THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 4, 2025 Page 19 OLYMPIAN | FROM PAGE 16 1930s, much of America was still very much in the status of segregation, including in hotels. Recollections of the events leading up to the last-minute omission from the Olympic competition include stories of segregated travel to the Los Angeles venue as well as separate, segregated lodging for Stokes, Pickett and the black men who were competing for the men’s 1932 U.S. Olympic Team. Sadly, all of that was status quo for America at the time and it appears, judging from a lot of research and some facts that could be construed as evidence, race ultimately could have caused Stokes and Pickett to be left out in Los Angeles. Of course, judging that while Stokes and Pickett were relegated to the stands as spectators the foursome comprising the 4 x 100 Relay Team raced to a convincing victory, the Gold Medal and a new world record, 46.9 seconds, some could debate that Vreeland chose the right four women anyway, regardless of racial considerations. In a quirk of the times, the Olympics did not recognize tenths of seconds at that point – believe it or not! – so the record was rounded off to 47.0 seconds for the 4 x 100 relay. But the facts also point to the extremely high probability that had Stokes and Pickett been placed on that relay, which the protocols that had been explained to them a few weeks earlier seemed to dictate, then a Malden woman and her friend from Illinois would have made two parts of history. Not only would they have been the first two Black women to compete in the Olympic Games, they would have been the first Black women to have been Gold Medalists as well. All these women could do was compete as best they could. Through decisions out of their control, they were denied an opportunity to shine, create a oncein-a-lifetime achievement and represent their country on the biggest stage. As somewhat of a postscript, neither woman was thwarted by this glaring omission. Louise May Stokes was received warmly and with great honor when she arrived back in Malden, as was Pickett in her hometown. Stokes continued to train at a world-class pace and, amazingly, she earned another try as a U.S. Olympian at the 1936 Games, this time being held in Berlin. Pickett got a second try as well. These were some of the most well-known Olympics in history, featuring an eventual, fourGold Medal performance by Jesse Owens, a well-known black athlete, and two Gold Medals by Johnny Weissmuller, who gained great fame as the star of the Tarzan movies after the Olympics. This time the stakes went up, as none of the Olympic athletes not backed by a corporation team had to come up with their own resources to purchase a trip by ocean liner across the Atlantic to Germany. Stokes was beloved in Malden for earning another Olympic Team bid, and Malden residents responded by raising $680 to pay for her transportation to the games. To gauge the generosity of locals at the time, that sum is worth $11,172 in today’s dollars! For one roundtrip ticket! Stokes was humbled and thrilled by the gesture and vowed to do her best. Unfortunately, “The Malden Meteor,” for the second time in four years missed out on competing. Once again, she and Pickett were in the 4 x 100 Relay pool, but neither was selected for the competition event. Pickett did go on to become the first Black woman to compete in the Olympics, in the hurdles event, but she broke her foot in the semifinals and had to bow out. Apparently, she had always trained with loose hurdles and the ones at the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games were rigid and stationary, which probably played a factor in her injury. Also, this time around, Stokes finished fifth in the pre-Olympics trials, while Pickett had concentrated on the hurdles. The four participants who were selected for the women’s 4 x 100 Relay Team in 1936 were all highly experienced and previously Your Hometown News Delivered! EVERETT ADVOCATE MALDEN ADVOCATE REVERE ADVOCATE SAUGUS ADVOCATE One year subscription to The Advocate of your choice: $200 per paper in-town per year or $225 per paper out-of-town per year. Name_________________________________________ Address_______________________________________ City_______________ State_______ Zip ____________ CC# _______________________________ Exp. _____ Sec. code____ Advocate (City):___________________ Clip & Mail Coupon with Credit Card, Check or Money Order to: Advocate Newspapers Inc. PO Box 490407, Everett, MA 02149 successful sprinters, unlike the field in 1932.This time around Stokes, again a spectator, saw the women’s team grab a Gold Medal finish and, ironically, tie the still standing world record at 46.9 seconds. Heroine’s welcome for Stokes in Malden By all accounts, Stokes got another heroine’s welcome when she came back to Malden after a second Olympics and was honored and revered in her hometown. Stokes fully intended on trying for a third time, at the age of 26, to compete in the 1940 Olympics, but the games were never played because of the onset of World War II. As the years went on, she stayed in Malden and around the area, donating her time teaching young girls and women the sports of track, running and also basketball. She also gained acclaim and was a highly successful professional bowler and was instrumental in helping found the Colored Women’s Bowling Association. She passed away too young at the age of 65 in 1978. The City of Malden named what then was a new fieldhouse in her honor at Roosevelt Park on Salem Street, right next to the old railroad tracks where she used to race the boys in her younger years. In 1983, she was posthumously recognized and inducted as one of the charter members of the Malden High School Golden Tornado Hall of Fame for her school and Olympics selections. In 1987, a memorial was erected in the courtyard of her hometown high school as part of the extensive renovations completed there. In May of 2020, Stokes Fraser’s hometown of Malden showed once again they have never forgotten her and the pride she brought to the city when Mayor Gary Christenson presided over the dedication in her name of a running, walking and cycling Loop connecting trails that encircle the Malden River. (The Loop was also dedicated in the name of the late Malden Court Clerk-Magistrate Joseph Croken, a longtime biking enthusiast before his sudden passing in 2007.) Whether she brought home medals or not, the memory, character, passion and legacy of Louise Mae Stokes Fraser will forever shine brightly in Malden history.
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