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Entity explores the life of Tidye Pickett.

Names: Tidye Pickett-Phillips

Lifetimes: November 3, 1914 – November 17, 1986

What She’s Known For: Pickett competed in the 80-meter hurdles during the 1936 Olympics, making her the first African-American woman to compete in the Games.

Why We Love Her: Tidye Pickett would become a pioneer for people of color in sports. Today now more than ever we see African-American champions like Venus and Serena Williams, Gabby Douglas and Laila Ali dominating the sports industry. But less than one hundred years ago, women Pickett had to fight for their recognition as athletes.

Tidye Pickett was born during an era of racial segregation and prejudice, finding her love of running at a young age.

While growing up, Pickett was given opportunities to compete in racing very early on. Racing alongside other girls and boys at picnics, Pickett would come home with the winner every time. Years later, she was spotted by Pearl Greene, the director of the girls’ athletic program for the Chicago Board of Education. This destined meeting would convince Pickett to join a track team.

Pickett would meet fellow black athlete Louisa Stokes at the Olympics Trials in 1932 in Evanston, Illinois. They were the only African-Americans on their team. During the Trials, Pickett competed in the 100-meter dash with a time of approximately 12.5 seconds, coming in sixth place. With that victory under her belt, Pickett was chosen to be a part of the eight woman 4×100-meter relay pool.

Both Stokes and Pickett were the first African-American women to qualify for the Olympic relay team. However, the world was not yet ready for a woman like Pickett; Coach George Vreeland only selected white women to make it to the final team.

To add insult to injury, while on the way to Los Angeles, Pickett was forced to stay in a separate room from her teammates. She also were not allowed to go to the banquet but instead ate her meals in her room. 

However, in 1936, Pickett was chosen to represent the U.S. during the Olympic Games in Berlin, where she made it to the semi-finals in the 80-meter hurdles before injuring herself.

Fun Fact: Pickett became the principal of East Chicago Heights Elementary School. She served there for 23 years until her retirement in 1980. She was so successful in her role that the school was named after her.

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Edited by Ellena Kilgallon
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