"Willye White was the first American woman to compete in five Olympic Games. Born in 1939 in Money, Mississippi, money was exactly what she didn't have. Abandoned by both her parents, she worked alongside her grandparents in the cotton fields. Willye dreamed big. When her cousin noticed she was the fastest runner around, Willye jumped at the chance to put on her traveling shoes and run her way to greatness. Swift as rushing wind, first Willye ran for the Tennessee State Tigerbelles and then for the US Olympic team. Whether competing on the track field or witnessing the turmoil of the Civil Rights Movement, time and time again, Willye had to remind herself, "I believe in me." Through Alice Faye Duncan's signature combination of poetry and prose and Keith Mallett's lifelike illustrations, readers will learn how the ever-persistent Willye White paved a road for women in American sports and contributed to Black progress with muscle and grit."-- Page 2 of cover.