Standing Tall a Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph

Charlaine Vivian Stringer was born in Edinborn, Pennsylvania, on March 16, 1948. She was the oldest of six children. Edinborn is a small mining town in western Pennsylvania. She knew that her parents were struggling with money and that her family was lucky to have dinner on the table every night. Stringer has always been a   very determined, athletic person since she was very little. She played sports with the boys in the neighborhood. She couldn't play sports in high school because there were no girls' teams. She decided to try out for the cheerleading squad. She was cut from the team because of her race. She sued the school for denying her a position because she was black, and she won the case. She was given a spot on the cheerleading squad and became the first African American cheerleader in her town. She showed her desire to excel and succeed and was the best member on the squad. This was the first of many accomplishments to come.
Vivian has been National Coach of the Year and has taken many teams into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Her husband died in 1992, and since then she has been a single parent working full time. She has two sons and her daughter is in a wheelchair. Stringer survived breast cancer. However, in her opinion her biggest accomplishment is touching the lives of young women and helping them become the best they can be. For her, winning is second to enriching the lives of her student athletes. Vivian makes them work together as a team. If two players don't like each other, nobody is able to tell. On the floor, during practice, and games they work together with no problems. It lets them know that even if they have a problem with one another that they are still going to have to get along with each other. This prepares them for real life.
C. Vivian Stringer is still creating history. There are many stories in the book about her players. Stringer describes one player as, "a gorgeous athlete, but she could be insensitive...