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Nancy Keane's | Booktalks -- Quick and Simple | |
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Muhammad, Ibtihaj. PROUD : LIVING MY AMERICAN LIFE New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2019. IL 5-8 ISBN 9780316477048 |
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Ibtihaj Muhammad tried a lot of different sports before she fell in love with fencing in high school. Soon she was training every day and competing at an advanced level in the sport. Her hard work and dedication paid off with a trip to the Olympics in Rio in 2016, where she won a bronze medal in Women’s Team Sabre. Ibtihaj has the distinction of being the first US athlete to compete in a hijab, and the first Muslim-American woman to medal. However, the path to the medal was paved with obstacles. In a sport that is overwhelmingly white, Ibtihaj faced prejudice from several of her teammates, coaches and competitors because of her color, gender and her religious dedication. She had difficulty finding coaches that would take her seriously. She was told she was going to fail again and again. Ibtihaj did not let that stop her and used her fierceness to overcome adversity. When she had trouble finding clothes to wear to sport functions, she started a clothing company. When she had a coach who didn’t support her, she found one that would. When she was told she was not going to amount to anything, she dug in and proved her doubters wrong. Muhammad’s journey is both inspirational and empowering. (Book Talk by Mary Beth Kurspahić, Risdon Middle School ) (Washington Evergreen Book Award nominee 2021) |
| SUBJECTS: Muhammad,
Ibtihaj, -- 1985- Muslim women. New Jersey. Fencers. Hijab (Islamic clothing) Muslims. Women fencers. Women Olympic athletes. United States. |
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