Georgia Tech’s Sports, Society, and Technology Program in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts invites you to join us for A Conversation with Wyomia Tyus featuring the Olympic track star from Griffin, Georgia.

Ms. Tyus is a four-time Olympic medalist, holder of multiple world records, and a long-time advocate for global human rights and women’s equality in sports. Her new memoir (with Elizabeth Terzakis) is Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story (Akashic Books, 2018).

She will be interviewed by Dr. Damion Thomas, a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture where he helped to establish the Sports: Leveling the Playing Field exhibit.

This is another feature event sponsored by the Sports, Society, and Technology Program (SST). Through “A Conversation with Wyomia Tyus” and similar events, SST seeks to broaden awareness of compelling sports-related experiences and stories, particularly as they relate to social change. In marking the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, media coverage has focused on John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s courageous stance in raising black fists to protest racial injustice on the 200-meter victory stand. This event will highlight Wyomia Tyus’ role in this protest as she dedicated her Olympic medals to Carlos and Smith’s efforts. As a Georgia native who grew up in the Jim Crow South, Ms. Tyus is uniquely positioned to discuss the continuing need for gender and racial justice as well as to reflect upon the importance of sport’s role in helping to promote social change.