麻豆传媒社区入口

Rita Liberti

• June 2, 2015

麻豆传媒社区入口 professor Rita Liberti is the co-author of a new book that examines the life and story of three-time Olympic gold medalist Wilma Rudolph from a fresh perspective.

Instead of writing a traditional biography of the African-American track star, in “(Re)Presenting Wilma Rudolph” Liberti and Sacramento State Professor Maureen M. Smith look at how Rudolph has been remembered and represented since capturing America’s attention at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

Rudolph faced many challenges on her way to Olympic glory, including a childhood of poverty and a disability that temporarily left her unable to walk without a leg brace. She also faced obstacles related to race and gender.

Liberti and Smith, both kinesiology professors who have a shared interest in African-American sport history in the 20^th century, found that traditional narratives on Rudolph tend to focus almost exclusively on how she “overcame” those obstacles.  

“Traditional narratives minimize or even erase Rudolph's acts of resistance against injustice, because to highlight them would draw attention to the realities of racism and sexism the athlete endured her entire life,” Liberti said. “Wilma Rudolph really was exceptional, though the often-told stories flatten out the complexities of her life and are, ultimately, a disservice to the Olympian. '(Re)Presenting Wilma Rudolph’ sheds light on how deeply politicized constructions and representations of historical figures can be. Also, the ways in which we narrate her life/experiences tell us far more about our values, perspectives, and biases of the writer/creator than they do about Wilma Rudolph.”

Liberti has been a faculty member in CSUEB’s Department of Kinesiology since 1998. She has served as the chair of the department and is now the director for the Center for Sport & Social Justice on campus.

There will be a launch event and book reading for “(Re)Presenting Wilma Rudolph” at Laurel Bookstore in Oakland on June 25 at 7 p.m.