I buy books that I know I’ll probably never read. In some way I am comforted with being surrounded by brilliance…excellence. Books are one of the only things I can guiltlessly spend my money on. I have literally spent my last on a book that I ended up never reading.
Regrets?
No.
I think it was a study on women athletes. You may not know this, but this study is a rarity. Women athletes are often left out of conversations in sports. This sports world began as a masculine space particularly unaccepting of women. And even today in 2018, inequalities among race and gender in sports are common. However, before I buy any book related to women in sports… I first check to see how many pages include Black women. While there is a shortage of studies concerning women in sports… There is an even greater absense in studies of black female athletes. Unsung histories of heroines and role models that need to be heard..
Rose Robinson.
Anita DeFrantz.
Wilma Rudolph.
Louise Stokes.
Tidye Pickett.
Toni Stone.
Althea Gibson.
Ann Kroger.
Florence Joyner.
This is just a small list of female athletes who either broke color barriers or utilized their platforms as a means for activism. I don’t think this losing or overshadowing of histories of black women in sports is incidental. I think black female athletes pose threats to societal norms
Now we have Serena Williams ranked to possibly be the Greatest Of All Time. (when I say possibly I Mean by technicality. She is MY GOAT) A reason Serena is seen as problematic because she is unforgettable. She has made a mark that cannot simply pushed to the side & this makes patriarchy’s skin crawl. *Queues devious laugh*
“Nobody is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes if they know that knowledge will set you free.” – Assata Shakur
BlackGirlKnowMagic 