Go!

N1: Let’s travel back to 1944.

N2: To a little town in Tennessee called Clarksville. 

N3: The Rudolph family lives here in a wooden house with no electricity. 

N1: Four-year-old Wilma lies in bed, shivering.

Dr. Coleman: How are you feeling, Wilma?

Wilma (weakly): Not good. 

Papa: Her fever won’t go away.

Mama: And one leg has become crooked. See how her foot is twisted?

Dr. Coleman: I’m afraid Wilma has polio. It’s a disease that attacks the spinal cord. 

Mama: Is her leg going to stay like that?

Dr. Coleman: Time will tell. She should see a specialist in Nashville. 

Papa: That’s 50 miles away! 

Dr. Coleman: Sadly, it’s the nearest hospital that will treat Black patients. 

Mama: If it will help Wilma, then we’ll do it. 

Dr. Coleman: I must warn you: Don’t get your hopes up. Wilma may never walk again. 

N2: Dr. Coleman leaves. Wilma looks up at Mama, her eyes wide. 

Wilma: Is it true, Mama? I won’t walk again?

Mama: I don’t believe it. And don’t you believe it either.

N3: Now it is 1949. Nine-year-old Wilma is at recess. 

N1: She wears a heavy metal leg brace from her knee down to her shoe.

N2: Two kids are picking teams for dodgeball.

N3: Soon Wilma is the only one left.

Edward (annoyed): I guess we’re stuck with Wilma. 

Wilma: I’m the same as you. My leg is just different!

Robert: But in dodgeball, you need to be fast. 

N1: Wilma’s brother Wesley walks over. 

Wesley: Don’t you mind them, Wilma.

N2: Wilma unbuckles her brace and tosses it to the ground.

Wesley: Hey! Mama says you’re not supposed to take your brace off at school.

Wilma: Well, don’t tell her then. I’m sick of people teasing me. I’ve been working hard, and my leg is getting stronger.

N3: Wilma hobbles over to her team.

Wilma (quietly): Someday, I’ll show you all.

What Was Jim Crow?  
When Wilma was growing up, many U.S. states had racist laws. These laws were called Jim Crow laws. They were used to keep Black people and White people separate. For example, many hospitals wouldn’t treat Black people. (That’s why Wilma had to travel so far to see a special doctor.) Black kids like Wilma also had to go to different schools than White kids.

N1: In 1952, Wilma feels healthy for the first time in her life. 

N2: One day, she sees a group of boys in a field. 

Edward: Let’s race to the big tree and back. 

N3: Wilma, now 12, walks up to them. 

Wilma: Can I run too?

Robert: You want to race us? Where’s your leg brace?

Wilma: I don’t need it anymore.

Robert: Fine. You can race. But you have no chance of winning.

Wilma: We’ll see about that. 

Edward: Ready, set, GO! 

N1: Wilma bursts forward, but the boys are faster. 

N2: She works her legs harder and harder. She passes one boy, then another. 

Edward: Wow. Look at her go. She’s really flying! 

N3: Wilma finally catches up to Robert. 

Robert: No way you’re going to win!

Wilma: Watch me!

N1: Wilma pulls ahead.  

N2: Then Robert catches up.

Wilma (to herself): I can do this! Go, go, go!

N3: Wilma runs past Robert—

N1: And wins!

N2: She falls to the ground, laughing. 

Robert (out of breath): What’s so funny?

Wilma: Winning is fun. I could get used to this! 

N3: Wilma finds she has a natural talent for running. 

N1: She joins her high school track team. 

N2: In 1956, her team travels to Alabama for a big meet. 

Coach Gray: Listen, everyone. This will be a tough meet. The best high school runners in the South are here. 

N3: Wilma smiles. She has won every race she’s ever been in and feels good about her chances.

N1: But the meet turns out to be a disaster for Wilma. She loses every event. 

N2: Afterward, Wilma sits in the empty stands. Tears run down her cheeks.

N3: Coach Gray comes over.  

Wilma: I feel like a fool. How am I ever going to race again? 

Coach Gray: Losing is not the end of the world, Wilma. What matters is how you deal with it. You could be a champion one day. 

N1: Wilma wipes her eyes.

Wilma: What do I do next? 

Coach Gray: Coach Ed Temple wants you to train with his Tennessee State University team. 

Wilma: Why? I just lost all those races. 

Coach Gray: It doesn’t matter. He can see what I see. You’re a fighter. 

N2: Wilma starts training with Coach Temple while still in high school.    

N3: She practices hard.

N1: One day, Coach Temple pulls her aside.  

Coach Temple: Wilma, I want you to come with us to the Olympic tryouts.

Wilma: Really? Me?

Coach Temple: Yes. And Wilma, don’t hold back. 

N2: Wilma travels to Washington, D.C., for the tryouts. 

N3: She runs a strong 200-meter race. Afterward, she calls home. 

Wilma: Mama! I did it! I made the Olympic team!

Mama: Oh, Wilma. We’re so proud of you! 

Wilma: I’m only 16, and I’m going to the Olympics—in Australia! Not so long ago I could barely walk.

Mama: I never doubted you. 

Wilma: Thank you, Mama. 

Mama: For what?

Wilma: For believing I could get better. And for teaching me to never give up.

N1: Wilma’s relay team wins a bronze medal in Australia. 

N2: Wilma spends the next four years training harder than ever. 

N3: The 1960 Olympics are held in Rome, Italy.

N1: Coach Temple is there with Wilma.

Coach Temple: Wilma, I believe in you. I keep dreaming that you are going to win three gold medals here. 

Wilma: I’ve been dreaming the same thing. 

Coach Temple: You’d be the first American woman in track-and-field history to do that. 

N2: Days later, Wilma stands at the starting line in a huge stadium. It’s filled with 80,000 track-and-field fans. 

N3: In Tennessee, Wilma’s family crowds around a neighbor’s small television. 

Announcer 1: It is a hot day here in Rome, Italy.

Announcer 2: Next up is the finals in the women’s 100-meter race. 

Announcer 1: American Wilma Rudolph is a favorite. 

Crowd: Wil-ma! Wil-ma! Wil-ma!

N1: The starting gun fires.  

Announcer 2: The women burst forward from the starting line. 

Announcer 1: Here comes Wilma Rudolph with fire in her eyes. 

Announcer 2: She is sprinting into the lead. 

Announcer 1: And it’s GOLD for Wilma Rudolph!

Crowd: Wil-ma! Wil-ma!

Papa: She did it! Our baby won gold!

Mama: They said she may never walk again. Now she’s the fastest woman in the world!

Coach Temple: Wilma Rudolph won three gold medals at the Rome Olympics.  

Coach Gray: She became a hero around the world. Young girls looked up to her.

Wesley: When Wilma returned to Tennessee, there was a parade in her honor.

Mama: She went down in history as one of the best runners of all time.

Papa: And we can all learn from her story. 

Wilma: Every one of us has the potential to be great. 

Click here to find more stories that celebrate Women’s History Month!