Winner of the 2023 YALSA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award
Finalist for the 2022 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
A Coretta Scott King Award Author and Illustrator Honor Book
A Washington Post Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Best Book of the Year
A Horn Book Fanfare Title
On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. Both men were forced to leave the Olympics, received death threats, and faced ostracism and continuing economic hardships.
In his first-ever memoir for young readers, Tommie Smith looks back on his childhood growing up in rural Texas through to his stellar athletic career, culminating in his historic victory and Olympic podium protest. Cowritten with Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Honor recipient Derrick Barnes and illustrated with bold and muscular artwork from Emmy Award–winning illustrator Dawud Anyabwile, Victory. Stand! paints a stirring portrait of an iconic moment in Olympic history that still resonates today.
Tommie Smith is a former Olympic track-and-field gold medalist. He lives outside Atlanta, Georgia.
Derrick Barnes has received both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Author Honor. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dawud Anyabwile is an Emmy Award–winning illustrator and comic artist based in Atlanta, Georgia.
In his phenomenal graphic memoir, "Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice,” Smith teams up with the award-winning author Derrick Barnes to tell his own riveting story of balancing athletic prowess and social activism. . . . Anyabwile's stirring black-and-white illustrations propel this magnificently paced story, and underscore the infuriating professional repercussions of Smith's activism. . . . Timely and timeless, Smith's "Victory. Stand!" is a must read not just for sports fans but for everyone.
— New York Times Book Review
This evocative undertaking extends histories of 20th-century Black struggles for new generations, reminding us to continue to be brave, courageous, and organize for change. Authentic and inspiring.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Compelling.... Kinetically illustrated.... A powerful celebration of resistance.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
With vivid black-and-white artwork that emphasizes Smith's athleticism and powerful messages about allyship, conviction, family, and resistance, this is compelling and engaging account of an iconic moment and an important period in U.S. history.
— Booklist (starred review)
An illuminating example of the power of a moral stance.
— School Library Journal (starred review)
Anyabwile conveys great emotion in his fluid black-and-white art, which pairs well with the conversational first-person text.
— Horn Book Magazine (starred review)
Smith, Barnes, and Anyabwile’s artful collaboration translates the consistently impressive perseverance of Smith’s real life into grounded and thoughtful motivation for readers.
— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
