home from the 1956 Melbourne Games with an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay. After graduating from high school, Wilma received a full scholarship to Tennessee State. At the 1960 Rome Olympics Wilma became the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in the Olympics. She won the 100-meter dash (tying the world record but it was wind aided), broke the Olympic record in the 200-meter dash, and she combined with Tennessee State teammates Martha Hudson, Lucinda Williams and Barbara Jones to win the 400-meter relay in 44.5 seconds, setting a world record. This achievement led her to become one of the most celebrated female athletes of all time. The Italians nicknamed her "La Gazzella Nera" (the Black Gazelle); to the French she was "La Perle Noire" (The Black Pearl). In addition, her celebrity caused gender barriers to be broken in previously all-male track and field events. Because of all the celebrity she received from her track career, she took a year off from her studies to make appearances and compete in international track events. Rudolph retired from track competition in 1962 after winning two races at a U.S.-Soviet meet. She returned and received a Bachelor's degree in education, graduating in 1963. She then worked as a teacher at Cobb Elementary School, coaching track at Burt High School, and as a sports commentator on national television.

When she returned from the Rome Olympics, the Tennessee Governor, "an old-fashioned segregationist," planned to head her welcome home celebration. Wilma Rudolph said she would not attend a segregated event. Her victory parade was the first racially integrated event ever held in the town. And that night, the banquet the townspeople held in her honor, was the first time in Clarksville’s history that Blacks and Whites had ever gathered together for the same event. She went on to participate in protests in the city until the segregation laws were struck down.

In 1977, Rudolph published her autobiography, Wilma: The Story of Wilma Rudolph. That same year, NBC made a movie about her life from the book, with Rudolph as a consultant. The actor Denzel Washington, then 22 years old, portrayed Wilma's boyfriend, and he later married Pauletta Pearson whom he met on the set.

Wilma Rudolph inspired many young Black female athletes. Most notable was Florence Griffith Joyner, the next woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. Bob Kersee, husband and coach of Jackie Joyner-Kersee, said Wilma Rudolph was the greatest influence for Black women athletes that he knows. His wife went further. "She was always in my corner," said Joyner-Kersee, winner of six Olympic medals. "If I had a problem, I could call her at home. It was like talking to someone you knew for a lifetime." She was voted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame in 1973, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983. She was honored with the National Sports Award in 1993 and inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994. Wilma Rudolph died of brain cancer at age 54 on Nov. 12, 1994 in Brentwood, Tennessee.

Carl T. Rowan

Journalist and author Carl Thomas Rowan was one of the most prominent Black journalist of the 20th century. He was a nationally-syndicated op-ed columnist for the Washington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times newspapers. He also wrote several books. He was born August 11, 1925 in Ravenscroft, Tennessee. He was one of five children born to Thomas and Johnnie B. Rowan and was raised in McMinnville, Tennessee.

As a youth Rowan worked hoeing bulb grass for 10 cents an hour, later performing hard manual labor for 25 cents an hour when there was work available. Like many other Black youths of this era, Rowan's childhood was deeply affected by the "Jim Crow" attitudes so prevalent in the South. While the economic and social situation was miserable, Rowan was determined to get a good education. He excelled in high school, graduating from Bernard High School in 1942 as class president and valedictorian.

Rowan left McMinnville for Nashville with 77 cents in his pocket and the dream of a college education. In order to earn his tuition for college, he moved in with his grandparents and got a job in a tuberculosis hospital the summer before enrolling in the Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State College (Tennessee State University) in the fall of 1942. He also attended Washburn University. He trained at the Naval Midshipmen School at Fort Schuyler, The Bronx and became one of the first Black Americans to serve as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy. Following his service with the Navy during World War II Rowan returned to complete his studies and graduate from Oberlin College. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1947 majoring in mathematics. He received his master's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota, supporting himself by writing for two weekly newspapers, the Minneapolis Spokesman and the St. Paul Recorder. In 1950 Rowan married Vivien Louise Murphy, a public health nurse; they had three children Barbara, Carl Jr., and Geoffrey.

He began his career in journalism as copywriter for The Minneapolis Tribune. He became a staff writer in 1950, reporting extensively on the Civil Rights Movement. Among his early pieces was a series entitled How Far from Slavery" which he wrote after returning to the South to study racial issues. The articles earned several local accolades and contributed to Rowan being the first Black person to become recipient of the Minneapolis "Outstanding Young Man" award. The articles also served as the basis for South of Freedom, his first book.

In 1961, Rowan was appointed Deputy Secretary of State by President John F. Kennedy. He was involved in the area of news coverage of increasing US military involvement in Vietnam and was also part of the negotiating team that secured the exchange of Francis Gary Powers, who was shot down over the Soviet Union. The following year, he served as a delegate to the United Nations during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Rowan became the U.S. Ambassador to Finland in 1963. In 1964, Rowan was appointed director of the United States Information Agency by President Lyndon B. Johnson. As director of the USIA he was the first Black American to sit on the National Security Council.

He accompanied then Vice President Johnson on a tour through Southeast Asia, India and Europe. Rowan became the center of controversy with the rejection of his application for membership in the prestigious Cosmos Club--whose membership qualifications included meritorious work in science, literature, the learned professions, and public service--on racial grounds. The Cosmos Club then passed a rule prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, but Rowan's nomination was never resurrected. The controversy resulted in the withdrawal of President Kennedy's application to the club when Kennedy's sponsor resigned in protest.

He then spent a year in India, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia writing columns during 1954. These led to a second well-received book: The Pitiful and the Proud, which was based upon his observations while in the Asia. A third book, Go South to Sorrow, was published in 1957. While his books received favorable acclaim, Rowan's writing skills were most commonly acknowledged for his journalism. He was the only journalist to receive the coveted "Sigma Delta Chi" award for newspaper reporting in three consecutive years: for general reporting in 1954; for best foreign correspondence in 1955; and for his coverage of the political unrest in Southeast Asia in 1956. From 1966 to 1998, Rowan wrote a syndicated column for the Chicago Sun-Times and, from 1967 to 1996, was a panelist on Inside Washington. Rowan was a 1995 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his commentaries. In 1968 Rowan received the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colby College.

Rowan received the George Foster Peabody Award for his television special "Race War in Rhodesia" and was awarded an Emmy for his documentary "Drug Abuse: America's 64 Billion Dollar Curse." His newspaper column was syndicated by the Chicago Sun-Times and reached nearly half of homes receiving newspapers in the United States. He was on numerous public affairs television programs. He also aired "The Rowan Report," a daily series of commentaries on radio stations heard across the nation. He served as a roving reporter for the Reader's Digest and regularly published articles in that magazine. He was one of the most sought-after lecturers in the United States, speaking on college campuses and at conventions of teachers, business people, civil rights leaders, and community groups.

As a national columnist and commentator, Rowan developed a reputation for being independent and often controversial. He publicly made statements, such as urging Dr. King to lessen his anti-war stance, because it was hurting the thrust of the Civil Rights movement and calling for the resignation of J. Edgar Hoover, the powerful FBI Director, citing abuses of power and corruption. While Rowan has always been a spokesperson for civil and economic rights for Black people, he has also been critical of those he feels should more aggressively address those issues affecting themselves.

Thurgood Marshall's only interview while serving on the Supreme Court of the United States was for Carl Rowan's 1988 documentary. The National Press Club gave Rowan its 1999 Fourth Estate Award for lifetime achievement. Rowan died at age 75 on September 23, 2000, in Washington, D.C. On January 9, 2001, United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright dedicated the press briefing room at the State Department as the Carl T. Rowan Briefing room.