LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Students at William Wells Brown Elementary learned the story of America's first Black female jockey, Cheryl White, as they sat in the school's gym- once home to a race track and piece of Lexington's racing history- many say they felt inspired.
One fifth-grade student, Chris Matendo, says, "It's exciting and interesting to learn this type of stuff, and I'm gonna go and learn more online."
Another fifth grader, Sofia Gonzales, says, "There's so many stuff to talk about her because she's a woman, and not every woman got to do that in their lifetimes."
A reporter with the New York Times, Sarah Maslin Nir, and Cheryl White's brother, Raymond White Jr., teamed up to write "The Jockey and Her Horse." The book combines fiction and real moments from Cheryl's life. Her brother Raymond is proud of all his sister has accomplished over her 21-year career. He says she was fearless.
He shares, "In the face of being 17 years old, being the first Black female jockey ever, fearless in riding during a race, he was just fearless. So, she didn't let anything get in her way."
Cheryl was the first woman to win two races in two states in one day. She had 750 career wins. She has a long list of honors. Many of her story is featured in the book, but these authors say its real purpose is to show readers what's possible.
Maslin Nir says, "It doesn't matter if you don't see anyone who looks like you in your chosen field. We want them to become doctors and lawyers and bust through barriers like Cheryl white, the first female Black jockey, did."
Students got to race around the school's gym like jockeys. Each student got two tickets to Keeneland's fall meet and a copy of the book to take their imaginations even further -- which this author believes is critical.
"Imagination and imaginative play are essential to absorbing any lessons and here we have a story about a gal galloping towards her dreams. So, I got them up and we galloped around the gym and the giggled and they laughed, and they sat down and listened real hard," says Maslin Nir.
September 20 is the fourth anniversary of Cheryl White's death. Her brother says seeing students' excitement over her story has been excellent.
Raymon says, "She's here with us. She's here with us looking over all this, so... I've never, the response we've had to her story has been amazing."
Fifth grader Sofia Gonzales shares, "Not all kids knew about this woman. So, I think every kid should know how important it is to follow their dream."
