(ThyBlackMan.com) Malcolm X once said, “The most disrespected woman in America, is the black woman. The most un-protected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman.” Regardless of this assessment of black women, it has not stopped black women from being irreplaceable, vital components in the history of this country. There are always daily examples of black women and girls doing exceptional things despite facing institutional racism and patriarchy in various ways from different structures and groups.
The excellence of young black women has become so normal that the phrase “Black Girl Magic” is a very contemporary part of American lexicon. It should not be surprising that in both collegiate and professional sports that black women continue to display their ability to overcome obstacles and challenges with toughness that destroys the dated stereotypes that link toughness as an exclusively male trait.
Many women never desire wanting to be mothers or having children. For women who have children, there are a multitude of physical, mental, emotional and financial challenges associated with being pregnant and delivering a child. For black women, this process can also include the understanding of bringing in a child in a society where blackness is viewed in negative ways due to structural racism.
Being one of the most successful athletes of all time, tennis legend Serena Williams became a mother in the latter stages of her career and last month marked another impressive milestone for the the greatest female tennis player of all time. She returned to the top 10 in the tennis rankings for the first time since taking a break to have her first child in September 2017. Anyone who saw the HBO series Being Serena is aware of how taxing it was for Williams to deliver her child and work to get back onto the tennis court and for her to be among the top 10 tennis players in the world again is otherworldly.
Sadly, many pregnant women do not have the luxury of leaving work when they are several months pregnant due to many reasons. College coaches often pour in many hours studying film, game planning, recruiting, and other actions to get the most out of their team and Georgia women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor is aware of both the work involved of being a college coach and multitasking while pregnant. Less than 12 hours removed from leading Georgia women’s basketball team to a 78-56 win over Ole Miss on a Monday, Lady Bulldogs coach Joni Taylor welcomed her second child into the world. Taylor gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Drew Simone Taylor, at 7:29 a.m. that Tuesday morning. There is no male equivalent to this display of toughness by black women like Taylor and Serena Williams.
There are other ways black women show fortitude and grit in sports. The name “Toni Harris” has become nationally known a couple weeks ago after she became the first female football player at a skill position to sign a letter of intent after accepting a scholarship to Central Methodist University in Missouri. The Detroit, Michigan native was featured in a Toyota Super Bowl ad and had spent 2018 playing safety for a junior college, East Los Angeles College. She faces the challenge of playing a tough, collision sport in college football but has big future NFL aspirations telling espnW, “I’m going to be working toward that until the death of me. Whether I go drafted or undrafted, I’m pretty sure I’m going to keep my faith and God is going to take me there.”
There are plenty of WNBA stars who work bigger workloads than their male NBA counterparts as many WNBA players play basketball overseas following the end of the WNBA season. This is due to the fact that the income for female basketball players is greater overseas than in America. Sports are yet another reason why ridiculous sayings that emphasize the toughness of men while not recognizing the same in women are foolish.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines
